The Patter of the Trees of Sorrow

The ancestors of the archipelago and traditional people believed that the myth of the forbidden forest had saved the forest.

SALOMO

Putu Fadjar Arcana

Have you ever heard trees-trees sad? A queen fig tree (Ficus albipilaMiq) which grows quite far from the pedestrian path at Bogor Botanical Gardens shed tears when his body was slashed. On its beautiful stem are written human names, such as Adnan, DR, Dul, Dongkal, and Fikri. On another part of the piping stem there is the name Robi (heart mark) Regita. Right above the writing there is a symbol in the form of a house visible from the front. Further up, there is also a faint incision of the word Divine.

For some reason, our friends Diah, Thomas, and Ari, who happen to be practitioners and consultants of spiritual psychology, scheduled a visit to the Bogor Botanical Gardens from the beginning. Thomas, in fact, is known as a practitioner of Sukyo Mahikari, a discipline that uses divine light within oneself to revitalize spirit, mind, and body, and nurture the soul. Its practitioners believe that light represents divine wisdom, love, and will.

When I stopped the buggy car at the edge of the pedestrian path, Thomas hurriedly walked towards a large, tall tree with a flat bottom trunk. I was interested in seeing the beauty of the tree which looked unique compared to other trees.

A moment later, cuts from sharp objects began to appear. I don't know, maybe it was a stone or knife or cutter, which injured the tree trunk. Even words like Divine seem to have been written a long time ago. The tree, which we later learned was called the queen fig, was trying to heal itself. Slowly he covered the letters that had been roughly inscribed on his body.

Thomas shook his head. As an expert in transpersonal psychology, he could hear the tree sad. After that, it suddenly started drizzling. There was a roar from a river not far from our location, accompanied by the rustling of leaves hit by drops of drizzle. Is that the sad news we received today?

The Ficus albipila we visited was still young. Maybe he's not 100 years old yet. A few meters away there is the same tree, which was planted side by side with a copper meranti tree (Shorea leprosula Miq). According to records, both trees were planted in 1866, meaning they are now old reached 158 years!

It's proven that trees can surpass the average human lifespan, right? Those two trees are now known as the "couple tree". They are different species: fig and copperwood, but they can live "together" without hurting each other for hundreds of years. What about humans?

PUTU FAJAR ARCANA

Queen fig tree (Ficus abipila) was injured due to vandalism in the Bogor Botanical Gardens, Friday (12/4/2024).

Trees are much more friendly and patient in facing the age's blows compared to humans. They never want to be eternal by damaging the existence of other creatures. Their duty is to protect and provide for all beings.

Remember again the story of Siddharta Gautama who meditated under the bodhi tree, which later gave birth to the term bodhisattva. This term refers to a sincere desire to attain enlightenment by dedicating oneself to all suffering beings. That's why one of the most important prayers (mantras) in Buddhist teachings reads: sabbe satta bhavantu sukhitatta (may all beings be happy).

On a fig tree in the middle of the forest, Lubdaka recited prayers throughout the night of the dead moon (Tilem Kepitu) to obtain salvation and atone for all his sins as a hunter who had killed many animals. He received enlightenment from Lord Shiva, who meditated right under the fig tree and entered heaven because of his steadfastness throughout the night. Until now, Tilem Kepitu is celebrated as the holy day of Shiva Ratri, a day of worship of Lord Shiva, to atone for all sins.

Devotees who perform a night of penance at various holy places usually chant the mantra: Om namah Shivaya, I ask for protection, guidance and safety from Lord Shiva.

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"If you can, live as a pule tree," said my father when I was 9 years old.

"Isn't that a grave mark? I'm afraid," I said spontaneously.

"Many people are mistaken," continued the speaker. "Pule trees grow in spooky places because they protect themselves while also providing shelter for birds, civets, and snakes."

"Why does it have to be a pule tree?" I'm curious.

“Aside from being a protector, pule is also a natural healer. He prepared the entire skin as medicine..."

"What medicine? Is there medicine for fear, sir?" I'm even more curious.

"Pule provides its skin to grow the skin of other creatures..."

For a moment I was silent. You really made me think. How can a tree grow its skin to replace the skin of another creature?

"So, pule skin is transferred to the skin of another creature, is that so?"

“Nothing like that. "Pule skin after processing can heal wounds and replace skin lost due to wounds," emphasized Mr. What you mean, babakan is nothing other than peeling pule skin.

PUTU FAJAR ARCANA

The cactus tree in the Mexican Garden at the Bogor Botanical Gardens had to bear injuries due to vandalism by visitors, Friday (12/4/2024).

Moreover, according to the speaker, extract from pule bark can be taken to cure fever, lower blood pressure, as well as treat vertigo and malaria. So don't be surprised if in Bali you find almost all pule tree bark being peeled off.

"If it continues to be peeled, won't the pule tree die?" I asked.

"Only trees of the Pule class are willing to sacrifice selflessly. Later he will slowly heal himself."

"But trees can be sad, right, Dad?"

"Sadness is worth living because it is useful for other creatures," concluded Mr.

The sadness of a pule tree is different from the river redgum tree (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Australia, which is more than 400 years old. Until 2015, the condition of this tree became increasingly critical because it experienced vandalism. Some of the skin tissue on the trunk was brutally peeled off by the perpetrator of the vandalism act. In fact, the river redgum tree was a "silent" witness to the separation of Victoria from the State of New South Wales (NSW) in 1850. For this reason, this old tree is often referred to as the "separation tree".

Although various efforts have been made by the managers of the Royal Melbourne Botanic Garden, they still failed to connect and grow its network of skin. The Director of the Royal Melbourne Botanic Garden, Tim Entwisle, said that his staff had already found the tree dying. "The tree bloomed and bore fruit abundantly, that was a bad sign," Professor Entwisle told the media.

When witnessing such behavior of trees, he added, it is a sign that the tree is trying to produce more seeds. "Because it knows it will soon die," said Entwisle.

That statement reminded me of a Jamaican guava tree owned by my neighbor in Bintaro. Perhaps because they believe in the logic of "cutting" the tree trunk can accelerate fruit-bearing, my neighbor did it without any legitimate reason. True enough, the Jamaican guava tree yielded heavily with fruits as many as 2-3 times. Our residential sweepers usually compete to get the dark red Jamaican guava.

Do you know the fate of that tree now? After bearing fruit for the last time, about two years ago, its leaves began to fall off, its branches dried up, and now its entire trunk is decaying. After giving fruit for years, the tree now seems to be standing on a desert. Its body is fragile, dry, easily broken, and (perhaps) soon to rot and die.

Trees take years to heal from cuts. According to Bapak, the pule tree's bark can only be harvested again after 10 years of “hibernation”. During that time, the tree expends all of its life force to produce new bark, layer by layer, until a protective bark forms on the outside.

"This cactus tree's wounds cannot heal," said Thomas.

We together visited the Mexico Park in the eastern part of the Bogor Botanical Gardens. Inside, there is a complete collection of cactus trees of various types. Unfortunately, most of the cactus stems and leaves were cut by the visitors. They want to create a kind of "legacy" or a kind of "nostalgia" to prove that they have been to that place and exist.

PUTU FAJAR ARCANA

Thomas, the Sukyo Mahikari enthusiast, is contemplating under the wounded queen fig tree, Friday (12/4/2024), at the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

Just take a look, there are names of people like Emi Padang, Sailan, Eja, Dilca, Addin, Marsya, Alex, and Wiany. On other tree trunks, there are inscriptions of Oxalist, Rizal, Aam (heart picture) Tia, Perdi (heart picture) Tati, and Yudha. These names can be extended to other cactus trees, such as Adel, Oki, Zulfana, Lidya, Ayah, and Adit.

Is this action cool? In history, vandalism is the act of destroying works of art, such as statues in the city of Rome during the ancient Roman era around 455 AD. The Vandal people who invaded Rome were considered the most responsible for the destruction of works of art. British poet John Dryden wrote in 1694 that the Vandal and Goth tribes were rough northern peoples. The term vandalism did not appear until 1794 by Bishop Blois named Henri Gregoire when the destruction of works of art occurred during the French Revolution.

The destruction did not just involve scribbling, but also amputating and even destroying art objects. Recently, the term vandalism has become popular in the downtown areas of a city, where there is graffiti-like graffiti. The graffiti did not just write the names of the scribblers, but many contained statements or protests as an expression of dissatisfaction.

The unfortunate thing in Indonesia is that both city walls and trees are subject to vandalistic acts during major political events such as presidential and legislative elections, or regional elections. Campaign team members for presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the name of democracy stick and even nail campaign banners on city walls and trees. In some areas, there are cases of vandalism that harm the growth of trees.

The question is simple, are we continuing the destructive actions that were carried out centuries ago by the Vandal nation? If the answer is "yes", it can be certain that human beings have never experienced "progress", let alone "improvement" in their daily behavior. Acts of violence that cause harm have become "actions" that are considered acceptable if they have a national context.

Democracy has become a sacred word to justify a violation. What distinguishes prospective officials from "flirtatious" young people who carve their names on cactus trees?

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I heard the trees in Bogor Botanical Gardens complaining. Why can't they be like the old white wood trees in Desa Tua, Marga, Tabanan? The beautiful and artistic trees are relatively respected as dignified trees. It's not uncommon for people to meditate under them, perhaps imitating the ritual performed by Siddharta Gautama under the Bodhi tree. Of course, not just imitating. Under the white wood tree, the local term for the ficus tree, there is a temple to worship God.

If that is the case, it becomes relevant and makes sense why old and large trees can grow sustainably in sacred places, including cemeteries. The ancestral teachings about forbidden forests and sacred trees are none other than local genius for preserving trees. The ancestors of the archipelago and traditional people, to this day believe that the myth of the forbidden forest has saved the forest from the terror of muggings.

Unfortunately, this noble teaching is only understood as a myth, a myth that only contains stories told by small children before bed. Other words, complete nonsense, only made up to create fear. Myths are only understood as mere superstition.

It has been proven that no matter how strict the regulations and supervision are, visitors to Bogor Botanical Gardens always manage to violate them. If guarding and raising awareness cannot do much, it seems that it is time to build new myths to save the trees. This rescue mission must become a collective movement with an awareness that trees always give and protect humans. Trees never ask for more except for soil to grow and reproduce.

I heard cries of sadness under the forest canopy of the Bogor Botanical Gardens. I faintly heard the lines of poet Frans Nadjira's poetry flowing: //…The birds' favorite tree is on fire/Daylight lightning sends its fire/down to the roots/Eggs!/The eggs explode/Falls down to thicken the liquid/ into the fire...//

Who do the trees seek protection from? The thunderstorm that day truly destroyed the seeds growing on every branch of the tree. Even birds can feel the loss. Why don't humans?

Putu Fajar Arcana, journalist Kompas 1994-2022, writer, director, curator of Bentara Budaya, lecturer in Creative Writing London School of Public Relations (LSPR) Jakarta