Word Arranger from Teluk Keriting

Name: Word Arranger from Teluk Keriting
Uploaded: 2021-03-13T03:57:30Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: People know Muhammad Ali, 80, as a maestro of pantuns. However, he prefers to call himself Pak Tua (the Old Man) who likes to make friends with words.

People know Muhammad Ali, 80, as a maestro of pantuns. However, he prefers to call himself Pak Tua (the Old Man) who likes to make friends with words.

Pandu Wiyoga

· 6 minutes read

People know Muhammad Ali, 80, as a maestro of pantuns. However, he prefers to call himself Pak Tua (the Old Man) who likes to make friends with words. Ali can take words from his surroundings and then in an instant arrange them into a melodious pantun.

"Kapal baru temberang baru (The new ship the new lie)/ Baru sekali masuk Melaka (Just once enter Melaka)/ Abang baru adik pun baru (New brother and new younger brother/ Baru hari ini bertemu muka (Just meet face to face today)," greeted Muhammad Ali with a witty expression and a friendly smile from the verandah of his house, Wednesday (10/2/2021).

Pak Tua, who likes to joke, said he was born in Turki (Turkey). He laughed seeing his interlocutor look confused. "Turki is the short for Teluk Keriting," he said, laughing.

Teluk Keriting is the name of a waterfront area in Tanjung Pinang city, Riau Islands. When he was born, his parents gave him the name Muhammad Ali. When he was a child, he was round and his skin was too yellow for a Malay person. So, people called him Jepun. "Gradually the sound of \'pun\' in the Japanese word changed to Pon. So, until now, people call me Ali Pon," he said.

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In his residence, Tanjung Pinang, Ali is the most famous pantun composer. He is like a walking dictionary where at any time he can find words with rhymes in harmony to be assembled into pantuns.

"I know pantuns from my mother who often recited pantuns and sang poems for bedtime. Maybe that childhood experience stuck in my heart until I am an adult," said Ali.

Nonetheless, Ali only had the opportunity to recite pantuns in public when he was almost thirty years old. Starting by a mere chance. At that time, in 1970, the village pantun reciter who had been invited by his neighbor for a wedding ceremony suddenly could not show up. He was then asked to replace the pantun reciter who was unable to be present.

Incidentally, at that time, most of those who came to the area were Javanese.

Initially, Ali was doubtful because previously he was only fond of making pantuns to have jokes with his friends. Incidentally, at that time, most of those who came to the area were Javanese. Ali then thought for a moment.

"Tinggi-tinggi batang pinang (The tall areca stem)/Lebih tinggi lagi batang gajus (Taller is the gajus steam)/Nampak di luar begitu tenang (It looks calm outside)/ Tapi hati di dalam nak meletus (But the heart inside is about to explode)." The pantun spontaneously slipped from Ali’s mouth. At first glance, the pantun described the feeling of the groom who was tense to face ijab Kabul (solemnization of a marriage). In fact, the pantun reflected Ali\'s nervous feelings on stage.

Ali laughed as he told reminiscing about that time. After that, he quickly became known as an accomplished pantun reciter. Since then, almost every weekend, he had to tour Tanjung Pinang to fulfill the invitation to host cultural events for the Malay people.

Maestro

In Tanjung Pinang and other areas in Riau Islands in general, pantun is very much embedded in the life of the Malay people. Pantun permeates various types of Malay arts, such as dialogues of characters in traditional theater and lyrics of songs that accompany traditional dances. Later, the officials had to recite the pantuns at official events.

When there was news about the visits by the president or ministers from Jakarta, the aides to the regional head would come to Ali\'s house. This was a sign that the regional head asked Ali to make a poem for him.

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Ali is skillful at making pantuns very quickly for various situations, from welcoming guests to escorting the bride and groom to the aisle. He said, the inspiration for the pantuns came from living in a close relationship with the natural environment. Sampiran (the first and second lines) of the pantuns are picked from the green of the trees and the blue of the sea. Meanwhile, the contents of the pantuns are extracted from the deepest meaning of the human life story.

According to Ali, the pantun tradition is not limited to officials or cultural observers. Pantun Melayu even breathes and finds true life among ordinary people. "Pantun, like language, is the property of all people. The upper, middle, or lower class, all are free to recite pantuns to convey their hearts honestly," he said.

Pantun activities were carried out at the end of the week with the knowledge of the school headmaster.

From 1979 to 2001, Ali taught English at a public junior high school. Pantun activities were carried out at the end of the week with the knowledge of the school headmaster.

Support from the work environment and family enabled Ali to faithfully care for this Malay oral tradition. In 2007, the Culture and Tourism Ministry awarded Ali the Cultural Award and Maestro of Traditional Arts of Pantun. The award was given after he devoted his life as a pantun reciter for 36 years. "Actually, I do not know why I was thought to deserve the award. However, I am happy, at least it shows that what I am doing is useful for other people," said Ali.

https://cdn-assetd.kompas.id/r3_wL8X_5KdPgNcSgOBRihsgtuY=/1024x768/https%3A%2F%2Fkompas.id%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F11%2F20191101hei-7_1572612179.jpg — Kompas
Writing in the form of a poem adorns the pier on Penyengat Island, Riau Islands Province as seen on Thursday (17/10/2019).

Now, Ali has started rarely appearing on stage to recite the pantuns. The retired teacher\'s hearing is no longer good. However, he is still diligent in writing down his pantuns to be published in books so that his work can be eternal. Apart from writing pantun books, Ali said that he had no other wishes. The thing he has been waiting for a lifetime had come true in mid-December 2020. Pantun is recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).