Poetry…Tombo Ati, The Heart’s Ease…

One chapter of "The Silent Pilgrimage" is dedicated to Emha’s poetry. Following is an extract from the draft of that chapter. It concerns "Tombo Ati", the Heart's Ease, written hundreds of years ago by Sunan Bonang, one of Java’s nine Wali Songo, the early saints of Islam.

…Finally, a word on the poem, or lyric, which for many people is the first of Emha’s works that they encounter, though it was not written by him. Tombo Ati…

Tombo Ati

Original Javanese version:

Tombo ati iku ono limang perkoro

Kaping pisan, moco Qur'an sa'maknane

Kaping pindo, sholat wengi lakononoKaping telu, wong kang sholeh kumpulono

Kaping papat, wetengiro ingkang luwe

Kaping limo, dzikir wengi ingkang suwe

Salah akwijine sopo biso ngelakoni

Insya Allah Gusti Pangeran ngijabahi

Modern Bahasa Indonesia version:

Ada lima obat penentram jiwa

Cinta Qur'an dengan menyelami maknanya

Sujudkan jiwa raga di tengah sunyi malam

Kepada orang sholeh dirimu senantiasa dekatkan

Adapun terhadap rasa lapar upayakan bertahan

Dan atas keasyikan zhikir jangan pernah bosan

Salah satu saja engkau khusyu' melakukannya

Insya Allah nasibmu akan dirawat oleh Yang Maha Kuasa

English translation:

There are five ways to ease the heart
Love the Qur’an by deepening your understanding of its meaning
Bow in prayer in the silent dead of night
Keep the company of good people
Learn to withstand the pangs of hunger
And never tire of the remembrance of Allah

If you can achieve but one of these…
Surely, God Willing, your fate will be assured by the Allmighty.

In recent times Emha has produced other translations of Tombo Ati in the Sunda, Mandar and other regional dialects. However, as other commercially popular artists and performers have begun to cover the song, it has slipped from Kiai Kanjeng’s repertoire.

In its best-known recorded form; a live version on the album "Kado Muhammad", the song has a lengthy spoken introduction and a large crowd are heard singing the Shalawat Badr. Then Emha, in a long spoken introduction, calls upon all present to free themselves from the pressures they may be facing at home, at work, at the office. He tells the assembled audience to ‘rileks’ (relax), as Kiai Kanjeng’s instruments are heard taking up the refrain to Tombo Ati.