si tenggang's homecoming

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Mutakhir

si tenggang's homecoming

Written by Julia Abdul Muttalip

Friday, 01 May 2009 18:49

si tenggang’s homecoming

the physical journey that i traverse
is a journey of the soul,
transport of the self from a fatherland
to a country collected by sight and mind,
the knowledge that sweats from it
is a stranger’s knowledge,
from one who has learnt to see, think
and choose between
the changing realities.

it’s true i have growled at my mother and grandmother
but only after having told of my predicament
that they have never brought to reason.
the wife that i begun to love in my loneliness,
in the country that alienated me
they took to their predecisions
i have not entirely returned, i know,
having been changed by time and place,
coarsened by problems
estranged by absence.

iii

but look,
i have brought myself home,
seasoned by confidence,
broadened by land and languages,
i am no longer afraid of the oceans
or the differences between people,

not easily fooled
by words or ideas.

the journey was a loyal teacher
who was never tardy
in explaining cultures or variousness
look, i am just like you,
still malay,
sensitive to what i believe is good,
and more ready to understand
than my brothers.
the contents of these boats are yours too
because i have returned.

travels made me
a seeker who does not take
what is given without sincerity
or that which demands payments from beliefs.
the years at sea and coastal states
have taught me to choose,
to accept only those tested by comparison,
or that which matches the words of my ancestors,
which returns me to my village
and its perfection.

i’ve learnt
the ways of the rude
to hold reality in a new logic,
debate with hard and loud facts.
but i too am humble, respecting,
man and life.

i am not a new man,
not very different
from you;
the people and cities
of coastal ports
taught me not to brood
over a foreign world,
suffer difficulties
or fear possibilities.

i am you,
freed from the village,
. its soils and ways,
independent, because
i have found myself

http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/interview_MHS.htm

si tenggang’s homecoming

by Muhammad haji salleh

1) What does “physical journey” refer to?

The physical journey refers to si tenggang’s journey overseas.

2) What does “A journey of the soul” refer to?

“A journey of the soul” refers to the journey of the mind and heart of the persona.

3) What do lines 5 & 6 mean?

the knowledge that sweats from it

is a stranger’s knowledge

The word sweats suggests that it is not easy to acquire new knowledge. The word stranger means foreign. Now this knowledge is part of his identity.

4) What has this knowledge helped si tenggang to do?

It has helped him to think, see and choose between realities

5) How do his family members feel about the new si tenggang?

His family members do not understand the new si tenggang and they feel that si tenggang has entirely changed.

6) Who understood and accepted him?

His wife

7) si tenggang feels he has “not entirely returned”(line 16). Why is this?

He has physically returned but he is not accepted by his people. He also has a lot of knowledge to share with his people but they refuse to accept the new changes.

8) How has he been changed?

He has been changed by time and place during his travels. He can overcome his problems by himself.

9) What does “the contents of thee boats are yours too” mean (line 37)?

The knowledge he learnt from his travels.

10) Why does si tenggang say that he is “still malay”(line 32)?

He still practise the Malay traditions and believe in what is good.

11) 26.What is si tenggang’s journey compared to (line 28-30)?

A loyal teacher.

12) 27.Why does he say he is “not a new man?”

He has not changed into a different person.

13) In the last stanza (line 55-68), what does he say he has learned?

He has learned not to brood over a foreign world,

He has learned not to be fearful of possibilities.

14) What do lines 64 to 66 mean?

i am you,
freed from the village,
its soils and ways,
si tenggang is still the same person, but he has changed his way of thinking because he has gain more knowledge than his villagers, He has freed his way of thinking which was narrower before his travels.

15) What does he say he has become in lines 67 to 68? What does he mean?

independent, because
i have found myself

He has become more independent because he has discovered his strength and weaknesses.