Genjer-genjer

Genjer-genjer is an Osing language folk song from East Java about a plant called genjer (Limnocharis flava). Genjer grows abundantly in Java and is known as a food that peasants can rely on in times of hardship. The song was first recorded during the Japanese Occupation in 1942 by Muhammad Arief, arranged for angklung; the Japanese Military Occupation Government used the song as propaganda to encourage Indonesians to live austerely during wartime as crops were diverted to feed soldiers on the frontlines, leading to widespread famine and starvation. [1] The propaganda campaign introduced Indonesians throughout Java to the song.

In the late 1950s and early 60s, Genjer-genjer gained popularity throughout Indonesia, and the country’s political left began to take interest in the song. The song’s themes of peasant hardship and perseverance resonated with the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) in particular. In the 60s, the song gained more familiarity and popularity with Indonesians as it had air time on television through TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) and radio through RRI (Radio Republik Indonesia). Well-known musicians also came to record Genjer-genjer, most notably Bing Slamet and Lilis Suryani.[2]

In 1965, Genjer-genjer became entangled in the New Order’s mythology of the September 30th Movement, an abortive left-wing coup that took place on October 1st, 1965 that Suharto used as a pretext to launch a counter-coup and bring his own authoritarian government to power, which he called the New Order. During the coup, seven generals were abducted by the September 30th movement and then killed at a site called Lubang Buaya. In order to bolster its own legitimacy and further discredit the Indonesian Left, the New Order fabricated a story about how during the killings members of the PKI youth organization and Gerwani (The PKI women’s organization - Gerakan Wanita Indonesia) danced and took part in orgies as they mutilated the generals while singing songs, including Genjer-genjer.[3] [4] The only evidence that the New Order presented for the song’s use during the killings is unreliable and fabricated, however, stemming from confessions extracted through torture and a book of Indonesian folk songs that included lyrics for Genjer-genjer found left behind at Halim Airforce Base (the coup headquarters). [5] [6]

Given Genjer-genjer’s connection to the politics and culture of the left and its alleged connection to the September 30th Movement, the New Order quickly banned the song. The ban on the song ended in 1998 with Suharto’s resignation and the end of the New Order. Since 1998, more and more Indonesian musicians have begun to perform the song, though the stigma that became attached to it during the days of the New Order has not yet dissipated fully from Indonesian society. The American rock band Dengue Fever also recorded a version of Genjer-genjer in 2016, though with lyrics in Khmer.[7]