The Rise of the Jago in Colonial times
Rapid Journal Vol 6, No. 1 (Book 19, 2001: 40 – 41)
© O'ong Maryono
www.kpsnusantara.com
How and why did someone become a jago? Until now, this question remains unanswered. It may be that someone became a jago because of his heritage.... The author is of the opinion that physical prowess, bravery and a mastery of mystical knowledge were the primary requirements to become a jago. A person was acknowledged as a jago if he could endure a long period of training. This training consisted of assisting experienced jago in their daily activities and their burglaries. Other than that, a would-be jago was required to ngelmu (be an apprentice or disciple) to a guru or kiai (religious teacher). In fact, this was done not only by jago, but was a stage of learning for any adolescent at that time. Furthermore, a youth would improve his skills by studying self-defence techniques of pencak silat. Still, each would-be jago followed a specialised type of ngelmu according to his own personal needs, such as ilmu sirep (hypnotic knowledge),26 panglimunan (power to make yourself and others invisible), or ilmu kekebalan (power to become invincible, invulnerable to attack). After studying from various teachers, the aspiring jago ended his apprenticeship by spending a period of time alone, as a hermit. If he succeeded in all this, he would then undergo an initiation ritual (Schulte Nordholt 1983:668; see also van Till 1996:462)
Many poems and folk tales portrays the would-be jago as
learning to recite verses from the Qur'an and practising pencak silat
in the pesantren at an early age. Once he had mastered the necessary
skills and knowledge, a jago would rise up to fight against the oppression
of the Dutch colonial administration, and rob from those in power. Part
of the booty was distributed to the poor or donated to build a village
mosque (Rahmat Ali 1993). This is really no different from the epics
of Robin Hood, who fought in England for social justice by stealing
from the rich to give to the poor.
A jago would also honour the principles of noble conduct which are central
to the practice of pencak silat trying to defuse confrontation, attacking
only in case of an emergency, and being very careful in avoiding any
unnecessary violence or even killing anybody. Even though violence can't
always be avoided when facing an enemy, it should only be used for a
just cause and as a means to alleviate the suffering of others. Armed
with simple weapons, the jago would face capture and subsequent punishment
by the Dutch, namely to be brought before a firing squad. As the story
goes, although the jago's enemies (i.e. armed Dutch troops or police)
would carry far more sophisticated weapons than our jago, they would
let themselves be overpowered and become very confused, as the jago
magically escapes time after time; The Dutch would have to suffer many
material losses before succeeding in capturing and executing the jago
thus regaining control of the situation and restoring law and order.
What is interesting is that even after death, a jago could still strike
fear into the hearts of those in power. The message conveyed here is
that a smart character, who has mastered the skills of pencak silat,
will die a noble death, defending God and the Truth, as a hero.
In popular imagination, the jago would also have a strong feeling of
solidarity with the oppressed community and would be using pencak silat
skills to defend the rights of the so-called "wong cilik",
or the poor and powerless, against the abuse of power by, in this case,
the rich foreign (i.e. European) landlords and the colonial government.
The theme of the jago as a heroic defender of the rights of the wong
cilik is found in various forms of theatre, particularly in Java. For
example, in the Ludruk-theatre in East Java the stories and actions
of local jago --like Sakera the Madurese hero, Sarip Tambak Yoso, a
jago who controlled Surabaya and its surroundings, Sawung Galing, a
jago from Pasuruan-- are staged. Similarly, in Lenong Betawi (a form
of popular theatre found in Jakarta and the surrounding areas) the stories
of a number of regional jago, among others Si Jampang, Si Pitung and
his band, Mat Item, Ronda, Si Angki, Si Panjang and Mira (the "female
lion" from Marunda) are performed. Similarly, the actions of 'Javanese
Robin Hoods' who have become legendary have been immortalised in literature.
Tales of Sakera, Sarip Tambak Yoso, or Sawung Galing and Si Pitung,
a Betawi jago whose influence spread far and wide throughout the archipelago,
have been passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation
and have been developed into books and TV serials (van Till 1996).
Nevertheless, most historians believe that the jago were an extension
of the colonial system in rural areas, playing a dual role in society.
On the one hand, the regency apparatus (regent bestuur) used the jago
to assert their interests. Using their martial art skills, jago were
to safeguard their village against criminal attacks by other jago, since
at that time there were no police force in rural areas. They were also
charged with collecting taxes as determined by the colonial government
and with driving farmers into forced labour, by physical force if necessary.
Thanks to the jago, village chiefs and regents could please the central
authorities and be rewarded by them. In return, the jago were released
from all kinds of obligations imposed on village residents. On the other
hand, outside of their village, the jago used their pencak silat and
kanuragan skills to undertake criminal acts, such as stealing goods
(especially animals) from villagers, burning down homes, or torturing
their victims. This dual function meant that the jago were simultaneously
protectors and oppressors of the people. Although frequently regarded
as heroes in their own communities, in other villages they were greatly
feared (Schulte Nordholt 1983.
The allure of the jago was not limited to Java. Similar functionaries
also existed in other islands of the archipelago. The most famous example
is perhaps the 'parewa' from the Minangkabau area (West Sumatra). The
term 'parewa' comes from the word 'prawira', a soldier of the Pagaruyung
empire, which was supported by the Dutch Government in the Padri war
against Ka-selarasan Bodi Chaniago. After the war, the parewa were used
by the Dutch to control and collect taxes from the people. Although
the local people respected them as martial arts masters, their behaviour
was considered to deviate from social norms. As in this description
by a social scientist, parewa were:
a group of people who did not follow tradition and by the orthodox community were considered to be an affront to teachings of Islam. However, they were entrusted with the duty of guarding the mosque. Parewas made a living through gambling, cock fighting and the like. They were experts in pencak and silat and possessed a wide social network. Parewa from different villages respected and admired each other. They would defend their allies to death. (Anderson 1972:8)
The phenomenon of the jago and parewa is interesting to
study because it reflects one of the fundamental changes within pencak
silat. At the very least, supernatural and martial arts were no longer
used by a group of people to achieve spiritual perfection, rather they
were 'misused' for the purpose of material gain. The ideal of the pesilat
as a guardian of life's sacred values was no longer upheld during the
Dutch-East Indies era, because most pencak silat experts preferred to
work on the side of the colonialists rather than defend the weak. Even
though in the literature they are honoured as the 'heroes of the oppressed
people', actually they often were hit men for the state apparatus, and
many of their deeds flew in the face of traditional customs and values.
As a result, pencak silat became connected with immoral acts, and began
to be viewed as a tool for evil and cruelty.27 Although its good name
was tainted, as will be described in the next chapter, pencak silat
would make a comeback during the national awakening era, thanks to the
hard work of a group of masters who fought in the interests of the people.
References
Anderson, B.
1972 Java in a time of revolution; Occupation and Resistence, 1944-1946.
Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press
Till, M. van
1995 In search of Si Pitung. The History of an Indonesian Legend. Bijdragen
KITLV, no. 152 (III), pp-461-482
Schulte Nordholt, H.
1983 De Jago in the schaduw: Misdaad en 'Orde' in the koloniale staat
op Java. De Gids, no. 146 (8/9), pp. 664-475
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