The Century Carver

Kopag dropped his sharp chiseling knife, almost slicing open his own leg—and all because he'd
detected a strange smell coming from the direction of the door, an aroma of dry leaves and damp
wood. Odd, where was it coming from, this smell that made him feel so agitated? It wafted
closer.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Srenggi."

"Srenggi? Srenggi who?!" Kopag was trembling with trepidation now. The smell was coming
closer and he was finding it hard to breathe. His hands were bereft; he needed his chiseling tools.
His mind conjured up images of sharp knives. Kopag trembled as the smell exposed him to the
reality of being a man.

"Tell me who you are!"

"I am the one who will serve all your needs—from this moment on, till the end of time." The
voice sounded nervous.

"What did you say your name was?" Kopag began to calm down a little.

"Srenggi," the voice quivered. It was the voice of a woman. What was happening to him? Kopag
cursed himself. He had the strange sensation of suddenly being submerged in the ocean. The
voice seemed to be full of honesty, compassion and sincerity. Kopag was sure his judgment was
right: this was the one, the woman he'd been seeking for centuries. And now God had sent her
for him. A woman, was that really the voice of a woman?

When Kopag went to pick up his cane, Srenggi quickly stepped in to help. Their hands touched,
increasing Kopag's anxiety. The woman's skin felt like bark. Surely her beauty rivaled that of a
tree trunk, she was more beautiful than the most sacred pile of timber.

For the first time Kopag felt able to enjoy life. He was able to provide an objective evaluation of
the living creature known as man. Usually he was treated as an object, merely subject to the
decisions of the people closest to him, submitting to whatever was said by those around him.
This time he felt that he had encountered a truth that was different from that developed by people
who used their own truth as a personal yardstick.

"Is truth always manifested on earth in a homogeneous form?" Kopag had asked his servant
Gubreg with a trembling voice. "Even when I'm judging beauty, do I have to use their criteria?"

"Their criteria? I'm not convinced that they're capable of genuinely seeing the beauty of life!"
Kopag's voice was tense; his thoughts in a muddle!
Kopag was aware, intensely aware. Although, of course, it was no cause for celebration to have
been born blind. His eyes would never see a woman. But are people born complete with all their
senses capable of capturing all the secrets of this life—secrets that are held onto and kept hidden
by nature? Would it be wrong if Kopag were suddenly to encounter extraordinary beauty in
Srenggi? A beauty that he could see with his thoughts and feelings? Would that be wrong?

The beauty of this young woman was extraordinary. The indentations of her body and her face
resembled those in a piece of timber. She was timber of exquisite beauty. It was odd that other
people were unable to see her loveliness, to appreciate the beauty that nature had entrusted to
her. Even old Gubreg made no comment when Kopag praised the prettiness of this eighteen-
year-old girl. What was wrong with the criteria he had used to judge her beauty?

As a boy, life had imposed the label "Ida Bagus Madé" onto Kopag, so that people would
recognize him and be able to distinguish him from others. He was the second son in the richest
family in the compound. The title "Ida Bagus" indicated that he was of the brahmana caste, the
highest caste in the Balinese social structure. His father was a highly respected man who held an
important government position. He also owned dozens of painting and sculpture galleries.
Unfortunately he had a wandering eye. He was an animal, an appalling one. People used to say
that any woman was fair game for him. It didn't bother him whether she was beautiful or not,
healthy or not; for Kopag's father, any creature with a hole could be entered. One day, after an
absence of many months, he came home in a sickening state. He was thin and pale. Before long
his debts began to mount. His wealth evaporated. And in those circumstances he forced his wife
to have sex with him. She resisted. She knew he would impregnate her with the seed of an
animal. But what is the power of a woman? Especially since, from an early age, she had been
educated to become a noblewoman who would respect her husband. She became pregnant—and
died giving birth to a baby boy.

Being born blind was redemption of a kind, considering the circumstances of his birth. How
miraculous it would be if life could be acted out, turned into a performance. Like a piece of
timber with its captivating curves, Srenggi's body was where life was created for this man who,
ever since his first encounter with the aroma of the earth and life, could feel only darkness as his
language, his life. The life that Kopag so frequently cursed turned out to be quite democratic in
fact. It gave him qualities that others could not possibly possess. He could transform a piece of
dry wood into a work of art that attracted the elite of the art world. Kopag had reinvented the
idea of artistic endeavor. He didn't just carve wood; he carved his thoughts, his brain, and his
dreams as well. For the first time, nature had surrendered to his power, just as Kopag had
surrendered to the blindness that was his constant companion.

Kopag drew a deep breath. He touched the dry wood that always accompanied him wherever he
went. To be honest, Kopag loved the wood that had introduced him to his world. The world he
wanted. Solitude fenced in by beauty—without the sound of his sister-in-law harping.

"What can that blind brother of yours do? Tell me? He's a bloody nuisance!" The young woman's
voice always set his nerves on edge. She was always making a fuss about something. He'd
trodden on the plants in the side garden, or his cane had got tangled up with the bougainvillea
that that gasbag of a woman had just planted, or the plates and glasses were in the wrong place in
the kitchen.

His sister-in-law's voice constantly rang in his ears. How could a woman that everyone said was
so beautiful and elegant speak with such a foul mouth? Her screech was enough to blunt his
chiseling knives. Her name was Ni Luh Putu Sari but because she hadn't been born into the
brahmana caste she had had to change her name to Jero Melati. A member of the commoner
sudra caste, she had married Kopag's brother and had thus become a member of their noble
family.

Outsiders only knew her extraordinary physical beauty and her much-lauded skin; in short, her
body was one that all the men talked about. Kopag often wondered whether human beings could
ever share a genuinely objective set of views. How could this incredibly crude and carping
woman be the one all the men adored?

In Kopag's view, she was the perfect example of a playactor. She had been focused on joining a
brahmana family. In her absolute commitment to assuming the role of the wife of a brahmana,
she had to demonstrate to everyone in the village her right to join the family. Kopag had sensed
this the first time his sister-in-law greeted him. Her hands felt like those of a rotting corpse.
Every time she opened her mouth, Kopag could smell the rancid stench of blood, a smell that
leaped from those lips that were apparently so sweet, so red, so perfect. Even Gubreg, the faithful
servant who had looked after Kopag since he was a child, commented on how lucky his brother
was to have married the most beautiful girl in the village.

Gubreg also talked about the beautiful skin of Ni Luh Putu Sari, now known as Jero Melati, on
account of her having married into a high caste family. Her bearing, he said, resembled that of
the daughters of the Balinese king.

"She really is extraordinarily beautiful."

"Describe her to me, Gubreg. Tell me everything in detail. I want to know what she's like, and I
want to feel it too. For the moment, I'll trust your eyes."

The old man fell silent. He looked deep into Kopag's eyes. A pain fluttered in his chest. Ida
Bagus Madé Kopag had a very fine body. He was tall and exceptionally skilled with his hands.
Since he'd been a small boy, his grandfather alone had taught him how to work with wood, to
better acquaint him with life. On occasion, a teacher would be brought in to teach him to read.

"The boy is blind, Gubreg. He's paying for the sins of his father. When I watch his development I
am constantly reminded of the things that my son did. His karma has fallen to his own son. My
grandson will know darkness for all eternity. I still believe that we can learn from such a life.
You see it, don't you? Life has given him an extraordinary gift. My grandson is in possession of
all the eyes of everyone on this earth. See how he produces perfectly carved statues. Look after
him well, Gubreg. Think of him as your own son!" That had been Ida Bagus Rai's last instruction
before he passed away.
"Gubreg, you haven't answered my question. Tell me what she's like. Is she like this piece of
banyan wood—cold, but still appealing? Can you see, Gubreg, how it moves me? Gubreg, what
is this feeling that overcomes me so often, is that what it feels like to be a man? Is that a sign of
masculinity?" Kopag spoke slowly.

God in Heaven! Master of the universe! Kopag had grown up; he was approaching his twenty-
fifth birthday. He loved reading his Braille books. And from time to time, the Frenchman Frans
Kafkasau would pay him a visit.

The middle-aged Kafkasau got on Gubreg's nerves, with all the things he always brought with
him. Sometimes he would read foreign books to Kopag, books he'd translated, about
Michelangelo Buanorotti who Frans said was a famous Renaissance sculptor.

It was hard. Too hard. Every since he'd gotten to know Frans, Kopag would ask Gubreg all
manner of questions.

"Aren't you going to answer my question, Gubreg?"

"Don't ask me weird things, master. I can't explain things like Frans can. Why don't you ask
him?" Gubreg's voice was heavy with envy.

The old man was quick-tempered these days. It didn't take much to fire him up. A single sound
uttered by the Frenchman was enough to make his stomach churn. It made him so mad! Kopag
no longer had any time to talk about things. The Frenchman had given him a new sort of
education, a different perspective on the world. Kopag didn't need Gubreg any more. The old
man felt that something was missing inside him. Kopag had always been as much a part of him
as his own breath. Ever since Kopag was a child, it was Gubreg who had taught him about the
texture of wood. He transferred everything he knew about carving to the body of the powerless
little boy. It was Gubreg who taught Kopag that all things have souls, including his rows of
chiseling knives. And Gubreg taught him how to bring out the best in the knives and savor the
aroma of their sharpness. He still remembered Kopag's cry when he first touched those naked
knives; he had been seven years old at the time.

"Gubreg, I tremble every time I touch these knives. Their sharpness, it's so beautiful. So
mysterious. It's extraordinary, Gubreg."

The sun's rays flashed off the edges of the chiseling knives. Gubreg noticed how the powerful
rays scattered and died away the moment they touched the sharp edge of each knife. The knife's
brilliance seemed to challenge that of the sun. In Kopag's hands the knife became cold, arrogant,
and hungry.

Despite pondering it until almost midnight, Gubreg couldn't answer the question about what it
means to be a man. What were these feelings struggling inside Kopag's body? Gubreg was
afraid—afraid of answering the question about the true meaning of masculinity.

Kopag was already in his studio bright and early in the morning.
"I need to talk to you." Kopag's voice was laden with curiosity.

"About what, master?"

"About the beauty of a woman."

"I…I can't talk to you about the beauty of a woman. Everyone makes their own judgment about
it. A woman…"

Gubreg's voice broke off. He drew several breaths. He understood. He knew what was
happening. He too was a man and had felt the stirrings of desire upon first encountering his own
humanness. It was such an onerous thing, so unsettling, when his body began to need, to crave
the body of another to feast upon. That feeling suddenly reemerged in his own brain and his
brittle bones began to connect him to his past once more.

At the time Gubreg was a disheveled fourteen-year-old. He was often given the task of escorting
Dayu Centaga when she went to bathe in the Badung river. Her body was like a snake, encircling
and squeezing his body. His legs would cramp every time her wet body emerged from the water,
encased in a sarong. Her white feet made his brain explode. And on top of all that, she would
always get Gubreg to scrub her back with a river stone. Until this day Gubreg could still sense
her aroma on his body, a scent that could not be erased by the borrowed time that he lived on.
Over time Gubreg was wracked by extraordinary pain. He was anxious, wounded from a sort of
misplaced hunger. As a commoner male he knew that he could never possess the body of a
brahmana woman. A woman he had put on a pedestal, a woman he greatly respected. There
wasn't a soul with whom he could talk about his anxiety; he was nobody, a man who lived off the
compassion of Dayu Centaga's family. Every time he thought about the barriers between himself
and Dayu Centaga, Gubreg felt as if someone was boring holes into his body. Often he would
wake up in the middle of the night, breathing fast. Gubreg realized that his hunger could no
longer be contained. He became pale. The brahmana family sought out a balian for him.

The old ritual healer cast her spells. Gubreg's body was encircled by smoke which restricted his
breathing. The balian explained that Gubreg had thrown rubbish on the river's edge. The river
god happened to be resting at the time. The balian went on to say that the river god had also
wanted to get his hands on Dayu Centaga. Thanks to Gubreg's efforts, she had been unharmed.
And Gubreg incurred the wrath of the river god. In order to restore Gubreg's health, the
brahmana family took an offering to the river god.

Gubreg could not talk about his male yearnings. He did not resist when the balian bathed him at
the edge of the river. She said it was so that evil spirits would leave the family be. Out of respect
for the brahmana family, Gubreg was prepared to undergo the ceremony.

Nobody knew that the healer's communications with the spirit world were false. Gubreg was not
sick, and he hadn't been possessed by an evil spirit. He could feel the changes in his body, the
current within him no longer resembled the flowing of a river, it was more like floodwater. And
Gubreg knew that the water in his body needed an estuary. He felt a deep and powerful love for
Dayu Centaga. It was a love that rendered him rigid, cold, and no longer able to enjoy normal
human diversions. To this day, approaching his seventy-fifth birthday, Gubreg was still faithful
to the Griya family. Without a wife, without the passion of a man.

So Gubreg could understand why Kopag was asking about beauty. Nature had entrusted
something awe-inspiring to him.

Gubreg looked closely at Kopag's body as he finished his carving.

"Gubreg, you haven't answered my question yet," said Kopag slowly. He took several breaths.
"Gubreg, do you remember what Frans said?"

"What in particular?"

"He said that my wild manner of creating the human form from wood reminded him of Picasso's
Guernica. Basically I'm curious, Gubreg. Why does the wood always draw me into a discussion,
a dialogue, encourage me to debate, to think? It's a consuming curiosity that overwhelms my
brain, my hands, and my body, and even works its way into my dreams. Dreams of the tree with
its growing branches, and its body, until in the end its timbers find themselves in my hands. I
have my own dreams, too, about those fragments of wood. Frans and one of his friends once told
me that my carvings of women were perfect. Very surrealistic, they said. The beauty of the
women that I portray in wood reminded Frans of the passion of Martha Graham, who used her
whole body to bring into being the character she was playing. I feel the beauty of the women
through my fingertips, Gubreg. Wood and knives have given me different eyes."

Gubreg said nothing. He was trying to come to terms with the very private and very profound
thing that Kopag was trying to convey. Kopag had been taught to endeavor to understand life. In
fact Gubreg was willing to let the boy steal, page by page, the secrets of the journey and pain he
himself had endured as a man whose whole life had been dedicated to serving others.

Thanks to Kopag, the extended family managed to recover from their debts. Kopag's carved
statues were in great demand and drew a great deal of interest from both local and overseas
collectors. And now all was calm within the family. Jero Melati had stopped her nagging; she
was at liberty to spend Kopag's money however she pleased. Kopag's brother had even been able
to open a big sculpture gallery, which was the most highly regarded in Bali, on account of the
rigorous selection process it subjected potential exhibits to. Last month, the gallery had received
funding support from Germany and France.

Gubreg never knew what Kopag wanted. The young man never attached any meaning to having
money, or not having it. The only thing that Gubreg had picked up on was that Kopag needed a
woman.

"We need to find a wife for the boy," Gubreg's voice was very guarded. Jero Melati smiled when
she heard Gubreg's words.

"How about he marries the girl I've picked out for him."
"You've already chosen someone?"

"I have. I've been thinking about it for a long time."

"Who?"

"My sister," she replied seriously. Gubreg stared sharply at the woman. For the first time he
sensed that this beautiful body was enveloped by an evil force. Kopag was right; she was not a
good woman. She was driven by a desire for status.

"Surely you can convince him that my sister is the right woman for him." The tone of her voice
verged on a command. Gubreg did not respond. He knew that Jero Melati's sister was a wild and
wicked woman. Rumor had it that she sold her own body. Unthinkable! But she was very
beautiful. Unfortunately, she couldn't tolerate being poor. Whereas, poverty, if one makes a
commitment to it, has its own beauty.

"Gubreg, I want to talk to you!" This time Kopag's voice was serious. Gubreg did his best to
figure out where the conversation was headed. Five minutes passed with not a word. Pacing the
room, Kopag seemed distracted.

"My Lord, what is it you want? Don't be afraid. You seem very distressed."

"I am, Gubreg. I want to get married." Kopag's voice was very serious indeed.

"I hope you'll forgive me, my Lord, but I've already discussed this with Jero and your brother."

"And what did they say."

"They agree. In fact they've chosen a future wife for you."

Gubreg raised his head, keen to see Kopag's face light up. But strangely, the face remained as
impassive as stone.

"I've already chosen my wife. And this time nothing will change it!"

"Who is it?"

"Srenggi!"

"My Lord…?" Gubreg felt as if he was suffocating. Srenggi…? Were his old ears deceiving
him? Wasn't Srenggi the woman who attended to all Kopag's needs, cleaned his studio, prepared
his meals and fetched his chiseling knives for him? She wasn't a woman. She was more like a
horrible monster—lame, stooped over, with a hump on her back. And she had but one good eye;
all that remained of her left one was the socket. Her face was a pitiful sight. Her skin was rough.
God in Heaven! What had possessed Kopag? Did he have no idea of the meaning of beauty?
Gubreg took a deep breath and clutched his chest.
"I've been taking her to bed every night, Gubreg. Her body is a hollow in a piece of wood. Her
skin is bark. Do you know that when I fell into her body, I was swallowed up and I disappeared?
She is the most beautiful woman, even more beautiful than my timbers. When she is naked, no
knife can rival her sharpness. She is the one who honed this male body of mine."

Gubreg collapsed, a chiseling knife in his bony chest.

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 The Century Carver by Oka Rusmini

Vocabularies
• Aroma (n): A smell

• Trepidation (n): A state of hesitation or concern

• Caste (n): any of heredity, social classes and subclasses

• There are four Balinese castes. The four castes of Bali are:
• Brahman - caste of the priests and the teachers
• Ksatria- the warrior caste, it also included some nobility and kings
• Vaisya- the caste of merchants and administrative officials
• Shudra - lower caste of peasants and craftsmen.

• Carve (v): to shape to sculptural effect

• Timber (n): tree in a forest regarded as a source of wood

• Curse (n): a prayer or imprecation that harm may befall someone

• Commoner (n): a member of the common people who holds no title or rank

• Karma (n): the concept of “action” or “deed” in Indian religion understood as that which causes the entire
cycle of cause and effect

• Sarong (n): a garment made of a length of printed cloth wrapped about the waist that is commonly worn
by men and women in Malaysia, Indonesia, India.

• Balian (n): indigenous medical practitioner

Main Characters

• Kopag is blind man and become the main actor in this story.

• Srengi is Kopag’s servant who is very ugly with the skin like a bark but she is very loyal and diligent,
therefore Kopag want to merry her

• Gubreg is Kopag’s family assistant and he is the one who raise Kopag from child.

• Jero Melati/Ni Luh Putu Sari is Kopag’s sister in law. She is very beautiful but she has a bad attitude

• Kopag’s Father is the important person in his compound. He left Kopag since he was kid. He has a bad
manner who always chance and sleep with many women until he has a lot of dept.
 Summary

• This short story told us about the blind carver named Ida Bagus Made Kopag, called Kopag, who really
wanted to know how the woman look like. Kopag was the second son of the richest family in his
compound and belonged to high level caste named Brahmana in Bali.

• His mother was died since she born Kopag and his father leaved his family because of the debt and a bad
behavior. His father was a highly respected man who held important government position and also
owned dozen of painting and sculpture galleries. However, his father was well known as the Don Juan
who had many girls and moved from one girls to others for the sake of his desire and happiness.
Therefore, his behavior made the family’s business bankrupt and owned a lot of debt until he left his
family. It was then his grandfather who raised Kopag since he was kid helped by the loyal servant
named Gubreg. His grandfather was the one who touch Kopag to be a professional and well known
carver before he died. His grandfather also taught that Kopag’s blind was due to pay the sins of his
father. Furthermore, Kopag is the one who recovered his family business from the debt what’ more his
curving were interested both local and overseas collector until the gallery received funding support from
Germany and France.

• Kopags’ objects as the sculpture for his curving mostly were a man because he always interacted only
with a man in his daily life and he rarely met women. The only woman that he met in his family was Ni
Luh Putu Sari, a girl who married his brother and came from the lowest caste (Sudra) in Bali. Because she
became a member of Brahmana’s family she changed her name into Jero Melati. Jero Melati was very
beautiful, tall with a white skin, she also became the flower in the compound and the adorable woman
for all man because of her beauty and people though that his brother was the luckiest one in the
compound since he could marry her. However, Kopag viewed about Jero Melati was different with
common people who always saw a woman physically. For him, Jero Melati was the rotting corpse, she
was the real playactor in their family with elegant speak from the foul mouth. Before Kopag could
produce money Jero Melati always did a bad thing to him and when Kopag became famous she stop
nagging at him cause she was at a liberty to spend Kopag’s money. That’s make him curious about the
criteria of a beautiful woman and always asked Gubreg, the old man who raised him since he was a
child, about how the beautiful woman look like.

• His mother was died since she born Kopag and his father leaved his family because of the debt and a bad
behavior. His father was a highly respected man who held important government position and also
owned dozen of painting and sculpture galleries. However, his father was well known as the Don Juan
who had many girls and moved from one girls to others for the sake of his desire and happiness.
Therefore, his behavior made the family’s business bankrupt and owned a lot of debt until he left his
family. It was then his grandfather who raised Kopag since he was kid helped by the loyal servant
named Gubreg. His grandfather was the one who touch Kopag to be a professional and well known
carver before he died. His grandfather also taught that Kopag’s blind was due to pay the sins of his
father. Furthermore, Kopag is the one who recovered his family business from the debt what’ more his
curving were interested both local and overseas collector until the gallery received funding support from
Germany and France.
• Gubreg had a different view of a beautiful woman as an ordinary people think. For him Jero Melati is the
perfect example of beautiful woman and he convinced it to Kopag. However, Kopag insisted in his
opinion that she didn’t belong to his criteria as a beautiful woman. In spite of this, Kopag saw the beauty
from his servant called Srengi who always served him patiently with her sincerity. That made Gubreg
shock, because physically Srengy is the worst person in their compound. Her skin is dark and barks and
her smell was not good. However, this bark skin and her smell are successfully bring him in making the
woman sculpture in which some French like it and saw it as the perfect natural sculpture of woman. For
him Srengi’s voice seemed to be full of honesty, compassion and sincerity.

• Gubreg thought that Kopag’s curiosity of beautiful woman was because he wanted to have a wife as his
companion of his life and he asked Jero Melati to find it for him. Surprisingly, Jero Melati proposed her
sister who was a wild and wicked woman and also rumors said that she sold her own body because of
poverty. Her chosen made him aware that Kopag’s view about Jero Melati was right. A view of beautiful
body was enveloped by an evil force. More surprisingly for him, when he asked Kopag whether he had
chosen a wife and Kopag’s answer was Srengi.

Most Striking Part

• But are people born complete with all their senses capable of capturing all the secrets of this life—secrets
that are held onto and kept hidden by nature? Would it be wrong if Kopag were suddenly to encounter
extraordinary beauty in Srenggi? A beauty that he could see with his thoughts and feelings? Would that
be wrong?Kopag had reinvented the idea of artistic endeavor. He didn't just carve wood; he carved his
thoughts, his brain, and his dreams as well.

Connection in The Real World

• Many people only see the beauty of women from their physical condition such as the skin, face,
performance, etc. However, only a few see the beauty from attitude

• In this worlds there are many people who always want to fulfill their desire and happiness without seeing
the effect from their behavior. The case such Kopag’s Father who is actually had a position in his
compound but always change a women when he likes it is a common phenomenon in current life. The
impact of his bad behavior was felt by his family member who life in misery

• Women from low level social economic status nowadays have a dream to become a rich one and do
everything to get it. Jero Melati for instance seek his husband who has high status using her beauty to
get her desire and her sister sold her body only for money