Cat Rice

You might wonder, what is a cat rice? Is it meal for a cat, or is it a meal with rice and cat meat? No, it’s not horrible or terrifying at all. We Indonesians do not eat cat (although some of us indeed consume snake blood, chips made from fried grasshopper, or lizard meat!). Cat rice is only a name for one of the most popular meal in my city, Semarang, the capital of Central Java Province in Java, Indonesia.
Its original name is “sega kucing” or “nasi kucing”. Sega or nasi means rice, and kucing means cat. It’s basically one ordinary Javanese meal with rice and any other dishes like fried chicken, roasted fish, soup, tempe (fermented soybean cake), tahu (tofu), or fried egg. Cat rice is served with tea, coffee, or orange juice.
Cat rice is usually sold in side street food stalls or cafes. Unlike any other cafes around the world which located in open spaces near pedestrian area, many food stalls in Indonesia are literally located in the edge of a street, even sometimes right on a sidewalk. This is what called “warung kaki lima” or five feet food stalls. I’ll write later about warung kaki lima in another article since it truly unique and sometimes funny.
In those food stalls, cat rice is served in small packs wrapped with food paper and a piece of used newspaper. The wrapper is stapled along with a small piece of another paper with a word written on it which indicate what kind of dish contained inside it, such as “AYAM” (chicken), “TELUR” (egg), “UDANG” (shrimp), or “TAHU” (tofu).
A café serves approximately up to 100 to 150 packs of cat rice at one time. The packs are put on one big table and customers can take them freely as many as they want. Then they eat it along with another additional dishes such as satay, kerupuk (flavored chips), quail eggs, or steamed chicken gizzard.
After the meal is over, the customers told the waiters/waitresses how many packs they take, how many and what kind of additional dishes they eat, and what softdrink they drank. Then the waiter will sum up the total price the customers must pay. Since the waiter cannot watch the activity of each customer they had at any given time, the customer can always lie about the amount of cat rice they consumed. But cat rice cafes is not just a café which serves foods. It also educates people about honesty, dignity, friendship, loyalty, and togetherness.
What really unique about cat rice is that its pack is really small so people had to take more than four of five packs at once before their hunger disappear. And since they hang out with friends, relatives, clients, or even with their beloved one, the amount of packs they consumed can be uncontrollable.
Because of the small packagings, cat rice is extremely cheap it often costs no more than Rp 500 each packs (nearly only US$ 6 cent each!). So, you can take 16 packs of cat rice if you have 1 dollar in your pocket. This extremely cheap price makes cat rice most popular among university students who had extremely limited financial power too.
Another special fact about cat rice is that the food stalls serve it opens around midnight until nearly dawn. They won’t be ready to serve their meals until 10 or 11 PM. So, cat rice cafes are basically treat the customers who suffers from midnight time hunger or simply just want to “begadang” (hang out in the middle of the night until late morning). The most popular cat rice café in Semarang, Warung Nasi Kucing Pak Gik or Mr Gik Cat Rice Café, opens at 11 PM to 5 AM daily. Hundreds of customers flock there every night, sometimes they even have to wait outside patiently for empty chairs or just empty spaces inside the café.
So, how does the meal associated with cats? Its name apparently originated from the portion of each pack which is exactly the same as the size of the food given to a cat. Most Indonesians who keep cats as their pets don’t feed them with canned cat food just like in the US or any other advanced nation, but simply with rice mixed with fish. And the portion is so tiny because they assumed those cats can find foods on their own as predators.
(Photo courtesy of subura2005.blogspot)

One Name

Indonesia’s first president is Soekarno. He was succeeded by Soeharto. Both Soekarno and Soeharto are the examples of Indonesian who only had one name. Most Indonesians, especially Javanese, only have one single word into their names. They don’t have first name and surename like people in other countries and cultures do. Their one single word is their name. Indonesians are not accustomed to used surename, except for some ethnic groups who live outside Java.
So, like our first two presidents did, many Indonesians lived and be recognized by others as only Suprapto, Handoko, Mulyono, Sunarti, or Santoso. This will result in much confusion when they go abroad as foreign people always ask for surename in all kind of business especially immigration.
One more unusual thing about person’s naming in Indonesia is that in some cultures, one’s name change constantly following his/her progress into maturity, adulthood, age, and even his/her position either in society or in career. In ancient times until the first half of the 20th century, Javanese used three levels of name: childhood name, adulthood name, and senior/veteran name. People from high social rank, such as kings, sultans, ministers, dukes, generals, religious leaders, or government officials, even had posthumous name, which used later when they have long passed away.
Such example is the great King Sri Rajasanagara of the Majapahit Kingdom who ruled from 1350 to 1389. Upon his birth into adolescence age, his name was Raden Tetep. He also known as Tirtarayu, Pager Antimun, and Janeswara. When he became crown prince in the age of 15, his name changed to Dyah Hayam Wuruk. Later on, when he crowned as the fourth leader of the Majapahit realm in 1350, he held the official king title as Prabu Sri Rajasanagara.
Other leaders in Indonesia’s history is known simply by their posthumous name. The second king of the Mataram dynasty, Panembahan Anyakrawati (1601-1613), is widely known as Panembahan Seda Krapyak. “Seda” is Javanese word which means dead, and Krapyak is the name of the village where he passed away.
His grandson, Sunan Amangkurat I (1645-1677), often mentioned as Sunan Tegalwangi. Both Amangkurat and Tegalwangi are his posthumous name. The title Sunan Amangkurat I was used after his death, and his original title is remain unknown to this day. Whereas Tegalwangi is the place where he passed away after he flew away from his palace due to Prince Trunajaya’s massive rebellion.
My grandfather (my mother’s father) also has more than one level of name during his lifetime from 1901 to 1974. In his childhood until his adulthood, his name was Tubingan. And then, right after he had grandchildren, he altered his name into Djojodihardjo, making him widely known as Mr Tubingan Djojodihardjo since then.
But the tradition is no longer used nowadays, except in the circle of the old royal family like in Yogyakarta, Surakarta, or Cirebon. By 1960s and 1970s, people started to name their babies with more than one word name. Recently, under the influence of European and American culture, most Indonesians even started to use their latter name as surename. For example, is one’s name is Bambang Purnomo, he will name all his children with Purnomo as their latter name with the hope that all of his descendants will use “Purnomo” as the name of his “dynasty”.
Since I haven’t got any children yet, I also had the idea of making my latter name (Wintarto) as the name of my glorious dynasty in the future, or perhaps naming my first son as Wintarto, Jr. or Wintarto II. Sounds wonderful, isn’t it?

The Pocong

Now let me introduce you to pocongan. Pocongan or simply called pocong probably is the most frightening and scariest ghost in Indonesian culture. Its form, its shape, and its appearance produce a haunting experience for those who has seen them or had an encounter with them.
Pocong usually appear at night time in the graveyard, near a place considered to be “angker” (eerie or haunted place), or in an abandoned house that is believed to be inhabited by ghost or “arwah” (the departed spirit of human). People who has seen a pocong usually will react in different ways, such as run away, scream loudly, or simply fall down unconsciously. But they share one common feeling: scared to death!
Pocong can be seen in their all white “uniform”. From head to toe, a pocong wears white cloth with some kind of veil wrap his/her head. On top of the veil, there’s a tassel tied with a string. Both hands are tied too in the position of “bersedekap” (palms of the hand on top of stomach and heaped each other). There are also two more strings that ties the hip and the leg of a pocong.
In every apparition, a pocong moves by jumping around just like a frog. They don’t make any noise, but the scariest part is their white cloth combined with the disfigured face beneath the front part of their veil. Some witnesses even claim that the eyes of a pocong sometimes can be seen in a frightening red flame like a burning coal.
Pocong actually originated from the traditional manner of the ceremony of dead people according to Islamic rite and ritual. Before a dead body is being buried in the grave, he/she will first be cleaned with pure water and flowers. Then, he/she will be wrapped with white plain cloth called “mori” or “kain kafan”. After this process complete, the dead one can be called a pocong. He/she will be buried with their white cloth intact. So, a moslem won’t need a coffin when they are buried like Christians do.
Pocong is very popular in Indonesia. Most Indonesian regard pocong as the most frightening ghost among all form of ghost and evil spirit known in the Indonesian folklore. Because of the popularity, pocong is often featured in horror movie and “sinetron” (TV movie/series), such as in Setan Kredit (1980), Pocong (2006), Gotcha! (2006), Malam Jumat Kliwon (2007), and the series Hidayah.
For you who will visit Indonesia soon, especially in Java, be prepared to meet the pocongs. It is frightening, but in the other hand, a pocong is somewhat cute too. And since all Islamic country and culture adopt the same tradition to bury the dead ones, it is interesting to note that other Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, or Turkey doesn’t recognize pocong as a form of ghost or evil spirit.
As far is I can recall, pocong as a ghost only exists in Indonesia. So, if you brave enough to infiltrate the ghost world in “the other side”, please notify me if you see a pocong outside Indonesia. It surely will be astonishing if a pocong is seen in Egypt or Turkey.
I also wonder how the pocong is called in those countries…

RT & RW

Indonesian government is managed the same way as another democratic countries do. We have president, vice president, cabinet, parliament, supreme court, and local governing bodies. But the unique part about our country’s government is that its “tentacles” reach down to the deepest level of society hierarchy. We have a special kind of official government organization which is called the RT and the RW. RT is Rukun Tetangga (neighborhood harmonious) and RW means Rukun Warga (citizen harmonious). They’re the lowest strata of our government tree who run daily social life of the citizen.
The local governmental system in Indonesia divide the vast territory which is also known as The Nusantara (archipelago) into 33 provinces. Each province is governed by a governor. I live in Semarang, the capital of Central Java Province.
A province, like Central Java, consists of smaller local government units which is called “kota” and “kabupaten”. Kota means city or municipality, whereas kabupaten means regency. Areas considered to be a kota is a big city which have a massive economic activity especially in industry and telecommunications. On other hand, kabupaten or regency is a wider area than the city that is consists of rural and countryside region whose inhabitant live mostly by become farmers. Head of a city is “walikota” (mayor), whereas head of a regency is a “bupati” (duke or regent)
Either city or regency is divided into “kecamatan” (district) and governed by a head of district called “camat”. Then, each kecamatan is divided again into “kelurahan” (sub-district). A sub-district is equal to a country or a village. We have two kinds of head of sub-district.
In a big city, each sub-district is governed by an official named “lurah” (the chief). In a small and rural town, each sub-district is governed by “kepala desa” or the chief of the village. Kelurahan is officially the smallest govermental institution in Indonesia. But in order to get the better approach to the citizen inside a specific region or a village, each kelurahan is divided into RWs.
A sub-district usually have between 10 to 15 RW. Each one of it is guided by an official named “Pak RW” (Mr RW). Then, each RW is divided into RTs. There are usually between 7-15 RTs each RW. An RT is guided by a “Pak RT” (Mr RT). Each RT consists of 18-20 household. So, RT is the lowest strata of governmental hierarchy in Indonesia. Its duty mostly is to maintain the harmonious and togetherness between the close neighborhood. Thus, “rukun” (harmonious) is the name.
An RW is mentioned with Roman number, such as RW I, RW II, RW III, and so on. Whereas an RT is mentioned with alphanumeric number, such as RT 4, RT 5, RT 6, and so on.
Unlike any other officials from president and ministers to mayors and the lurahs, Mr RW and Mr RT does not receive monthly official salary from the government. They even got no fees whatsoever. So, their function is basically similar to volunteer workers. They run their job not to obtain money or to construct a steady career path, but solely just to express their dedication to the society.
I live in RT 9, RW XIII, Kelurahan Pudakpayung, Kecamatan Banyumanik, Kota Semarang, in the province of Central Java. My Mr RT is Mr Prio Aries Pambudi. I myself also involved in the “governmental” structure of the RT as an “official” in event organizing. My duty is basically like an event organizer, which is to held any event in my RT. Like the other official of the RT and the RW, I receive no payment too from the government.
In spite of the fact that they work voluntarily, they did it seriously and wholeheartedly as if it’s their only career. They organize the citizens to watch the surroundings area in a nighttime private patrol called a “siskamling”, short form of “sistem keamanan lingkungan” or environmental safety system. Each month, Mr RT must also held a meeting between the citizens to discuss their daily life, resources, and the environment. Then, once in two or three months, similar meeting is held by Mr RW and attended by his subordinates i.e. Mr RTs.
The citizens choose the person who will hold the position of Mr RW and Mr RT regularly once in two or three years among themselves. He had to be a public/society figure who own high charisma and leadership and respected by all. The head of the RW and the RT is usually and mostly a man, and their wife will automatically hold the position as The Head of the PKK on the RW or the RT respectively. PKK is the abbreviation of “pendidikan kesejahteraan keluarga” or family welfare education. The basic duty of the PKK is to organize all the activity between citizens in healthcare, informal education, women’s emancipation, and practical skill such as cooking, sewing, or gardening.
Thanks to RWs and RTs, we Indonesian live in peaceful atmosphere and blend together as a big family (but sometimes we also gossipping about each other cruelly behind their back, a casual conversation that is called by the term of “ngrasani” or “bergunjing”…!)

Welcome to My Homeworld!

This is my country, Indonesia. We call her with her official name in Bahasa Indonesia, Republik Indonesia, or Republic of Indonesia. She lies in the border between Southeast Asia and Oceania. But officially, Indonesia is a part of Southeast Asia region along with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei Darussalam.
Indonesia is known as a third world country. She’s still a developed country which has yet to achieve prosperity and advancement. Most people in the world thought of her as an underdeveloped nation. Some of them even thought that Indonesia still inhabited by primitive and cannibal races who live in the jungle without roads, highways, skyscrappers, malls, ATMs, and cars!
And recently, our image is ruined by a series of terrorist attacks linked with Jamaah Islamiyah movement, who are considered to be the Southeast Asian “cartel” of the terrorist group lead by Osama ben Laden, Al Qaeda. Since the bombs attack in Bali on October 2002 who killed hundreds of Australian tourists, we received travel warning status from US and European countries.
No one is not allowed to visit Indonesia, since it considered to be an unsafe territory. And Indonesian who try to visit another country must face humiliation, harassment, and even discrimination upon arriving on airport by the local immigration officers, especially in the US and Australia.
And to make it even worse, we are still not recovered yet from the economy and monetary crisis that plagued Asian countries a decade ago. Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea has gained back their economic stability, but Indonesia is not doing that well. We still live in a gloomy and depressed situasion. Prices skyrocket, especially the BBM (bahan bakar minyak) or the oil and gasoline.
Public services going from bad to worse. There are not enough electricity, government officials said, but the bills constantly getting even higher and more expensive each year. Corruption is not considered a crime anymore, because anyone and everyone do it to penetrate the complexity of bureaucracy labyrinth in almost every aspects of daily life.
Basically, we’re Indonesian do not live in a good and friendly environment. Each one of us must act like a fighter, who live to conquer anything that surrounds us, especially those who live beyond the line of poverty.
But the good and special nature of us is that, no matter the situation was and no matter how bad and miserable life we had, we’re still blessed with a good sense of humor. I don’t know much about life and culture in other countries, but I always feel that Indonesia is the most humorous country in the world.
We always have reasons to laugh, to laugh at other people’s fortune or misfortune, and even to laugh at ourselves. We still have a lot of talented comedians. And our TV channels are always fully loaded with funny programmes. We have funny talk shows, funny “sinetron” (TV series/movies), funny news programme, and even funny reality shows.
Ordinary people are often funny too. Each class and environment in the society always have a bunch of funny people who are capable of lighten up the tense of everyday life. In the office, in the classroom, in the neighborhood, and amongst relatives, we will meet those funny guys and involved in a relax situation which is called “guyon” (joking together).
This simple and humble weblog is my homage to the special nature of most Indonesian. Here you can find unique and funny stuffs about Indonesia and her people. Hopefully, this will be a tool of understanding between us and the whole world. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride…