Requiem from Java (Opera Jawa)

This film is a version of the Abduction of Sinta.

Often dramatized in Javanese dance and puppet theatre.

In the story, the kings Rama and Rahwana..,..

..,..both love Sinta and fight over her.

At the end, Rama puts Sinta to the test of fire.

To prove her love and purity..,..

In a pig's liver one can see an entire life.

You can read anyone's fate in a pig's liver.

Life, death, and love are all mixed together!

This is the story of Dewi Sinta..,..

Hear nowthe story of Dewi Sinta..,..

Men everywhere have vied for her heart.

Since the beginning of time!

From our ancestor Adam right up to Adam Smith!

Everyone wants to knowwhat really happened.

But no two people ever agree on the whole truth.

Everyone thinks that their version is right..,..

That's howit is! Oh..,.. Hear nowthe story of Dewi Sinta.

This is the story of Dewi Sinta!

When your mind is fitful and uneasy..,..

It is as if you were..,..

At a play put on..,..

In a madhouse..,..

Every utterance..,..

Broken by stuttering..,..

Full of awkwardness..,..

Unpolished..,..

Disorganized, errant..,..

Ever since our land became barren..,..

..,..we have been like Rama and Sinta

They were banished from their own homeland!

All that remains to us is faithfulness..,..

..,..hope and love..,..

I am of my mother's flesh and blood!

Her mind shaped my body!

Her blood made me great!

I am the ruler of the world!

Whosoever should oppose my wishes..,..

..,..my commerce or my power..,..

Shall perish!

Thy blood shall spill forth and drench the earth!

You scum!

Just because you have power..,..

You terrorize everyone!

Howhave I wonged you that you torment me?

And leave me smeared in blood?

Unmindfully greedy!

You hoard everything for yourself!

Man, life..,..

Man, fear..,..

Man, power..,..

Man, blood..,..

Man, wounds..,..

Please watch the house and guard my wife..,..

I am off to sell my wares.

Forget not that danger lurks everywhere..,..

..,..in this life of ours.

Our work is light.

But in our defeat..,..

..,..we have naught to protect save our faithfulness.

An oxcart cannot be hurried.

Whipping the oxen will only bring them to a halt..,..

Rickety-rack, rickety-rack..,..

"Like the very essence of devotion..,.. "

"..,.. you must work with absolute conviction".

"The more secure you feel, the more care you must take".

Those were his treasured words.

If you truly seek her love..,..

..,..learn what pleases her

Knowher mind!

Your son loves Siti..,..

She who used to dance the role of Sinta.

But, ever faithful, she no longer dances..,..

..,..out of respect for her husband.

Dance is but a body suffused with life.

Weave her a dance scarf, as wide as a bedstead..,..

And as long as the road of life..,..

As pure as her heart..,..

This I beg of you..,..

My beloved Siti..,..

Agree to dance..,..

Please accept Master Ludiro's invitation

Ludiro has bestowed money and goods..,..

Upon my children and grandchildren..,..

Forgive me for asking this of you..,..

But I can no longer survive as a gamelan player.

And work is so scarce..,..

I am undone!

Unable to tell right from wong!

To tell sinner from saint!

I am like flotsam in the river.

O Lord, protect me, thy humble servant!

My lovely earthenware jar..,..

..,..howl cherish it!

Singing and dancing have sustained..,..

..,..my children and grandchildren.

But life has become so hard.

To what avail are my tears?

My lady, what is to become of me?

The market for earthenware has crashed!

What should I do?

My children go hungry..,..

Better I should seek other work.

A tray pilled high with steamed cassava delicacies..,..

..,..all topped with a smidgen of grated coconut.

Pop them into your mouth!

Nowbob your neck from side to side!

Give your wist a flick!

Move with the rhythm of gamelan..,..

A tray pilled high with steamed cassava delicacies..,..

..,..all topped with a smidgen of grated coconut

Pop them into your mouth!

Nowbob your neck from side to side!

Give your wist a flick!

Move with the rhythm of gamelan..,..

A tray pilled high with steamed cassava delicacies..,..

..,..all topped with a smidgen of grated coconut.

Pop them into your mouth!

Nowbob your neck from side to side!

Give your wist a flick!

Move with the rhythm of gamelan..,..

Oh, my God!

My Almighty Lord!

When overcome by their lusts..,..

..,..humans are no more than beasts!

The horse, prancing and galloping, resist my reins.

I looked back hesitantly at my beloved.

Gripped by pangs of longing.

Her sleeping body is like a corpse!

A talisman for my impending battle, an echo of my love..,..

The long long sugarcane.

Separate them into five.

All wapped in an old carpets.

Why are men always so contrary!

I'd be better offwithout him.

Why are men always so contrary!

I'd be better offwithout him.

Birds are fluttering aloft.

My little pumpkin..,..

..,..let me bounce you on my knee.

My little pumpkin..,..

..,..to whom I sing my lullaby.

The prenjak bird is still there.

Down comes the ceiling on our heads.

Ah! That feels good!

Nini Thowok, the magic puppet, gives a massage.

A bird, like a bird, not a bird.

Fa la la la.

I cannot move!

The whisperings of my heart entrap me!

Would that I could ignore them!

I must remain strong..,..

Lord, give me strength!

If I betray him, what will become of me?

I am like a gnat to the flame!

Like rice mashed to gruel!

Powder on a beaten brow!

Your charms are irresistible!

Go quickly and check up on my wife.

For I knownot..,..

..,..in my difficult situation.

Is there still love?

Is there still faithfulness?

Is my place in her heart intact?

Down with exploitation!

Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

When I muse upon these times..,..

Well, everything is so hazy..,..

It's all so confusing..,..

The wealthy are on the alert..,..

The poor are on the verge..,..

Everyone is bewildered..,..

All are ready to fight.

Day is this, night is that..,..

Who should I follow?

The noose is tightening.

No strength to think.

Trapped on all sides.

When will our loyalty be repaid?

Unrest and fighting have broken out across the region.

There are reported cases of homicide and arson.

Umbul Makmur villagers set fire to their local police station.

They cited their disappointment that the police..,..

..,..had failed to curb the abuses of a local businessman.

He allegedly organized rioters to help him seize others' business.

The owner of the seized business are equally critical of the police

They claim the authorities turned a blind eye to the culprits

Whereas they believe they themselves have followed the letter of law

25 people are reported dead, and 64 wounded

Pe i nAkat suki sebu ah-d ongen g. b log s p ot.c o m

My riches fill warehouses

But they bring me no joy

I held my love in my fist

But she's gone, lost, gone