ID Nugroho , The Jakarta Post , New York | Tue, 12/16/2008 11:04 AM | People
The cold teased the group of people in the garden, and some occasionally shivered. "If you can't stand the cold you can come into the house, but don't forget to enjoy a special meal of Indonesian food," Bambang Sunarto told The Jakarta Post.
That Sunday morning, Bambang and dozens of members of Cakra, a Javanese community group in New York, were holding their monthly meeting -- in this case, their first after the Idul Fitri holiday on Oct. 1 and 2.
"It used to be a monthly meeting, but this time it's more special because we are holding the Halal Bihalal (a gathering especially to ask for forgiveness that follows Idul Fitri)," Bambang said.
Cakra was formed at the wish of young Javanese, although it is not exclusively Javanese. There are several other Indonesian community groups in the United States based on race, religion, address or the region where they live.
These include the Indonesian Youth Union Society New York, the Indonesian Downtown Youth (PDI) NY, the Maesa Family Group NY, the Maluku Community Family Association, the Aceh Community Union Society and the Minang Mangimbau Family Union Society.
The name Cakra is an amalgam created from the words cipta (to create), karsa (a wish or intention) and rasa (taste, sensation, feeling, sense). In other words, people who join Cakra must want to create something that is noble because their feelings come from the heart.
"But Cakra also has another meaning. It is a deadly weapon that is endowed with magical power to use in the fight against evil," said Mucharor Zuhri, one of the founders and a former leader of Cakra.
"This means that through Cakra the community members will be released from all sorts of evil temptations that may attract them during their time in America."
When Zuhri decided to move to Houston, Texas, a year ago, Bambang, originally from Wonogiri in Central Java, was chosen as head of the second generation of Cakra, a position with special responsibility, because "we carry the name of Java and Indonesia".
There are now about 1,000 Javanese in New York, which is quite a different situation to when Bambang first came to America in 1973, at the age of 24. "There were only a few Indonesians in America so there was no wish to demonstrate their existence here," he said.
That's hardly surprising: At that time, Bambang was a cook in a restaurant belonging to the Indonesian oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.
Bambang's two children -- Wenny Kartika and Yudha Wirawan, who were both born in the United States -- spend most of their time with their American friends rather than with friends from Indonesia. "Luckily my wife (Enny) and I keep introducing Indonesia to our two children so they haven't forgotten their roots."
Over time, more and more Indonesians migrated to the United States. According to data from the Indonesian Consulate in New York, there are 15,000 legal Indonesian immigrants registered across 15 states. There are also Indonesians who have not registered with the consulate or who may be illegal immigrants.
Bambang and other immigrants who have been in the country for a long time realized there was a good reason to give in to the wishes of the young Javanese who wanted to set up their own community group.
"Pak Zuhri and I, along with other friends, agreed to form Cakra," he said. Bambang's family fully support his involvement in Cakra, and all four always attend meetings together.
Bambang, who is now a member of the committee of Overseas Electors (PPLN) for the 2009 general elections, said people often had the wrong idea about Cakra and kejawaan (being Javanese), which is associated with the organization.
There are those who believe that Cakra is separatist and exclusively for Javanese, a belief, Bambang says, "that is totally not right". Actually, although they use the name of Java, the members of Cakra come from various backgrounds, and include not only ethnic Javanese, but also people from other ethnic groups across Indonesia. Some members are not even Indonesian.
"This usually happens because they married a Javanese person and followed them to join Cakra," Bambang said. Such people are welcome: The diversity brings color to Cakra and makes it more interesting.
The establishment of Cakra has started to create a spirit of togetherness among Indonesian immigrants; the group now has in its membership 63 families with a total of 252 people. "Actually when compared with the number of immigrants in America this is nothing, but didn't we all start from small beginnings?" Bambang said.
Every month, he holds a Cakra meeting, usually in the yard of a religious place or at the house of a Cakra community member. Although the group tries not to be too Javanese, Bambang and the other Cakra leaders do try to insert Indonesian culture (including Javanese) into Cakra activities.
The simplest way to do this is to serve Indonesian food at every meeting: ote-ote (prawn fritters), sate ayam, (chicken satay) urap-urap (vegetables and coconut), bakso (meat balls) and traditional market snacks.
"The food that we serve at the functions can't always be obtained in America, so this says a lot about the longing Indonesian people have for their food," Bambang said. Another way of keeping close to Indonesia is through Media Cakra, an Indonesian-language monthly publication that focuses on Indonesia.
"In Media Cakra, we discuss many things that breathe Indonesia, such as Ken Arok (the 13th century East Javanese leader of the Singosari kingdom), how to understand the Javanese alphabet, the Negara-kertagama (a Majapahit era document), through to recipes and how to make dishes that are specialties in Indonesia."
Even though these things are simple, Cakra manages to leaves a trace of Indonesia in the heart of young Indonesians living in America. "I still feel that I am an Indonesian," said 16-year-old Chita Boedidharma. For Chita, Chakra meetings are worth waiting for. "It's not only a place to hang out, it's also to remind us that we are Indonesians."
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