the Busking diaries - Yogyakarta

Therefore, at some point, I would reach the island of Java, first Jakarta, and then Yogyakarta, an independent city, also called the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, and so, while strolling through the city center, around the Lempuyangan train station, people would lead me to people, and at some point they arranged me to be hosted at some kind of small palace, actually, a palace into a theater converted, this is, a building with a inner garden that served as host building for some foreign theater companies visiting the city. But at the time of my entrance, when they opened its door to me, there were no strangers living there, just a small gardener that from time to time would come by to take care of the inner garden. And so, now I can say, this is palace with a huge open area in the center of the building, and four small rooms upstairs, placed exactly at each corners, each of them with a very small window, and boxes full of memories from the previous european guests/hosts, under the bed, and thus, I tried the four rooms, and soon, got tired of them all, and so, then, I began sleeping in one of the corners of the inner garden, under some some kind of balcony, a place where all the odds and sods associated with the batik culture and the shadow theater were stored. And so, from time to time, the gardener would come in the morning, and sometimes catch me playing with the puppets stored there, under that balcony, and thus, it was during one of these mornings, while I played with one of those quaint puppets, the wayangs, that he started his lecturing on javanese culture. “Our home, the precious island of Java, is one of the world's most populous islands” he would say, and then, continuing “Java was the center of the powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Formed by volcanic eruptions, four main languages are spoken in this island: Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, and Betawi. The ethnic groups native to the island are the Javanese in the central and eastern parts and Sundanese in the western parts. The Madurese in the Eastern salient of Java are migrants from Madura Island, while the Betawi in the capital city of Jakarta are hybrids from various ethnic groups in Indonesia. Most residents are bilingual, speaking Indonesian as their first or second language. And so, Java is divided into four administrative provinces: Banten, West Java, Central Java, and East Java, and two special regions, Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and… the origins of the name "Java" are not clear, this is, the island could possibly have been named after the jáwa-wut plant, which was said to be common in the island during the time prior to Indianization… But, there are other possible sources: the word jaú and its variations mean "beyond" or "distant". And, in Sanskrit yava means barley, a plant for which the island was famous. "Yawadwipa" is mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Rama's army, dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita. And plus, Java was hence referred to in India by the Sanskrit name "yāvaka dvīpa" (dvīpa = island). But another source states that the word "Java" is derived from a Proto-Austronesian root word meaning "home". Sulaiman al-Tajir al-Sirafi mentioned two notable islands which separated Arabia and China: one is the 800 farsakh long Al-Rami, which is identified as Sumatra, and the other is Zabaj, 400 farsakh in length, identified as Java. And so, when John of Marignolli returned from China to Avignon, he stayed at the Kingdom of Saba for a few months, which he said had many elephants and was led by a queen; Saba may be his interpretation of She-bó. Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin; it contains thirty-eight mountains and the highest volcano in Java is Mount Semeru, and the most active volcano in Java and also in Indonesia is Mount Merapi… plus, the rice lands of Java are among the richest in the world and Java, it is said, the first place where Indonesian coffee was grown, it was here. Today, coffee arabica is grown on the Ijen Plateau by small-holders and larger plantations. Plus the Javan environment and climate gradually alters from west to east; from wet and humid dense rainforest in western parts, to a dry savanna environment in the east, corresponding to the climate and rainfall in these regions. Fossilized remains of Homo erectus, popularly known as the "Java Man", dating back 1.3 million years were found along the banks of the Bengawan Solo River. The island's exceptional fertility and rainfall allowed the development of wet-field rice cultivation, which required sophisticated levels of cooperation between villages. Out of these village alliances, small kingdoms developed. The chain of volcanic mountains and associated highlands running the length of Java kept its interior regions and peoples separate and relatively isolated. And so, before the advent of Islamic states and European colonialism, the rivers provided the main means of communication, although Java's many rivers are mostly short. Only the Brantas river and Solo river could provide long-distance communication and this way their valleys supported the centers of major kingdoms. A system of roads, permanent bridges, and toll gates is thought to have been established in Java by at least the mid-17th century. The emergence of civilization on the island of Java is often associated with the arrival of Aji Saka in 78 AD. Although Aji Saka is said to be the bearer of civilization on Java, the story received several objections and rebuttals from other historical sources. The story of Aji Saka is a Neo Javanese story, it tells of events in the Medang Kamulan kingdom in Java, considered as an allegory of the entry of Indians into Java. The Taruma and Sunda kingdoms of western Java appeared in the 4th and 7th centuries respectively, while the Kalingga Kingdom sent embassies to China starting in 640. However, the first major principality was the Mataram Kingdom that was founded in central Java at the beginning of the 8th century. Mataram's religion centered on the Hindu god Shiva, and the kingdom produced some of Java's earliest Hindu temples on the Dieng Plateau. Around the 8th century, the Sailendra dynasty rose in Kedu Plain and that would become the patron of Mahayana Buddhism. This ancient kingdom built monuments such as the 9th century Borobudur and Prambanan in central Java. Islam became the dominant religion in Java at the end of the 16th century and so, during this era, the Islamic kingdoms of Demak, Cirebon, and Banten were ascendant. The Mataram Sultanate became the dominant power of central and eastern Java at the end of the 16th century. The principalities of Surabaya and Cirebon were eventually subjugated such that only Mataram and Banten were left to face the Dutch in the 17th century. Java's contact with the European colonial powers began in 1522 with a treaty between the Sunda kingdom and the Portuguese in Malacca. And after its failure, the Portuguese presence was confined to Malacca and to the eastern islands. And then, by the end of the 18th century the Dutch had extended their influence over the sultanates, forming what was called the Dutch East India Company in Indonesia. Internal conflict prevented the Javanese from forming effective alliances against the Dutch. Remnants of the Mataram survived as the Surakarta and Yogyakarta principalities. And in those times, Javanese kings claimed to rule with divine authority and the Dutch helped them to preserve remnants of a Javanese aristocracy by confirming them as regents or district officials within the colonial administration. Thern, during the Napoleonic wars in Europe, the Netherlands fell to France, and so, as French came to Java, and helped in the construction of a big road spanning from Anyer in Western Java to Panarukan in the East. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, Java would be captured by the British, and then, under the governorship of John Fendall, Java would return to the Dutch as per the terms of the Treaty of Paris, and then, already on the 20’s century, during the second world war, the japanese would occupy…. and big tragedies have would follow…” he says, without explain what he meant as tragedies. Thus, by now I´m no more at the theater, now I´m on the sidewalks of Jalan Margo Mulyo, a continuation of Jalan Malioboro, a street that crosses all the historical city center, an avenue with many kinds of night markets, and so, here I’m, playing the marimba in front of the Fort Vredeburg, a museum dedicated to the Indonesian independence struggle, a instrument the locals call angklung, and while I'm playing it, I have this captain America mask on,  a mask that, from time to time, emits this babbling sounds and raucous voices, randomly, and is has  the letter A, blinking on my forefront as I play.