Catchphrase: Mateng!!

Catchphrase is a column about phrases that are uniquely Chibayans. They are not part of the standard Indonesian language and non-Chibayans would be hardpressed to understand their meaning, hence the need of the column to expound upon them. Please send a message to anaknyolot if you have any ideas about new catchphrases to be featured here.


Welcome to the first article in the catchphrase series, where we will look at a word that I’m sure many of you are familiar with: mateng. Cheaply thrown around, but heavily imposed, we grew up listening to this dreaded utterance all around us, most likely to emphasize that we’re not good enough for whatever the speaker expects from us. Before we delve further into its meanings, we shall look at its etymological roots.

Mateng in Indonesian means well-done, as in cooking (no, that other meaning of “well done” does not exist in Chibayan dictionary. Nice try). It somehow sounds similar to mati which means to die / dead. Thus, at a glance, the utterance mateng is similar to the phrase “I’m toast” or “Someone’s done for” in English, but with much deeper layers of richness in nuance.

The expression has two variants. Mateng kon, which is mostly used in Central Java, and mateng lu, which is mostly used by Eastern Javanese. It is best exclaimed in high voice with a dash of agonizing shriek. Self-righteousness and superiority would also be nice. Note that the subject of mateng is always you (kon / lu), regardless of the content of the following phrase. Following are usage examples that should be familiar to a lot of you:

1. Mateng lu ulangane entuk 6 (mateng, he got a 6 in the test)
2. Mateng lu tikete enthek (mateng, the ticket’s sold out)
3. Mateng lu jam sak gini belon makan (mateng, the subject has not eaten at this late hour)
4. Mateng lu cek larange (mateng, it’s so expensive)

The word mateng in this context has probably the highest information density among all languages in the world, packing so much meaning and intent all within 6 letters. It probably is every linguist’s dream to study this word and how it came to be. Uttering the word mateng may or may not be followed by a simple sentence explaining the reason of the speaker’s exclamation, but it is always assumed that every listeners would understand perfectly well why the speaker chose to say it. Following is the list of meaning and intent that come with the word:

1. Something has happened that is a matter of the gravest importance to the national / organizational / familial integrity. All resources and efforts must thus be mobilized to prevent and contain any negative consequences and possibly even undo what had happened. The damage, if it exists at all, is not on a very practical level, and often only imagined. More often than not, it’s about prestige. In the example 1 above, it’s not that 6 is such a bad score, but it is worse that the kid next door. No, it’s not that 6 would jeopardize your academic career, but it’s that the other moms will scoff at me due to my inferiority in raising an intelligent child. In the example 4, if the speaker hasn’t actually spent any money, there is no damage. But it indeed is a bad thing that he SAW that the price was too expensive.

2. The weight of the situation is usually as perceived by the speaker. In most instances of mateng, the speaker judges the situation too terrible to bear and thus uttered the word mateng, hopefully soliciting agreement from the listeners that what happened was indeed terrible. However, due to Chibayan’s innate inability to put one in another’s shoes, this is most often a futile attempt. In the example 3 above, the lateness is purely from the speaker’s point of view, regardless whether the subject truly thinks it’s late and whether the subject really wishes to eat.

3. The utterance conveys the speaker’s displeasure of someone else’ perceived lack of efforts. Nevermind that scoring a 6 in high-school is difficult and sometimes considered an impressive feat, it’s not a 7 or an 8 or even a 10. Nevermind that the subject might have other plans to eat soon or is on a diet or is still full from the previous meal, he or she clearly has failed to eat three times a day with rice at normal hours like a normal human being and must thus be embarassed publicly.

I’m sure the list could go on and on, but I ran out of ideas on what else the word might signify. When I first wrote this article, I really thought there were at least 7 or 8 items in this list, but I could only think of 3 right now. MATENG!!