tooled around the steamy streets of Jakarta in a Rolls Royce. Tommy was jailed for 15 years in 2002 for ordering the killing of a judge who had convicted him of corruption. His sentence was reduced to 10 years on appeal, and he was released in 2006, partly because of good behavior. The outcome angered Indonesians who believe the rich and well-connected still manipulate the law.
Ingrate.
In a folktale, Malin Kundang was the only son of a poor village widow in West Sumatra. When he became a young man, Malin sought permission to seek fortune far from home. His mother wept, but gave her blessing and he boarded a ship and sailed. Years passed without news. His mother stood daily by the shore, awaiting his return.
Far from home, Malin worked hard. Smart, diligent and handsome, he became rich, bought a ship and married. One day, he docked in his hometown, and villagers marveled how the scrawny lad had become a wealthy merchant with a dazzling wife. His ailing mother rushed to the dock to welcome her son.
“My son, Malin! It’s me, your mother,” she exclaimed.
The haughty Malin saw only a stooped woman in shabby clothes. Ashamed that the sight might offend his wife, he ignored the old woman. He kicked her to the ground when she tried to hug him, and he commanded his crew to sail. Malin’s stunned, tearful mother watched as the ship drew further from the shore.
“Malin, my son, how could you do that to your mother? You will become a stone!” she cursed.
A storm struck Malin’s ship and it ran aground. Malin turned into a stone on the rocky beach.
Nowadays, exasperated parents complain if their children ignore their advice or commands.
“Don’t be like Malin Kundang,” they say.
Jangan seperti Malin Kundang.
West Sumatrans like Malin have a reputation for traveling long distances. The calling is merantau, which means to leave one’s home, or wander about, in the Minangkabau language of the region. It’s a rite of passage to manhood. It’s difficult to find Minangkabau men who have not left home, at least for a while. Most plan to return eventually.
The term merantau is so widespread that most Indonesians know it. It is associated with men. In the traditional view, women only leave home under duress: to find a job in a hurry, or escape some personal crisis.
Nowadays, the tendency is to settle away from home for a long time. This practice is merantau Cino, or migrating like the Chinese, whose vibrant roots stretch all over Asia and beyond. A short period is merantau pipit (sparrow-like travels) because the bird doesn’t linger long in one place.
Minangkabau restaurants serve Sumatran-style food across Indonesia, as well as in Southeast Asia, Europe and elsewhere. They are called Padang restaurants after the name of the West Sumatran provincial capital. They say you can find a Padang restaurant on the moon: just walk a little, turn left and there you have it! The most famous Padang dish is rendang, meat simmered in spices and coconut juice.
Some Minangkabau men leave home because they feel constrained by West Sumatra’s matriarchal system, which requires a husband to allow a brother of his wife (ninik mamak, in Minangkabau) to settle any family dispute.
Matrilineal customs require a man to give advice and money to his sister and her family. He helps her out, but has little influence over his own affairs. His role as husband is marginal. Sisters usually inherit their brothers’ rumah gadang (big house) and other family assets.
A century ago, West Sumatran men were only allowed to marry women from the same village. Some sought brides elsewhere so they could be free of the irksome ninik mamak.
West Sumatran men who leave home stay loyal to their families. Their success is judged by how much money they send home to build houses for relatives, or mosques or schools in hometowns.
Girl.
Linguists say cewek came from ciwe, which means female genitals in the Hokkien dialect from China. Cewek took hold in the 1970s, and dictionaries define it as a young girl. Nowadays, it’s a colloquial term for a woman.
Then the term cowok, the male equivalent of cewek, came along. Male Javanese names usually contain the vowel o. Hartono is a male name, while Hartini is female. Joko, Padmo, Handoyo and Suranto are all male names.
“Experimental woman” = Prostitute. Bimbo.
The word perek appeared in the mid-1980s when teenage girls turned up at Jalan Melawai, a street in Blok M, a jumble of bars, malls and hotels in Jakarta. The street became known as Lintas Melawai (lintas means cross or pass quickly) because crowds streamed back and forth. Women strolled, loitered outside shops, dined on bakso (meat balls) and teh botol (cold, bottled tea), and waited for men. Some wanted money; others settled for sexual experience. They looked for a type known as Oom-oom (Oom means uncle in Dutch), a sugar daddy who drove a flashy car and spent with abandon.
Perek is a common term for prostitute among the young, though many elderly people don’t know it. It used to refer only to a promiscuous woman, not a woman who required payment for sex.
Other terms for prostitute:
WTS. A term for Wanita Tuna Susila (woman without morals). It appears in newspapers, radio and television talk shows, government edicts and speeches. The male version is PTS (Pria Tuna Susila, or man without morals). PTS can also be the client of a male prostitute.
Pekerja seks komersial (commercial sex worker). A neutral term commonly used by feminists and social workers.
Kupu-kupu malam (night butterfly). An insect with beautiful wings lures its prey.
Perempuan jalang (wild, untamed woman). A rude expression.
Ayam (chicken). This rude term is similar to chick, the old English slang for a young woman. Some sociologists say the term became popular in Indonesia in the early 1990s because of the alleged tendency of prostitutes to chatter, or cluck like hens. Indonesians often use the term for the benefit of foreign men who are on the prowl.
Cabo. This term for prostitute comes from Ca-bau-kan, which means woman in Hokkien.
Players in the sex industry address each other with familiar nicknames. The regular term for pimp is mucikari or muncikari, but he’s also papi (daddy) to his charges. A madam is germo, but also mami or tante (aunt, in Dutch). They oversee anak asuh (children in their care), young prostitutes who often come from poor villages and have no other source of income.
Young prostitutes who become financially indebted to their pimps and cut off from their families are anak potong (cut child). Hefty cuts of their wages end up in the pockets of managers.
Kelas kambing (goat class) and kelas embun (dew class) refer to prostitutes who don’t charge much.
That’s
