Angharad Lodwick reading ‘there’s no indonesian word for grandparents’ by Natasha Hertanto

there’s no Indonesian word for grandparents
so maybe this can be it.

nenek

sometimes Popo lets my sister and me
stuff tiny cheese cubes into her rich opor gulung
she’d make us count to ten in Mandarin
“air, apa air?” 水
“makan nasi?” 吃米饭
yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī…
pork dough in baking paper
filled to bursting like party POPpers
Popo graduated Chinese Literature at 65, yet

we don’t speak Mandarin

kakek

(before he died)
Kung Kung was a typographer
logo-maker
he’d bopong me on his shoulders
consume coklat & Tom&Jerry
(before he died)
we lived in Australia, kelas dua.
at QVM I begged Mom
for a somersaulting pink bunny
“battery-powered, baterai Alkaline like you”
we left the market, little me sulking
hand-held by Daddy
and Kung Kung ran to us,
pink bunny in hand
sulap poof!ing true behind smoke
sulap poof!ing out of hospital gates
no thirds, karena rokok dan jantung
pink bunny keeps me company at 23

Mema and Pepa— a set
kissed the globe as singers
led an army of angklung players
in batik dan kebaya.
Mema: suara satu
Pepa: suara dua
they smile at each other when they sing
my sister and I memorise
梁山伯與茱麗葉, but

we don’t speak Mandarin

nenek

Mema’s eyeliner forms panda eyes
my eyeliner forms cat eyes
one time, she lifted her bed to find shedded kulit ular
wasn’t fussed to learn a big ass snake roams her palace
“bu jendral”, “Ibu Sukabumi”, “bu Ruslim”— Pepa’s first name
陈慧卿: my Chinese name
陈: marga Daddy
慧: intelligent
卿: “my love” from a partner/army general

kakek

(before he died)
Pepa selalu simpan sisir dikantong.
when I napped at their Sukabumi home
he would pull my toes awake 
POP, POP, POP, POP, POP
wasn’t painful
but I whined and squirmed because it made him cackle
(before he died)
Pepa was in pain, fully suspended by ICU tubes
Mema’s superstitious, she said:
“if he makes it past Monkey,
he’ll be okay.”
our first CNY in the hospital.
he made it to Rooster, so
I flew back to Australia
days later, post-church
Whatsapp, LINE family chats went […]
i rang the hospital
“aku cucunya” /please, i’m his granddaughter/
“oh, pak Ruslim… udah nggak ada. turut berduka cita, kak.”
i learned his time [10] of [:06] death [am] from a stranger

there’s no Indonesian word for grandparents,
i hope this can be it.

i’ve walked the Great Wall: my 8th grade field trip
my sister’s walked the Great Wall: her 8th grade field trip
didn’t feel very ancestral, monumental
just hungry, pegel

we don’t speak mandarin
but we speak artistry
& phone funerals
& rindu
& red hios
burning
[…]

nenek

patience, love for teaching,

kakek

wonder, push life’s envelope!

nenek

ambition, unstoppability.

kakek

voice, soft mischief~

are these in our DNA?
I write.
my sister draws.

“because I'm a Asian woman, and therefore guaranteed to live ‘till I'm a billion.”
— Ali Wong

Glossary

nenek: grandma

opor gulung: Asian-style pork roulade

“air, apa air?” 水: “water, what’s water?” water

“makan nasi?” 吃米饭: “eat rice?” eat rice

yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī…: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

kakek: grandpa

bopong: sit on someone’s shoulder

coklat: chocolate

kelas dua: second grade

baterai: battery

sulap: magic/illusion/sleight of hand

karena rokok dan jantung: because of smoking and heart (cardiac-arrest)

angklung: a musical instrument from West Java made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame

batik: Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth (Wikipedia). In this context, it’s used as “clothes” the noun, not verb.

dan: and

kebaya: an Indonesian traditional blouse-dress combination, traditionally worn by women (Wikipedia). Usually hand-stitched and adorned with sequins, used for special occasions or performances.

suara satu: literal meaning is “first voice”. Soprano singer.

suara dua: literal meaning is “second voice”. Alto/back-up singer/singer who sings the complementary melody to form harmony.

梁山伯與茱麗葉 : “Romeo & Juliet” song by Genie Chuo & Gary Chaw

kulit ular: snake-skin

bu: Mrs. or Ms.

Ibu Sukabumi: mother of Sukabumi (a city in West Java)

jendral: army general

marga: Chinese clan name inherited from fathers

Pepa selalu simpan sisir dikantong: Pepa always keeps a comb in his pocket

gōng xǐ fā cái: Happy Chinese New Year

aku cucunya: I’m his granddaughter

pak Ruslim… udah nggak ada: pak Ruslim is no more/does not exist/has passed away

turut berduka cita, kak: deepest condolences, older sister

pegel: muscle ache or soreness

rindu: missing (as in “I miss you,” not “lost”)

red hios: incense sticks used for Chinese funeral ceremonies

Natasha Hertanto is a Chinese-Indonesian writer, activist, and dog-mom. Her work can be found in Archer, Peril, ABC Life, EWF 2019 & more. Subject matters that fascinate her include mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, cultural diaspora, and fxmale empowerment. She’s currently studying International Development and struggling with her first historical novel. Find her on Twitter and Instagram at @natashahertanto

Angharad Lodwick is a writer, reviewer and podcaster and runs the book review blog Tinted Edges. In 2017, she was selected for the inaugural Literary Bloggers of the Future program with the National Library of Australia and the ACT Writers Centre, and participated in Noted Festival. Angharad was web editor and feature writer for Lost Magazine. She has contributed to Canberra journals Feminartsy and Homer, and produced the monthly book podcast Lost the Plot. She was a contributor to the 2019 Digital Writers' Festival “Urban Internet Myths” series and is the creator of the zine series AnghaRANT.