Season 3 Episode 8
Level of Indonesian and English fluency: Advanced
Indonesian Version
Hari-hari besar membuatku berpikir, bahwa sejarah tak mencatat nama-nama mereka yang ada di kaki piramid. Lembar sejarah bahkan tidak memberi ruang bagi mereka yang ada di tingkat dua piramid, apalagi di kaki.
Di Kurusetra, sejarah hanya mencatat nama Sang Jendral Gatot Kaca yang dadanya terburai oleh senjata Konta. Sejarah hanya mencatat nama Sang Resi Bhisma yang terbaring gagah di haribaan anak panah. Sejarah hanya mencatat nama Sang Permaisuri Drupadi yang keramas dengan darah dari kepala pecah Sang Raden Dursasana.
Sejarah tidak mencatat nama para prajurit yang telanjang kaki melangkah paling depan dihantam pasukan gajah. Sejarah tak mencatat nama para juru masak yang berkeringat di tenda dapur umum yang gerah. Sejarah tak mencatat nama para perawat yang tanpa lelah merawat korban yang raga maupun jiwanya terluka parah.
Begitu juga sejarah tak mencatat nama anak perempuan Abraham. Karena ia bukan Ishak yang dikorbankan oleh Abraham, atau Ismail yang dikorbankan oleh Ibrahim. Baik Abraham maupun Ibrahim, nama sang anak perempuan tak terdengar di telinga kita.
Namun lirik lagu Abraham’s Daughter dari Arcade Fire menceritakan, bagaimana di bukit itu Sang Anak Perempuan ini mengangkat busur panahnya untuk mencegah adiknya dijadikan korban. Bahkan ia berbantahan dengan malaikat. Ia tak hiraukan kemarahan malaikat, hatinya teguh ingin menyelamatkan adiknya dari pengorbanan yang tak ia pahami.
Lagu Abraham’s Daughter diciptakan oleh Arcade Fire untuk jadi salah satu soundtrack film The Hunger Games [2012). Film yang diangkat dari novel ini memang bercerita tentang pengorbanan anak-anak kecil untuk dijadikan hiburan bagi penguasa fasis, yang memonopoli bukan hanya sumber daya, juga narasi kebenaran.
Seperti Katniss Everdeen karakter utama di film ini, anak perempuan Abraham mengangkat busurnya untuk melawan pengorbanan manusia. Karena kalaupun Anda mengaku diperintah oleh TuhanMu untuk mengorbankan manusia, apalagi anak-anak kecil ini, pasti ‘kan kulawan!
Siapakah yang menjamin kau benar-benar mendengar perintah TuhanMu? Siapakah yang menjamin itu benar-benar malaikat utusan TuhanMu yang memberikan bisikan? Siapakah yang menjamin anak-anak ini akan diganti menjadi domba pada detik yang menentukan?
Demi imanmu kenapa orang lain yang kau korbankan? Sudahkah kau mengorbankan dirimu sendiri, hartamu sendiri, tenagamu sendiri, keringatmu sendiri, nyawamu sendiri! Selama itu tiada yang kau lakukan, busur ini akan terangkat menghadangmu korbankan orang lain!
Begitu banyak yang ingin diucapkan oleh Anak Perempuan Abraham, namun bibirnya keras terkatup. Sekeras jari tangannya membidikan busurnya ke arah malaikat yang tak mengetahui namanya.
And when his sword up, raised for the slaughter,
Abraham’s daughter raised her bow.
“How darest you child, defy your father.”
“You better let young Isaac go!”
(it’s the lyric of Abraham’s Daughter by Arcade Fire)
English Version (4:15)
Public holidays made Yoga think that history never records the names of those in the base of the pyramid. History pages do not even give space for those in the second layer of the pyramid, let alone those in the base.
At Kurusetra, history only recorded the demise of the General Gatot Kaca whose chest was pierced open and spilled by the weapon Konta. History only recorded the great sage Bhisma, who heroically laid down on the ground, his body pierced by dozens of arrows. History only recorded the queen Drupadi who washed her hair with the blood from the smashed head of Prince Dursasana.
History did not record the names of the soldiers who walked bare-footed in the front lines and were trampled by the elephant troops. History did not record the names of the cooks sweating away in the stiflingly hot public kitchen tents. History did not record the names of the caregivers who worked tirelessly treating those heavily injured, both in body and soul.
History also did not record the name of Abraham’s daughter. As she was not Isaac who was sacrificed by Abraham nor Ismail who was sacrificed by Ibrahim. From both the stories of either Abraham or Ibrahim, the name of the daughter was never heard of.
Nevertheless, the lyrics of the song Abraham’s Daughter from Arcade Fire tells the story of how at the top of that hill, the Daughter raised her bow to prevent her brother from being sacrificed. She even argued with the angel. She did not heed the angel’s wrath, her heart was set in saving her brother from a sacrifice she did not understand.
The song Abraham’s Daughter was written by Arcade Fire to be one of the soundtracks from the movie The Hunger Games (2012). The film that was adapted from the same-titled novel, told a story of young children being sacrificed for the purpose of the amusement of the facist rulers, who not only monopolized all resources but also the narration of truth.
Just like Katniss Everdeen, the main character of the movie, Abraham’s daughter raised her bow to fight against human sacrifice. Because even if you said that your God commanded you to sacrifice your fellow humans, especially young children, this is something that could not be tolerated.
Who guarantees that one really hears the word of their God? Who guarantees that it is truly the angel of God who whispers in your ear? Who guarantees that these children will be replaced by lambs at the final crucial moment?
For the sake of your faith, why must another person be sacrificed? Has one sacrificed his or her own self, riches, power, sweat or life? As long as none of that was done, a bow will always be raised to stop others from being sacrificed.
So many words wanted to be spoken by Abraham’s Daughter but none came out from her tightly closed lips. As tight as her fingers, aiming her bow to the angel who did not know her name.
And when his sword up, raised for the slaughter,
Abraham’s daughter raised her bow.
“How darest you child, defy your father.”
“You better let young Isaac go!”
(from the lyric of Abraham’s Daughter by Arcade Fire)
This is a reflection from Yoga Adhitrisna who is from and currently lives in Jakarta.
He is an activist, a thinker, the Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Berakar Komunikasi or Rooted Communication advertising agency.
Yoga and Hari Prast made headlines as they voluntarily did a campaign for the Indonesia Presidential election in 2014, the success of this campaign took a big part in Jokowi’s victory.
More about his production and contribution can be found in his website: Berakar.com
IG: @yogaadh, @karyaadalahdoa, @nusantralala
Vocabularies
Hari besar : public holiday, feast day (hari: day, besar: big)
Resi : sage, an enlightened one
Tak : not
Mencatat : record, take notes
Lembar : sheet, page
Senjata (konta) : weapon (the name of the special weapon in the Bharatayuddha story)
Terburai : scattered
Haribaan : pangkuan
Gerah : stiflingly hot
Telanjang kaki : bare-footed (telanjang: naked, kaki: foot)
Raga : body /physical
Jiwa : soul
Busur : bow
Teguh : firm
Bisikan : whisper
Malaikat : angel
Iman : faith
Membidik : aim
We might have learned that what can be considered as fact for one, can be fiction for others. Sometimes, we don’t even know how accurately history was told. Or some writers prefer to write the truth using fiction as a mask for their own safety. We might live under the manipulated narration made by fascists, but despite fact or fiction, where do we stand? How do we react?
Yoga’s reflection is based on his life observation and using three different sources as metaphor:
- Cultural Mythologies/folklore/or possibly a war story based on Battle of the Ten Kings: Kurukshetra war of Bharatayuddha in the Mahabharata classic stories. The original stories are from India and the Indonesian translation often uses Javanese cultural adaptation and interpretation.
- The song Abraham’s Daughter from Arcade Fire
- The movie The Hunger Games.
Indonesian language used here is in the daily-conversation format, that has influences from the local culture and custom. Should you have questions on the more formal version, please consult with your guru Bahasa Indonesia.
Level of Indonesian and English fluency: Advanced