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Poems shared in the Ledo dialect with thanks to Jakarta UNESCO City of Literature for their contributions to the No Tongues Left To Chant exhibition.
Tjatjo Tuan Saihu was born as Syarif Magriby on December 27, 1949, in Tanjung Padang. He used the pen name TS. Atjat along with several other pseudonyms.
He was active as a journalist from 1969 to 1979 and has served in various private schools since 1970 up to the present. He is also a lecturer at Alkhairaat University. As a cultural observer, he has actively participated in language and literature seminars both as a speaker and a participant.
On the national and international stage, he served as an interpreter at the 1992 Non-Aligned Movement Summit. He participated in the 1997 Southeast Asian Literary Meeting and has been involved in numerous literary events across the Indonesian archipelago.
His literary works include anthologies of poetry, drama manuscripts, short stories, novels, books on literature, history, and culture. Currently, he is preparing a Kaili dictionary for the Rai dialect (Kaili–Indonesian–English), an anthology of poems in three dialects to be translated into English, and a collection of short stories in the Kaili Rai and Ledo dialects, you can read a sample of these poems below.
SOYO LEI
Soyo lei ane nolumako kana nosipanuntu noembai tadulakona notinggaulu
Soyo lei ae nosirata kana nosisuju nantui kana nosikajulu
Soyo lei natinulu nosampesuvu nakatutu nesayo kutuvu
Soyo lei soyo mposampesuvu
Tando Pada, 22 Februari 2002 Antologi Puisi Bahasa Kaili Dialek Rai dan Ledo
English Translation:
The Whisper That Moves
The whisper moves— it does not ask, it does not command, it simply passes through what is left behind.
The whisper moves— it does not shout, it does not plead, it flows through what has been silenced.
The whisper moves— it rises from the hush of dawn, it rests in the breath of dusk.
The whisper moves— a whisper that carries the dusk itself.
Tando Pada, 22 February 2002 Poetry Anthology in Kaili: Rai and Ledo Dialects
KARAMPE
Karampe… kana rarampe kana rarampe satutumpara
Karampe itu… nikarampei ntopo sakaya ompa nompaka isilamu Tokaili njumangu
Karampe itu… nikabotu nulibu I Dato karama nte I Pue Njidi I Pue Bongo bo I Pue Nggari nanjungge lino ka Tokaili
Karempe itu… nikasiromu ntonggaulu nikasintuvu ntomaogeta nantesa sintuvu mposarara mposabatutu
Rakampe itu… nikatuvu nu avo palu bo nosangaka Kota Palu
Palu, 11 Desember 2001 Antologi Puisi Bahasa Kaili Dialek Rai dan Ledo
Sacred Thread
Karampe… the sacred thread woven with the rhythm of tradition.
This thread… it binds us, from the depths of the sea to the sacred teachings of Tokaili.
This thread… it is the legacy we carry, from Dato Karama to Pue Njidi, from Pue Bongo to Pue Nggari— guardians of the Tokaili realm.
This thread… it is the bond of unity, the strength of shared purpose, woven with care and conviction.
This thread… it is the breath of Palu’s soul, the spirit that shapes Kota Palu.
Palu, 11 December 2001 Poetry Anthology in Kaili: Rai and Ledo Dialects
English translations provided by Jakarta UNESCO City of Literature using AI.
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