Manjali and Cakrabirawa, A Combination of Stories About Indonesian History and Culture

Title : Manjali dan Cakrabirawa
Author : Ayu Utami
Publishing : KPG


This time I finished reading a book by my favorite author, Ayu Utami. I have finished a book with the title "Manjali and Cakrabirawa". This book is the opening novel for the " Bilangan Fu" series. For me, this novel is very interesting, because the background is the September 30th Movement/PKI. It was the most historic event in Indonesia.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



The story opens with the story of Marja, Yuda's girlfriend. Marja is very happy to spend her vacation at Parang Jati's house. Parang Jati and Yuda are a pair of friends. However, the two have different personalities. Juda likes to climb. At that time Marja was with Parang Jati while Yuda was practicing rock climbing with the Indonesian security forces (in Indonesia it is called TNI). However, Parang Jati had to accompany the French archaeologist to one of the temples at the foot of Mount Lawu.

For me, the author is very smart in writing the story line. Where Ayu Utami combines historical stories in the Indonesian kingdom with historical history before the Old Order took place. In this story, the temple which will be called Parang Jati comes from the era of the Kahuripan kingdom. The temple is also considered to be part of the tale of Calwanarang, a story about a shaman who disrupted the Kahuripan Kingdom.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



So, what does that have to do with Marja? Marja's full name is Marja Manjali. The word "Manjali" is the last name of the shaman's daughter. The shaman's daughter is Ratna Manjali. In this story, the statue of Shiva Bhairawa was found. This reminds Marja of Cakrabarawa, Sukarno's elite security forces who killed the hero of the revolution.

What happened to Marja, she told her boyfriend, Yuda. At the same time, Yuda told one of his friends who attended the training, Musa Wanara. Musa is a military force who is indoctrinated to hate all the events of G 30 S/PKI. However, Musa has an amulet with a cloth bearing the name Cakrabariwa. According to Musa, the amulet has nothing to do with communism and the PKI (Communist Party in Indonesia).

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



According to Musa, the Cakrabariwa mantra has saved Indonesia from communism. Hearing Marja's story, Musa was determined to have the Shiva Bhairawa statue. Automatically, Moses needed Juda to get the statue. By chance, Marja met an old woman who lived in the middle of the forest. The woman lives near the Calwanarang temple.

The old lady's name had a pure name. Murni is a smart woman who joined "Gerwani" (one of the women's organizations under the communist party in Indonesia). Murni's husband is a member of Cakrabirawa. After the G30S/PKI incident, Murni was imprisoned for 10 years. Pure was also a victim of military rape. During the pure arrest, her husband was shot dead without his body being known. Pure must find her husband's body and bury it. The meeting between Murni and Marja makes its own meaning. Apparently, Marja helped Murni find her husband's body.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah



For me, writers are very creative. Can connect history with Indonesian cultural heritage. That is what makes this novel meaningful. The author introduces a lot of history and seems to give a message to the reader to preserve the historical heritage. This book also tells the story of a love triangle between Marja, Yuda and Jati Parang. However, the love between Parang Jati and Marja did not become a passion. Marja and Parang Jati both fall in love.

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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah


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Picture by Nurdiani Latifah


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About Author

Nurdiani Latifah

My name is Nurdiani Latifah. I currently live in Jakarta – Indonesia, after 25 years I live in Bandung. I am a media staff at an NGO in Indonesia. I have worked in this institution for almost 2 years on issues of women and peace. I had been a journalist in Bandung for 3 years.

If you like his content, don't forget to upvote and leave a comment to show some love. You can also reblog if you want to. Also, don't forget to follow him to be updated with his latest posts.

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