(JP/ID Nugroho)

Night had already long fallen when Majelis, from the Trowulan Archaeological Office in Wringin, East Java, was helping guard a site near Glingseran village.

The father of four was accompanied by three of his colleagues. They wanted to foil any attempts by robbers to steal ancient artifacts in his region. At the time, there was a crime wave underway.

Suddenly, a number of people armed with clurit (sharp weapons often favored by the Madurese) appeared. The two groups confronted each other face-to-face. It seemed that a tragedy was about to unfold right in front of their eyes.

"If they'd attacked at that moment we would certainly have been defeated. But before that happened, I explained to them the punishment for stealing ancient artifacts. It was fortunate that they left straight away," Majelis told The Jakarta Post.

Majelis still clearly remembers the incident, which occurred one night in 1982, two years after he was appointed as a permanent staff member at Bondowose Archaeological Office.

"After that incident, I realized that the ancient artifacts had to be guarded because they had been seen by the thieves," said the now 47-year-old man.

Majelis and the ancient monuments in the region of Bondowoso and Situbondo are actually inseparable. This man is the most senior guard among 42 other guards who carry out their duties in the regency that is located about 200 kilometers from Surabaya.

Since 1978, the man has been delegated to guard the sites of monuments in Glingseran village, Wringin subdistrict. In Glingseran, there are 67 stone sites dating back to the megalithic period.

"In 1978, Abdussomad, a staff member of the culture and education section in Bondowoso offered me the job and I took it," he said.

The elementary school graduate has known of the stone sites since he was young.

When he was little, Majelis played in the rice fields looking for crickets, flying kites or just spending time with his friends. He often played around the sarcophagi that were located one kilometer from his house.

"The village people here knew about the stone sites, the sarcophagi and the kendang *house pillar* stones because every night, especially on legi *Friday night in the Javanese calendar* the stones emitted sounds," he said. "It was like a gamelan."

Due to the mystical factor, the local community respected the existence of the stone sites and considered them to be part of their ancestors' inheritance. During the planting season and at harvest time, the residents always presented offerings at the stone sites.

Majelis's job was, among others, to sweep away the rubbish, pull out the grass and brush off the moss from the surrounding stone sites. For that job, he was getting Rp 5,000 (45 US cent) fee per month.

"It was lucky that I wasn't married at that time," he laughed.

In 1980, Majelis was promoted to permanent staff, receiving a salary of Rp 17,500 a month.

Majelis said his salary was not much, but he also had a plantation and a rice field to support his life and family.

"I never get bored with my job in guarding the site. It seems that this is my fate. Even though I have to work at night, I do my job," Majelis said.

His professional attitude has rubbed off on his eldest child, Hariyadi Susanto, who has also become a site guard at nearby Jatisari village, Bondowoso.

Majelis said explaining to his children about his job as an archaeological site guard was difficult.

"It's been difficult to explain my jobs to my children because it's probably a job that's not done by many people," he said. "But I keep telling them that I'm the guard of ancient artifacts, our inheritance from our ancestors."

His simple explanation has helped his children understood their father's job. "They're proud. The proof is there because one has already chosen to become a stone site guard."

During the 31 years on the job, Majelis has felt the ups and downs from the attitude of different governments toward allocating funds for the maintenance and repair of the monuments.

When he was working during the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid, the government gave Rp 7,000 per month to pay the land taxes. But that fund was closed down when a monetary crisis occurred during the presidency of Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"Up until now, I and three friends on the staff of the archaeological office have had to contribute our own private money to pay the costs," Majelis said.

However, he hopes that one day the situation will return to normal so the government will pay for the maintenance of the monuments from the megalithic period.

He has heard about plans to develop a field museum in Bondowoso.

"If that plan goes ahead maybe the fate of the stone sites will not be so uncertain."

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