Project Back to the Villages III meets Jesral Tambun

(Terjemahan dibawah)

Last night I received a series of excited posts on Facebook. Jesral Tambun had discovered salaon, a Batak indigo plant, in the area where he lives, close to Porsea. It was a plant growing wild in uncultivated land and his questioning of elderly people about indigo led him to his discovery. He was thankful to Lasma Sitanggang for having asked him whether indigo plants grew in the area. He is thinking of cultivating the plant beside the house that he is building.

Photo by Jesral Tambun

Photo by Jesral Tambun

 The last stop of Proyek Pulang Kampung on the way home to Medan was in Ompu Okta’s village. Jesral Tambun had helped MJA Nashir during the last filming session for Rangsa ni Tonun, so Nashir contacted him and let him know we were coming.

Jesral helped Nashir on the last day of filming Rangsa ni Tonun in Ompu Okta's village. We see the pipisan or cotton depitter than we purchased in Bali because we couldn't find one in the Batak area. It is strikingly similar to the Batak variant.

Jesral meets Proyek Pulang Kampung

It was my first meeting with Jesral. I had heard about him from his uncle, Nestor Rico Tambunan. Jesral is very interested in Batak culture, he had said. Might there be a way to include him in our activities? I did not forget this question and I was excited about meeting Jesral.

We all ate lunch together in Ompu Okta’s home (just as we had done when shooting Rangsa ni Tonun) and shared stories. 

Later we went to visit the house that he is building for his future.

Jesral's house is under construction. In the background is a carved and painted plank that he is restoring.

We had hoped that Jesral would be able to join us on the Pulang Kampung III journey but circumstances had intervened and made it impossible. I quickly discovered what an asset he would have been. He is fully dedicated to making a life in the village and enriching it with explorations of his culture. He is particularly interested in wood and has apprenticed so that he can make gorga, Batak painted woodcarving.

Jesral Tambun (Photo borrowed from Jesral's Facebook site)

He is an orphan; both of his parents died when he was still young. He is not wealthy by any means, but he has an extraordinarily nice collection of textiles that he can wear to adat, all purchased with his savings – quite remarkable in this day when the Batak are selling off their textiles! His textiles are new, but the finest modern ones that money can buy. There is a picture of him on Facebook wearing his textiles when he performed the special role of requesting music from the Batak indigenous orchestra at the TB SilalahiCentre. He loves the indigenous textiles of his culture and hopes to find a wife who is a weaver. He senses that he will be happy to come home to a woman who  is weaving. What a remarkable statement by this passionate young man.

His interests are broad and he has a lot of energy. I am struck by how fervently he plunged into the exploration of indigo and his enthusiasm when sharing his discovery. I asked him if he could also explore the mangkudu/bangkudu plant that the Batak used to make red dye. The use of this dye was particularly strong in his region. I also asked if there were any weavers left who could make the extraordinary supplementary warp patterning (jugia) such as in his textiles. The weaver of his textiles is now deceased. Was she the last? It will be through our contacts in the Batak area, contacts like Jesral, that our knowledge will grow.

Jesral joined Proyek Pulang Kampung III on the last day and the last stop, but I sense that he will remain with the project always in his heart and in his activities. The past of Batak culture will never return, but in people like Jesral Tambun, the culture will survive and will perhaps become vibrant again. It will bubble with enthusiasm and grow, connecting with the outside world in a new way.

This post was translated by Jesral's aunt, Rita Tambunan, a few days after it appeared.

Proyek Pulang Kampung III: Bertemu Jesral Tambun

Semalam saya menerima sejumlah postingan menarik di Facebook: Jesral Tambun 

telah menemukan Salaon, sejenis tumbuhan tropis yg dipakai masyarakat Batak 

untuk memberi warna biru, di wilayah di  mana ia tinggal di Porsea. Salaon adalah 

tumbuhan liar dan keingintahuan Jesral akan tumbuhan ini membuatnya bertanya-

tanya pada orang-orang tua yg kemudian membantunya menemukan Salaon. 

Jesral berterima kasih pada Lasma Sitanggang yang merangsang rasa ingin tahunya 

tentang keberadaan Salaon di daerah ia tinggal. Sekarang Jesral berpikir untuk 

menanam Salaon di samping  rumah yg sedang dibangunnya.

Perhentian terakhir dari Proyek Pulang Kampung, sebelum kembali ke Medan, 

adalah kampung tempat  tinggal Ompu Okta. Jesral Tambun membantu MJA Nashir 

dalam sesi terakhir pembuatan film ‘Rangsa  ni Tonun’. Karena itu, Nashir 

menghubungi Jesral dan memberi tahu bahwa kami akan berkunjung.

Itu adalah kali pertama saya bertemu dengan Jesral. Saya telah mendengar tentang 

Jesral dari pamannya, Nestor Rico Tambunan. Jesral punya perhatian besar pada 

budaya Batak, kata Nestor.  Apakah mungkin untuk melibatkan ia pada aktivitas 

kami? Saya tak pernah lupa akan pertanyaan itu dan karenanya menjadi sangat 

senang akan segera bertemu Jesral.

Kami makan siang bersama di rumah Ompu Okta (seperti pernah kami lakukan 

waktu pengambilan film Rangsa ni Tonun) dan berbagi cerita. Setelah itu, kami 

berkunjung ke rumah yang sedang dibangun Jesral untuk masa depannya.

Sebenarnya, kami berharap Jesral dapat bergabung dengan kami pada perjalanan 

Pulang Kampung III, tetapi ada masalah yg membuat hal itu gagal terwujud. Saat 

bertemu dengannya, saya segera mengetahui bahwa Jesral sungguh asset luar 

biasa; ia demikian berusaha untuk hidup di desanya dengan berusaha 

mengeksplorasi budaya Batak. Jesral sungguh mengabdi untuk desanya dengan 

berusaha menggali budaya Batak. Jesral sangat tertarik pada kerajinan kayu dan ia 

dapat membuat Gorga, ukiran kayu khas Batak.

Jesral anak yatim-piatu; kedua orangtuanya meninggal saat ia masih sangat muda. 

Ia tidak kaya, tetapi Jesral punya sejumlah koleksi pakaian layak pakai yang khusus 

ia kenakan untuk acara adat. Pakaian itu ia beli dengan tabungannya. Pakaiannya 

baru. Ini adalah fotonya di akun Facebook dengan baju yg ia kenakan khusus saat 

melakukan pertunjukan musik Batak di TB Silalahi Centre. Jesral mencintai kain 

tradisional Batak dan berharap suatu hari nanti dapat beristrikan seorang 

perempuan penenun. Ia membayangkan betapa bahagianya pulang ke rumah 

bertemu dengan istri yg sedang menenun. 

Sebuah pernyataan yg luar biasa dari seorang anak muda!


Jesral punya perhatian terhadap banyak hal dan ia punya energi besar. Saya amat 

terkesan bagaimana ia demikian berusaha menemukan tumbuhan seperti Salaon itu 

dan antusiasme-nya untuk berbagi penemuan itu. Saya berkata padanya siapa tahu 

ia juga bisa menemukan Mangkudu/Bangkudu, tanaman yg digunakan orang Batak 

untuk mendapatkan warna merah. Mangkudu/Bangkudu ini biasa dipakai orang di 

daerah Porsea dan sekitarnya. Saya juga bertanya pada Jesral apakah kira-kira 

masih ada penenun yang dapat membuat Jugja, ornamen luar biasa, seperti yang 

ada pada koleksi kain yg dimiliki Jesral. Jesral bilang, penenun kain yg dimilikinya 

sudah meninggal. Apakah ia orang terakhir yg bisa membuat Jugja? Saya kira kita 

akan mendapat jawabannya dari orang-orang seperti Jesral.Jesral bergabung 

dengan Proyek Pulang Kampung III pada hari dan perhentian terakhir kami. Tetapi 

saya merasa ia akan tetap melanjutkan terus proyek ini di dalam hati dan 

aktivitasnya. Budaya Batak tak akan pernah lagi seperti dulu, tetapi dalam orang-

orang seperti Jesral Tambun, budaya luhur ini akan tetap lestari dan, mungkin, 

akan berjaya lagi. Antusiasme dan perkembangan dan upaya penyebarannya ke 

dunia mungkin mewujudkan harapan itu.