Mbah Uti's Angry
Days passed by, and my eyes were dazzled by the window beside me. Oh God, I fell asleep again after the dawn prayer. I saw Kang Ali sweeping the yard, still wearing his sarong, white koko shirt, and peci (traditional hat).
I took off my mukena (prayer attire) and immediately headed outside the house. Suddenly, my grandmother's hand landed on my head. "Take a bath first!" she said in front of me. So, I redirected my steps toward the bathroom.
After cleaning myself up, I went in search of Kang Ali. I noticed he wasn't in the yard anymore. I walked around the Pesantren and was halted by Mas Syarif.
"Where are you going, dear?"
"Where's Kang Ali, Mas?"
"He's over there," Mas Syarif replied, gesturing towards the nearby lake. I ran towards Kang Ali, who was throwing stones by the river near the rice fields around the Pesantren.
"Kang Ali!"
"Dek Kayla, what's up?"
"Kang, why aren't you doing any work, just throwing pebbles into the river?" I asked Kang Ali, who was deeply engrossed in stone throwing. He just smiled at me and put his finger on his lips, making a pouty face, then burst into laughter.
"You're so cute, always so talkative, be quiet."
I obediently stayed silent. The lush green expanse in front of me caught my attention. I suddenly pulled Kang Ali's hand.
"Let's go to the rice fields!" I said, pulling his hand forcefully.
"What are we going to do there, Dek?"
"Come on!" I urged, tugging at his hand until Kang Ali finally agreed to my request.
We played and ran across the green fields, which hadn't yet sprouted into corn plants.
One or two times, Kang Ali's sarong got caught under my foot, causing him to fix it multiple times.
In the middle of the rice fields, there were rows of sugar cane plants. I plucked one of the sugar canes. It tasted sweet like sugar.
"Oh dear, Dek, you might get scolded by the farmers," he warned. But I didn't respond.
Suddenly, a man from afar shouted, "Hey! Whose child is that stealing my sugarcane?" as he approached us.
Kang Ali quickly pulled me and we ran as fast as we could. I ended up tripping and spraining my foot.
"Come on, Dek! We might get caught!" Kang Ali said to me.
Kang Ali, he didn't understand that I had fallen and hurt my foot. I couldn't run anymore, and it was partly my fault for taking the sugarcane. Eventually, we were chased by the angry man.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I endured the pain from my scraped skin. Kang Ali saw my wound and panicked. He squatted in front of me.
"Come on, let's go!" he said.
I climbed onto his back, and he carried me to a small hut not far from the Pesantren. I sat down in the hut, and my sarong slipped, revealing the wound on my leg.
Kang Ali plucked some leaves, I didn't know what kind, and used them to dry my wound.
"Next time, don't do it again, Dek," he said to me, and I just nodded.
I knew I was wrong, and it seemed like I disappointed him even though Kang Ali didn't show it openly.
"Dek Kayla, just stay here for now," Kang Ali said as he left me there. I didn't know where he was going. I enjoyed the lush green expanse, humming to myself.
Lir-ilir, lir-ilir tandure wis sumilir
(It means "Get up, wake up or arise.")
Tak ijo royo-royo tak senggo temanten anyar
(The green fields are for the newlyweds.)
Cah angon-cah angon penekno blimbing kuwi
(The ignorant ones keep stealing the limes.)
Lunyu-lunyu yo penekno kanggo mbasuh dodotiro
(It's so foolish to steal just for washing clothes.)
Dodotiro-dodotiro kumitir bedhah ing pinggir
(Blouses are fluttering on the side.)
Dondomono jlumatono kanggo sebo mengko sore
(But don't just pick them, for it's rude.)
Mumpung padhang rembulane,
(While the moon is still shining bright,)
Mumpung jembar kalangane
(And the crickets are singing,)
Yo surako… surak iyo…
(Let's harvest... harvest, indeed…)
Suddenly, Kang Ali came and continued the song.
Dodotiro-dodotiro kumitir bedhah ing pinggir
(Blouses are fluttering on the side.)
Dondomono jlumatono kanggo sebo mengko sore
(But don't just pick them, for it's rude.)
Mumpung padhang rembulane
,
(While the moon is still shining bright,)
Mumpung jembar kalangane
(And the crickets are singing,)
Yo surako… surak iyo…
He then sat beside me, holding a bouquet of grass and paddy flowers, skillfully arranged into a beautiful crown, which he placed on my head.
"It's beautiful, Kang, thank you," I said to him, and Kang Ali just smiled at me.
"Dek Kayla, can you sing? But do you understand the meaning?" he asked, and I shook my head because I didn't understand the meaning. He explained it to me, and I listened carefully.
"Lir-ilir means 'get up,' 'wake up,' or 'arise.' The purpose of this song is to awaken people, especially the youth, from their long dreams and delusions. Youth are likened to crops ready for harvest (Tak ijo royo-royo), which signifies that it's time to realize that every person has responsibilities as a servant of Allah and as someone who should be useful not only for themselves but also for others.
Tak ijo royo-royo means that the youth are like crops ready for harvest. The youth are expected to be like newlyweds (Tak senggo temanten anyar). The newlyweds are beautiful to behold. Kanjeng Sunan tried to awaken the youth from long dreams that make us complacent.
The worldly life is like a dream, which can make us forget our duties and goals as servants of Allah. 'Wake up and realize' that there is another life waiting for us, a new life, an eternal life after our life in this world. This new life is metaphorically represented as 'penganten anyar' or newlyweds.
Suddenly, before Kang Ali could finish explaining everything, Abah called us from across the small river we crossed to get to the fields.
"Kayla, Ali!" Abah shouted as he saw us at the hut.
We quickly ran to Abah. Abah had only called us for lunch. I was still curious about the meaning of the syi'ir (poem) from Mbah Sunan Kalijaga.
We went into the house. I saw Mbah Uti, Umi, Pakdhe, Mas El, Mbak Azizah, and Mas Syarif waiting for us. Mbah Uti started scolding me again.
"Having grandchildren is difficult to manage! Pak Slamet came here and said Kayla stole his sugarcane," she said, looking at me with a sardonic smile.
My appetite disappeared instantly, but I remembered the story Kang Ali had told me.
"Dek, our lovely child, don't do it again, okay? Stealing something that doesn't belong to you is a sin," Umi told me.
"Why does Mbah Uti always dislike Kayla? Kayla never hated Mbah Uti. Mbak Azizah is always favored. But Kayla is always wrong in Mbah Uti's eyes," I protested, making today's lunch uncomfortable.
"Enough, don't argue anymore. Please eat. Dek, don't harm others, okay?" Abah said to me.
Oh God, I only took one piece, and Pak Slamet has so many sugarcane plants. If I counted with my fingers, there were hundreds of them. He's so stingy. They say the graves of stingy people are narrow, "Uh," I muttered angrily at the name Pak Slamet.