is that the nerves in a cold hand are numb, allowing their owner to take unpopular steps without hesitation. An executive fires workers to make his business successful. Bertangan dingin suggests an uncanny talent for making money or succeeding in any endeavor.
“The best thumb” = First rate. Great. Number one.
An old-fashioned term used to describe places, objects and people. As in other cultures, Indonesians also stick up their thumbs (acung jempol) to indicate approval.
“Like henna with nails” = Fast friends. Like lips and teeth.
This old-fashioned expression mostly applies to platonic friendships.
Henna is an earthy pigment made from shrubs that is used to color nails, hands, feet, hair and beards. Its use in religious ceremonies and other celebrations of many cultures goes back centuries. The swirling, intricate patterns associated with henna in other parts of the world are rare in Indonesia, where the pigment is mostly used on nails. It is popular among unmarried, conservative Muslim women in villages who don’t use nail varnish. They believe Muslim custom only allows henna because it is natural, and allows the nails to “breathe.” Ablution waters can touch the nails before prayer.
Other sayings such as bagai empedu lekat di hati (like a gall bladder close to the heart) can be used for friendship and lovers. A less common saying is bagai aur di tebing (like bamboo near cliffs). Most of the expressions show that rural Indonesians associate nature and body parts with friendship.
“Want to scratch, have no nails” = You want to do something, but are powerless.
“Have no nails yet, but want to scratch,” is a variation. Belum berkuku hendak menggaruk.
This means you’re out of your league. You’re a deluded upstart.
“Give nails, want to grab,” means you’re greedy. Diberi kuku hendak mencekam. The more power you have, the more corrupt you become.
“Smashing bones” = Do all in one’s power, make every effort.
The phrase implies a continuous, even endless struggle.
If you exert yourself to the fullest, even your bones ache. This applies to a single parent who works and raises a child at the same time.
Though the body rots in the dirt, good deeds will be remembered.
“Fruit of my heart, light of my eyes” = Sweetheart.
Hati means liver, but translates as heart in an emotional context. Jantung hati (heart’s heart) is also the object of one’s affection, or a child.
Buah hati is a lyrical, whimsical way for Indonesian parents to describe their children:
“My darling children, the fruit of my heart,” they say. Anakanakku sayang, buah hatiku.
Panas hati (hot heart) means angry, or jealous.
“My heart grows hot listening to the gossip,” she fumes.
Panas hatiku mendengar gossip itu.
In some restaurants, menus knock off the “h” in hati to clarify that a dish contains liver rather than heart. Ati ayam, for example, is chicken liver.
“Running very fast” = Running like the wind. Helterskelter.
The Malay word birit rarely surfaces on its own in Indonesia these days, but the expression lari terbirit-birit survives. The ter- suffix suggests a repetitive, compulsive action. The expression evokes an image of a person with diarrhea dashing to the toilet for relief, though it applies to anyone who rushes around frantically.
“Bird” = Penis.
In Indonesian villages, little boys used to wander around freely with naked bottoms. Their mothers scolded them:
“Put your bird away, zip it up or it will fly away.”
Masukin burungmu, tutup retsletingnya. Nanti burungmu bisa terbang.
PART II
Power and Conflict
Chapter Four
Authoritarian Rule
Suharto, an army general, took power amid chaos and killing. For a generation, he crushed dissent and pursued political stability and economic growth.
The September 30th Movement.
In the mid-1960s, Indonesia was in turmoil. Prices soared. Students and militias demonstrated. Tension between the military and the communist movement was high. In the midst of it all, President Sukarno tried to balance competing factions, but his power was waning. He was known casually as Bung Karno (Brother Sukarno), yet he had declared himself president for life in 1963.
Early on the morning of Oct. 1, 1965, junior army officers rounded up and killed six senior military generals and one lieutenant in an apparent coup attempt. A seventh general escaped by jumping over the wall of his house and hiding in the bushes.
In a radio broadcast, the rebels called themselves Gerakan September Tiga Puluh, but the military referred to them by the acronym Gestapu. The analogy with the Nazi secret police added notoriety to the plotters.
Maj. Gen. Suharto became the most senior figure in the military after its senior leadership was wiped out. He blamed the uprising on the Indonesian Communist Party. The military instigated a bloody campaign against the communists and their sympathizers, and hundreds of thousands of people were killed in nationwide purges. In some cases, mobs took advantage of the chaos to settle scores, and the ethnic Chinese minority was also targeted.
Decades later, the alleged coup attempt remains a mystery. Who were the ringleaders and who knew what, and when? Was the uprising the work of disgruntled army officers, or were communist political leaders involved? Did they plan to overthrow the president? Did Suharto know about the plot? An independent investigation was never conducted, and Suharto banned publications about the incident. Many of those involved in the events of 1965 have died.
Suharto’s version of those events is enshrined in school history books, as well as films that were shown on television throughout his rule. Some Indonesians say the account should be reassessed. Even after the death of Suharto in 2008 at the age of 66, it remains a sensitive subject.
Poke out eye.
Reports in military-run newspapers after the alleged coup attempt in 1965 vilified the perpetrators. The papers published photographs of cukil mata, a device that communists allegedly used to wrench victims’