Ibu Pertiwi is a popular Indonesian patriotic song composed by Kamsidi Samsuddin in 1908. The song's lyrics are about
Ibu Pertiwi
Ibu Pertiwi ( en, Mother Prithvi or Mother Earth)Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi national personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda.
Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations ...
of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
(also interpreted as "mother country"). It is normally sung by Indonesian children, elementary and secondary school students, or played during Indonesian Independence Day celebrations. In 2016 the Indonesian classical composer,
Ananda Sukarlan
Ananda Sukarlan-Gomez (born in Jakarta, 10 June 1968) is an Indonesian-Spanish classical composer and pianist.
Background
He is the son of Sukarlan and Poppy Kumudastuti. He started his music lessons at the age of 5 from his older sister, Marta ...
, made a set of variations for piano based on this song.
Lyrics
The lyrics are as following:
Original lyrics
(in
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
)
First verse:
:Kulihat ibu pertiwi
:Sedang bersusah hati
:Air matanya berlinang
:Mas intannya terkenang
:Hutan gunung sawah lautan
:Simpanan kekayaan
:Kini ibu sedang lara
:Merintih dan berdoa
Second verse:
:Kulihat ibu pertiwi
:Kami datang berbakti
:Lihatlah putra-putrimu
:Menggembirakan ibu
:Ibu kami tetap cinta
:Putramu yang setia
:Menjaga harta pusaka
:Untuk nusa dan bangsa
Translation
First verse:
:I see Motherland (Ibu Pertiwi: personification of Indonesia)
:(She is) in sorrow
:Her tears are flowing
:Remembering your (lost) golds and diamonds
:Forests, mountains, farms, and the seas
:Home of the treasures (richness)
:Now Mother is grieving
:Sighing sadly and praying
Second verse:
:I see Motherland
:We come to serve (you)
:Behold your sons and daughters
:They will make Mother happy
:Mother, we still love (you)
:Your faithful sons
:Guarding the heirloom
:For our homeland and nation
Adoption of Christian Hymn music
Although the lyrics were originally composed, the music and melody of this adaptation resembled the
Christian hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, a ...
, originally written by Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855. The hymn is sung in Indonesian as ''Yesus Kawan yang Sejati'' and in Toba Batak as ''Ise do Alealenta'' and is popular in
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
churches. Even though Indonesia has a statistically larger Muslim community, the hymn is quite widely known. Prior his death in 1958, the melody of the music was adopted by Kamsidi Samsuddin, the composer of the Ibu Pertiwi song.