Si Wayan Pedoman (Dijkman 2014)

Below article is a tribute to advisor and informant Si Wayan Pedoman of the Jelantik family, born 1934, who resides at Ped, Nusa Penida.

Image: Si Wayan Pedoman & daughter Ni Ketut Suci Astini ('Ucik') at hotel Ring Sameton Inn, Ped, Nusa Penida, Bali - Indonesia, July 2014

In around 1875, at which time many people from mainland Bali were exiled to Nusa Penida, the land owned by the Jelantik family stretched out from Nyuh (northwest), to Toyapakeh, Sebunubus, Klumpu (south) up to the north at Telaga, and measured around 100 hectares. It probably concerned 'surplus land' (tanah ibah), i.e. land de facto owned by the Jelantik family but legally issued in the name of other people. There was a maximum amount of land anyone could own at the time. Apparently, the practice of 'legally' issuing one's land in somebody else's name was common practice as otherwise the land in question would fall to the government. The problem was that there were hardly any official regulations as to the extent of land anyone could own and therefore, amidst uncertainty, problems over land ownership arose. The Jelantik family was subject to envy by many and faced poisoning and other indecorous issues. As a consequence, the Jelantik family including teenager Si Wayan Pedoman fled to Lombok. Only one member of the family remained in Nusa Penida.

Return from Lombok to Nusa Penida

Pedoman returned to Nusa Penida from Lombok on 23 September 1957, and became village head of Ped in 1959, before Tangkas did. He was head of the village of Ped from 1959 to 1963, and was succeeded by I Wayan Regeh (born 1920). From 13 August 1984 to September 2006, he was head of the Committee of Ped Temple (Panitia Pura Ped). Not long after this, he retired as a civil servant and currently lives at Ped, a respectable 80 years of age, but alive and healthy.

Duman turns Pedoman

The name 'Pedoman' would logically seem to suggest 'compass' or 'orientation' (Indonesian), but in reality originates from the word 'duman' (sperm). The reason for this mystifying name is found in history. In many legendary tales, probably based on the myth of 'Dukuh Jumpungan', we find the name of Jelantik Bogol (unarmed), who in around 1630 AD was sent over to Nusa Penida to defeat the infamous and cruel King Dukut (Bungkut) during the reign of King Waturenggong at Gelgel, mainland Bali. He was the son of Sulatri, someone who became pregnant without a husband ('keluarga aib') as her husband, possibly after conception, had left for Pasuruan (Java) and died in the battle. Previously, Arya Jelantik Pedoman was called Ki Jelantik Pandum, and 'duman' was the sperm of which Jelantik Bogol was created in absence of his father. So the name 'duman' or 'Pandum' eventually became 'Pedoman'. However, it is also possible that this name was given sometime later, after Sulatri, a woman of modest background, possibly at Sompang, Nusa Penida, was left pregnant after she had been wooed by Jelantik Bogol, of the much higher warrior caste, after having defeated King Dukut. This latest version of the story does not leave much room for interpretation, as Sulatri was Jelantik's (illegal) mistress of a lower caste.

Jelantik family

Si Wayan Pedoman carries the title 'Si', a different version of the noble title 'Gusti' as a consequence of one of his forefathers having married outside of the warrior caste 'Arya', an originally Javanese title given to those belonging to the second-highest Balinese caste after the Brahmanas (priestly caste). His first wife was Si Ni Ktut Rai, with whom he had two daughters (Ni Luh Putu Damayanti & Ni Made Kantini) and a son named I Nyoman Sukarta, also called 'Pak Man' (Ped, Nusa Penida). With his second wife Ni Made Ayu Karcita he had nine children: 1) daughter Ni Luh Ayu Sukiant; 2) son I Nengah Suati (deceased); 3) son I Nyoman Oka Jelantik; 4) daughter Ni Ketut Sulianti; 5) son I Putu Sugiartha; 6) son I Made Putra Giri Nusaana; 7) son I Nyoman Karyawan; 8) daughter Ni Ketutu Suci Astini, also known as 'Uci', Nusa Penida and 9) son I Gede Nakti Suarda. Two of his children, DekTra (I Made Giri Nusaana) and Ucik (Suci Astini) currently run the hotel in Ped called 'Ring Sameton Inn'. Another Jelantik family member in Ped is Gusti Made Kerthayasa (apparently, a descendant from the Jelantik family at Tojan, Klungkung, mainland Bali), who is Ni Ktut Rai's younger brother, and therefore Pedoman's brother-in-law. Kerthayasa, some years ago, organised his title to be raised from 'Si' to 'Gusti' and composed a 'prasasti' (brass plate inscriptions) called 'Sompang Inscriptions'.

Hero amidst Communist PKI political upheaval

Many consider Pedoman somewhat of a hero in Nusa Penida. Secretly, he gave shelter to people accused of communist (PKI: Partai Komunis Indonesia; Indonesian Communist Party) sympathies, as many of them were simply unwitting followers (pengikut, ikut-ikutan), in order to hide them from the police and the nationalists (PNI: Partai Nasional Indonesia; Indonesia's National Party) during the infamous 1965-1966 events, during which allegedly about one million people were killed all over Bali. Despite his endeavours, many were murdered in front of present-day FNPF location, which formerly was a dense mangrove area ('rawa-rawa' or 'prapat' is a kind of mangrove). This term is often confused with the Indonesian word 'rawah', which means 'swamp'; the northern coastal area was never a swamp. Hundreds of people suspected of communist sympathies were gathered at Ped from all over Nusa Penida in various, subsequent phases. They were driven out of their homes, their possessions were destroyed and their houses burnt down after widespread hatred surfaced in around December 1965. They were simply slaughtered, their bodies hacked to pieces by using padang (Balinese?: 'the light of justice'), 'kléwang' (single-edged sabre; sword with brad, curved blade) and 'tombak' (spear; lance) and their corpses were buried there in mass graves.

In 2006, some of these graves were discovered at the FNPF site at Ped during digging activities for the construction of houses at approximately 1 metre depth at exactly the same place where some decades earlier others had been buried as well. The burial sites of massacred exiled prisoners (1850-1890) were found at exactly the same location at some 2 metres depth.

Source

Pedoman, Si Wayan & his daughter Ni Ketut Suci Astini (Ucik), personal comunication/interviews, Ped, Nusa Penida, Bali - Indonesia, July 2014