A Guide to Searching for World Treasures in Sunan Giri’s Dolanan Song “Cublak-cublak Suweng”

Islam never prohibits humans from owning property in any form, because the desire to own property is human nature. This is also mentioned in the Al-Qur’an Surah Ali ‘Imran verse 14, namely, “It was made beautiful because of the people’s love for various pleasures in the form of women, children, endlessly accumulating wealth in the form of gold, silver, chosen horses, livestock and fields. That is the joy of living in the world and being with Allah is a good place to return to†. In fact, in Islamic teachings humans are required to work, in order to obtain wealth or fortune to meet the needs of life in the world.

However, there are many mistakes made by some people in looking at wealth. There are those who go too far in seeking wealth to the point of becoming slaves to wealth. And there are also those who think that wealth will come by itself without having to work, because everyone is guaranteed good fortune without having to work hard to get it.

According to Islam, in seeking wealth there are certain limitations that must be taken into account, because wealth is not everything and is not the main goal in this life. “Even though we are encouraged to seek wealth, don’t let wealth lead us astray,” he saidAnd spend (your wealth) in the way of Allah, and do not plunge yourself into destruction.” (QS Al-Baqarah: 195).

One of the Wali Songo figures, namely Sheikh Maulana Ainul Yakin or better known as Sunan Giri, around 1442 AD, created the tembang or song “Suweng’s words which talks about how humans should look for treasures on earth. This song, which was previously used as a method of preaching Sunan Giri, has now become very popular as a song to accompany traditional games (tembang dolanan) for children.

Even though it seems simple, the song lyrics are fun Talk about Suweng In fact, it has a deep philosophy and meaning of life, especially regarding guidance in finding treasures that are spread widely on the face of the earth. The following is an interpretation of the position of wealth, as well as a good and correct way to obtain wealth as stated in the Dolana song “Talk about Suweng†.

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Seeking Wealth by Disobeying Lust

At the beginning of the song lyrics “Suweng bribery”.Sunan Giri described the existence of wealth that everyone is hunting for, which is actually everywhere, and even in unlimited quantities, “talk about it, talk about it, talk about it†. Suweng which means earrings, is a symbol of the treasure that humans seek.

Therefore, God does not forbid us to seek and own wealth to support life in the world. However, we should respond to it in the right way. We cannot simply accumulate unlimited amounts of wealth on this earth. There are limits. But this boundary is sometimes lost.

What we see today is that wealth is no longer a means, but has become the goal of life. And when wealth becomes the goal of life, then at that moment humans fall into the grip of their desires. Moreover, it is world view society which considers wealth as a barometer of a person’s success, makes more and more people compete to winlevel Self-worth by accumulating wealth or money. They were enslaved by wealth and became blind.

As a result, there are acts of fraud, involvement in cases of gambling, pesugihan, usury, extortion and corruption in order to make as much money as possible. What’s sad is that corruption, which was previously carried out secretly, is now carried out systematically and openly. It affects almost all aspects of state life. Moral appeals, even including discourses on religion and God, cannot change the behavior of corruptors to become honest and good again.

The appearance of people who seek wealth with greed and lust is in the lyrics of the song “Suweng’s words described as “mambu kethundung gudel”. which means it smells like a runaway baby buffalo. Gudel or buffalo calf in this case has picture stupid people. I don’t know if this is because it has become a generalization from our ancient ancestors, that stupid people are often identified with buffalo. It is said that many parents repeatedly advise their children if they are lazy about studying with the phrase “don’t be stupid like a buffalo”. Even in Javanese culture, we have heard this dreams which reads “learn†which means that a stupid person is likened to a buffalo who just stares.

I don’t know where it comes from, the perception that buffalo are considered stupid may also be based on the behavior of buffalo which are considered obedient and slow, willing to do whatever their master orders without arguing or fighting. As a result, he is easily deceived or tricked. For example, when looking for food, the dry grass that we give the buffalo is mistaken for green grass. Until every time it is dry season, buffalo chew straw and dry weeds, without ever trying to find a way to find out the source of their food, namely fresh grass which is actually green.

Therefore, people often become slaves to their desires and lust in the lyrics of the song “Talk about Suweng†no matter what gudel (idiot). Rasulullah SAW also said, “A fool (fool) is a person who follows his desires†(Hadith narrated by at-Tirmidhi, number 2459).

With his greedy nature and being subject to the desires that lead him astray, this stupid person always seems confused and restless. This can be seen in the lyrics of the song “Talk about SuwengThe next “Pak empo lyrics lyrics†where a toothless old man is depicted who is confused and restless because he is controlled by his own greed.

Greed and lack of true gratitude make a person’s heart restless. He will only be trapped in the feeling of never having enough, dissatisfaction, anxiety, always wanting to obtain wealth, power, or worldly pleasures without knowing limits. As a result, the wealth that should be a bridge to take him to the afterlife instead becomes a bridge for him to sin. And these are the people who are lost or deceived, “Then have you ever seen someone who made his desires his god and Allah let him go astray based on His knowledge. (QS Al-Jatsiyah Verse 23).

Achieving True Wealth

People who are successfully subdued by their desires, their lives are actually far from true happiness. Maybe they laugh on their lips because they still have wealth and everything, but actually their hearts are gloomy.

On the other hand, true wealth is the wealth of the soul, namely when a servant is able to suppress his desires, be grateful for what he gets, and not be greedy in seeking wealth. Didn’t Rasulullah SAW ever tell us all that true rich people are not those who have a lot of wealth, but those who have wealth in their souls by feeling sufficient and being grateful for what they have. In one of his hadiths, the Prophet said, “Wealth is not because of the abundance of material possessions, but true wealth is the wealth of the soul.†(HR Bukhari and Muslim).

Lyrics “who laughs and hides†in the song “Talk about Suweng†means that wise people are people who are not lulled by worldly desires so that they can find eternal peace and happiness. And to avoid worldly love and train the sensitivity of the soul, one must hone one’s intelligence and conscience (Pack) as in the last lyric which reads “sir sir pong dele kopong†(empty conscience). This is in line with Suseno (1991: 138) that the criterion for success is ultimately a psychological state, namely the state of slamet or calming inner peace.

Also read: Lyrics, translation and meaning of the poem Lir Ilir

Author: Dewi Ayu Larasati

Editor: Sutan