A Way With Words

Farida Soemargono-Labrousse

Farida Soemargono-Labrousse has devoted most of her life to the study of Indonesian languages and dialects. Kunang Helmi-Picard meets the now retired scholar in Paris.

Farida Soemargono-Labrousse’s 29th-floor apartment in the maze-like Asian quarter of Paris affords a sweeping view of the city. Through the swirling fog, the Eiffel Tower and Pantheon are barely visible in the distance, the Sacre Coeur Basilica all but gone. Snow begins to fall, wrapping the cityscape in a soft haze.

The wonderful aromas of Javanese food fill the spacious apartment, as Farida cooks up a mouthwatering buffet. Her French husband, retired Prof. Pierre Labrousse at INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales), leaves us alone to talk. He must be used to being pampered by his Javanese wife, with this delicious, spicy cuisine.

Now retired, the renowned former scholar is enjoying her time and her family, although her work is not yet done.

“I do want to write a book about Javanese philosophy before it is too late, but at the moment I have other duties such as looking after my adorable grandson who is 11, because my daughter and son-in-law both work.”

Retirement from her position as senior lecturer in Indonesian and Javanese in Paris has allowed Farida to travel back home to Indonesia more often, and to the Labrousse country house in the south of France. Wherever she is, Farida is sure to meet grateful former students, whether French or Indonesian – students who have found her language works indispensable: the seminal French-Indonesian dictionary that her husband brought out in 1984 and that Farida was working on before she retired, and the Indonesian-French dictionary that she brought out with Winarsih Arifin in 1991.

When Farida first arrived in Paris in the 1970s as a student after attending the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, she became the first Indonesian woman to obtain a doctorate (in literature) here. It was not difficult for her to adjust to life in Paris except, she notes, for the cold weather. Luckily, she was able to form a circle of friends that included fellow Indonesians such historian and museum expert Mas Aji Damais, also a student at the time. Her Javanese origins proved to be important as she researched her thesis on the Yogya Group between 1945 and 1960.

“When I defended my thesis, most Indonesian diplomats came to cheer me on,” she says, and continues mischievously: “Much to the relief of my mother who had heard gossip that I was dancing in a cabaret with two other young ladies!”

Her grandmother had close family ties with the court in Yogyakarta, so her own mother was, understandably, very traditional.

In fact, Farida explains, the three “young ladies” were performing Javanese dances – in full Javanese gear – in an Indonesian restaurant to supplement their monthly allowance. Many Indonesian students in Paris do this nowadays, thus spreading Indonesian culture here, where there are myriad bilateral associations.

Back in Indonesia after graduating, with a young daughter from her first marriage to look after, Farida taught French at university and Indonesian to French people such as engineers at the Jatiluhur dam project near Purwakarta, West Java. Here she met Labrousse. For both, it was their second marriage.

So it was back to Paris. Both took teaching jobs at INALCO, and Farida also taught Javanese to a smaller circle of students. Overall, life and work were smooth, although she found French Cartesian logic difficult to bear at times and did have trouble with people who claimed Indonesian was an easy language and that some traditions and beliefs were linked to superstition.

It didn’t take her long to discover that such “superstitions” existed in France as well. At the center of French modernity, there were circles of “paranormal” people who made predictions about the future and were constantly besieged by people wishing to be helped.

“I was born Muslim, but with a Javanese twist, that is to say with Buddhist influences. Now I also read a lot about Buddhist philosophy,” Farida says. “My family is also renowned for being able to help people who are either physically or mentally sick through their special meditation techniques.”

Despite her background, which also encompasses Dutch language and so-called Western beliefs, Farida is still firmly anchored in her Javanese-Indonesian heritage, although with a sophisticated French veneer.

She has quietly helped many an Indonesian student or wife of a Frenchman to overcome culture shock here in Paris, leaving many grateful for her aid in difficult times. Farida also helped French women in Indonesia who were bewildered by stories of black magic taking away their husbands.

At the center of her world are French and Indonesian literature and culture. She and her husband share a passion for paintings. Labrousse has unearthed many French and Indonesian paintings or drawings in both France and Indonesia. Once he and Professor Claude Guillot were astonished and delighted to find a Raden Saleh painting in a French mayor’s office. Another time, Labrousse found a painting of a Javanese girl with vaguely European features in a junk shop. This turned out to be a portrait of the 17-year-old daughter of dancer Raden Mas Djodana, which Farida guards preciously in her tiny study high above the roofs of Paris.

There is also a nude painting of Mata Hari in their Parisian apartment and, she tells me, many more works of art in the country in central France.

Farida’s long connection with France means she can tell you the details of just about any Indonesian in France or French person with ties to Indonesia, but she is discreet and does not divulge any personal secrets.

Her cheerful and matter-of-fact manner and her tongue-in-cheek humor are indeed refreshing for the many Indonesians who still stop by her home.

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