Ten Petty Tyrants from Ten
Harbors and other poems
by Deddy Arsya
Translated from Indonesian into English by Sebastian Partogi
Sepuluh Raja Kecil dari Sepuluh Bandar
Sepuluh raja kecil dari sepuluh bandar kecil
telah diangkut ke kastil nun di utara Jawa
yacht-yacht berlayar
menepi-nepi samudra
ombak lagi gila-menggila
angin barat mengamuk ke darat
sepuluh raja kecil dari sepuluh bandar kecil
bukit-bukitnya baris-berbaris memunggungi laut
mereka dilayarkan ke Batavia
untuk membubuhui traktat
dengan cap beraksara Arab
di bawah kitab suci
: memberi hak monopoli lada
untuk Kompeni semata
di semua bandar mereka;
membebaskan segala bea; dan
sebuah loji kecil dibangun di selatan
di pintu gerbang sepuluh bandar
yang dikuasai sepuluh raja kecil
dengan suara titah tak lebih keras
dari gedebum jatuh buah kelapa
mereka menyetujui pembangunan
benteng dan gudang lada di situ
mereka membawa sendiri lada mereka ke sana
mereka membawanya dengan perahu-perahu kecil
yang ditambatkan di dermaga yang tak kalah kecil
dermaga yang dibangun dari susunan batu endesit
dengan imbalan serdadu dan senjata dalam yacht-yacht
istana-istana yang memiliki menara dan makanan berlimpah
di mana-mana di tanah berbukit-bukit dan di tanah yang datar
tidak ada apa-apa selain perkebunan lada
dulu kakekbuyutku
memulai perang
merobak-robek traktat
membakar sulur
di pantat meriam
pada akhir malam
tapi kini aku takut
pada setiap penguasa
dan tak berani bicara
mereka membakari pohon lada
dan menggantinya dengan kapas
mereka bikin benteng
mula-mula dengan ruyung
lalu yacht-yacht datang lagi
menurunkan gergasi
dengan gada dari baja
keturunannya yang ke sekian dari garis ranji,
menziarahi makam kakekbuyutku di situ
di pantai sebelah selatan
tempat sepuluh raja kecil
menguasai sepuluh bandar
yang terkuat di antara mereka
membangun istana dari
cangkang-cangkang tiram
tersadai pada muara sungai
terlindung dari amuk badai
armada darat mereka diisi barisan tentara-tentara
dengan kendaraan tempur gajah yang diberi tunik
mereka berperang beberapa kali dengan Kompeni
setengahnya digantung di pinggir loji, yang lain
terantai dibuang
ke pulau lain
yang lain mati
tanpa disebut-sebut lagi.
Ten Petty Tyrants from Ten Harbors
Ten small kings from ten small harbors
has been carried to a castle over north of Java
the yachts sailed
on the margins of the ocean
the waves in madness
the furious western wind towards the land
ten small kings from ten small harbors
the hills in a row with their backs to the ocean
they were sailed to Batavia
to sign a treaty
with a stamp in Arabic
an oath by the Koran
: granting monopoly to pepper
for the Company
in all their harbors;
without tax; and
a giant factory was built in the south
at the gate of the ten harbors
controlled by ten small kings
whose commands are frailer
than the thudding of a falling coconut
they agreed on the construction
of a fort and a pepper factory
they transported their own pepper
they transported it with small boats
anchored in a harbor which was just as small
a harbor built with a stack of andesite rocks
and received soldiers and weapons in yachts
the palaces bore towers and feasts
in hilly soils and in flat lands
nothing but pepper plantations
a long time ago my great-grandfather
started a war
tearing treaty documents
burning fuses
on the arse end of a cannonball
in the dead of the night
but now I am afraid
of each ruler
and have no courage to speak up
they were burning the pepper trees
and replaced them with cotton
they created forts
in the beginning the used hardwood coconut
then more yachts started to appear
unloading giants
with sledgehammers made of steel
their descendants, of whichever on the inheritance line,
took pilgrimage on my great-grandfather’s grave
on the southern coast
where ten small kings
presided over ten harbors
the strongest among them
constructed a palace from
oyster shells
high on the river’s estuary
sheltered from the rage of the storm
a line of soldiers in their land fleet
with elephants in tunic for their battle vehicles
they warred the Kompeni several times
half of them hung on the sideline of the factory, the others
chained, thrown
to a different island
the others died
without mentioned ever again.
Ladang-ladang Kapas Kolam-kolam Garam
Bukit-bukit penuh ladang kapas
dan kolam-kolam garam di hilirnya
arah ke muara
berdebur ombak keras
di panas cuaca
telah menghidupi berabad-abad:
ada sepuluh raja kecil dan sepuluh juga permaisuri kecil
karena kurang makan dan beras-beras dibawa ke hutan
atau diceburkan ke lautan
enam di antara mereka digantung Kompeni di hadapan
kalayak ramai di sebuah lapangan terbuka di pusat kota
sehingga kini hanya ada empat lagi di pantai
saling melambaikan
gelang kaki
dari jalinan serat-serat kuini
pucuk nipah dan akar mahoni
dengan luka pada lipatan paha
diteruskan rindu
—yang menua:
di bukit-bukit ini dulu tumbuh ladang kapas berbidang-bidang
dan di hilirnya terhampar bertumpak-tumpak kolam garam
milik nenekmoyang
yang suka berperang
tapi kejayaan, seperti asmara
masa remaja, begitu cepat sirna
ladang-ladang kapas di hulu
telah meranggas dan kelabu
kolam-kolam garam di hilirnya
habis hanyut dipulun samudra.
Fields of Cotton, Pools of Salt
Valleys of cotton fields
Pools of salt on the hilt
towards the estuary
the waves crash
beneath the weather’s heat
having given life for centuries:
with ten small kings and ten small queens
because of the famine and the rice that was brought to the forest
or thrown into the ocean
six of them hung by the Kompeni in front of
the crowd on an open field at the town center
there were four left on the shore
waving
their anklets
from the woven fibers of the kuini trees
the tip of the nipa palm tree and the roots of the mahogany
a scar on the crevices of their thighs
inherited by longing
—which have aged:
in these valleys a long time ago was a cotton field divided into plots
and on the downstream there stretched pools of salt
that the ancestors owned
the warmongering types
but glory, just like romance
and youth, fades away
the cotton fields on the hilt
have withered and turned grey
the pools of salt, in the estuary
have drifted, taken by the ocean
Siapa pembunuh Haji Mur?
Mantan jaksa kelas 1,
bekas demang dengan 3 bintang
mati dengan luka tetak sedikit di atas telinga
tak ada yang hilang dari brankas uang
nun di Eropa
kapal selam ke XVIII diteruskan ke laut dari galangan Feyenoord
masa silam penuh ranjau hayalan bagai mimpi-mimpi tak sudah
tapi di sini
kereta api pertama dari Solok antara Sungailasi dan Silungkang
tak dapat maju. Di muka tangsi Muara Kalaban berdiri omnibus
semua rel terlepas sekerupnya
tiga brigade serdadu dalam outo ditembaki
kepala kantor pos dibunuh perusuh lagi
300 tahil madat dalam perahu dempo
dicegat ketika melintasi selat.
Koman Dempet dan Jimun memanjat dinding penjara Durian.
Sersan Limbung dari Manado akan digantung petang Selasa.
Suman dari Limau Manis menyerang rumah laras di Ambacang.
Ngadimin kepala perampok mati ditembak, mayatnya dibawa
vrachouto memutari kampung supaya diketahui orang banyak.
Haji Saman kepala pemimpin Kominis ditangkap di Omnenlan
dibawa mobil tahanan dengan belenggu besi ke Binnenlan.
Jamin & Jamil Rais Rahman Bakar dan lain-lain
penyerang kantor telepon kawat dan wesel
dipamerkan ini petang ke muka pewarta foto
besok pagi mereka mau dieksekusi!
Sialan, yang aku tanya hanya:
"Siapa pembunuh Haji Mur?"
Who killed Haji Mur?
The former first class attorney,
former three-star district head
died with a slice wound slightly above his ear
nothing went missing from the safe
far in Europe
the 18th submarine was launched to the ocean from the Feyenord shipyard
the past is full of fantasy mines like dreams with no end
but here
the first train from Solok between Sungailasi and Silungkang
will not move forward. In front of the Kalaban estuary barrack an omnibus waits
every rail hasbeen unscrewed
three soldier brigades inside their autos were shot
the head of the post office was murdered by rioters
300 bundles of opiates inside their boats
were ambushed while crossing the strait
Koman Dempet and Jimun climbed the Durian prison wall.
Sergeant Limbung from Manado will be executed by hanging on Tuesday evening.
Suman from Limau Manis attacked the barrel warehouse in Ambacang.
Ngadimin, the head of gang of bandits was shot dead, his dead body carried
by the vrachtauto around the neighborhood to let everyone know.
Haji Saman, the leader of the Kominis was nabbed in Omnenlan
taken by a prisoners’ car, bound with steel shackles, to Binnenlan.
Jamin & Jamil Rais Rahman Bakar and the others
the assailants of the phone and money order company
were put on display before the photojournalists this evening
they would be executed tomorrow morning!
Damn, the only thing I could ask was:
"Who killed Haji Mur?”
Deddy Arsya writes poetry, short stories, film and book reviews and essay on history and art. His works have been published in national newspapers, magazines and journals. His poetry collections, Odong-odong Fort de Kock (2013) and Khotbah Si Bisu (2019) was selected as the Literary Book of The Year 2013 and 2019 by TEMPO Newsmagazine.
Thank you to Sebastian Partogi for translating Deddy’s poety.