He was born in 1870, lived 146 years, sent several generations of offspring, but ultimately chose to die, what kind of experience is longevity?
Speaking of longevity, everyone loves to hear, especially the case that lived especially long, one can’t resist to think too much. Sapaman Sodi Maijo, the man in the village of Sragon in Java, Indonesia, became such a legend. He wrote on his identity card that he was born on December 31, 1870, died on April 30, 2017, according to this, he lived 146 years and 4 months. To know, at the time Indonesia was still a Dutch colony, the emperor of the Qing dynasty just came to power for a few years, the world pattern is different from the sky now. His life, basically in that small village, when the whole life of a peasant, the day passed smoothly, there was nothing big, but this is the ordinary, his story makes sound out of the air.
Sapaman grew up in rural areas. His family was a typical peasant family. His parents made a living by growing rice. At that time, Java Island was full of paddy fields. The rainy season was ruined, and the dry season was cracked. It is unclear where he ranked, but it is said that he has more than a dozen brothers and sisters, all of whom left before him. He had never gone to school himself, so he followed his family to work in the fields early, weeding, transplanting rice seedlings, and harvesting. These tasks lasted for decades. When he became an adult, he married four wives. The first was a village girl, who managed housework together after marriage. Later, he married three more wives one after another, either because of the previous deaths or because of local customs. Adding up his four wives, he gave birth to five children. The eldest son, second son, etc., all died in middle age or prime of life, leaving no one left. He was the only one carrying the whole family, watching the younger generation leave one by one. This must be a huge age difference.
His living habit, to be honest, has no special secret, that is, he smokes hard every day, and he can smoke several packs of Crop cigarettes a day, that cheap local Indonesian product. He himself said that the trick to longevity is to "have no worries, smoke and sleep". The villagers said that he had a good attitude, never blushed with others, and didn't care about things. When doing farm work, he is always rigid. The sun tans his skin and his hands are callused, but he never complains. By the middle of last century, Indonesia became independent, and the village was slowly connected to electricity and roads were built. He also followed the changes of the times, from pulling plows with cattle to occasionally seeing tractors entering the village, but his life was still the same, getting up early and going to the fields, and having dinner around his family at night. The number of grandchildren has increased, and it is said that there are more than thirty descendants. The villagers call him Mba Goto, which means grandfather, and everyone respects him.
But longevity sounds glamorous, but only he knows how much bitterness it actually hides. From the early 20th century to the 21st century, he witnessed the aftermath of the two world wars, Indonesia's independence struggle, the economic take-off of the Suharto era, and the impact of the Asian financial crisis. The village has changed from a small colonial farm to a modern countryside. He only came into contact with things such as mobile phones and televisions in his later years, but for him, these changes came too slowly and far. He has never traveled far, but most of all, he goes to the nearby market to buy cigarettes and rice. The habit of smoking had been developed since he was young. The doctor advised him to quit, and he tried, but he didn't stick to it. Experts studying longevity later analyzed that his genes may have advantages, coupled with a simple diet, eating more rice and vegetables, less meat, and a lot of exercise. These combined together allowed him to last for so long. But then again, the average life expectancy in Indonesia is only in his early seventies. At 146 years old, anyone would suspect whether his ID card was fake. The Guinness World Records did not certify him because he lacked an official birth certificate and was only supported by oral inheritance in the village and ID card. But the villagers believed in him and so did his family. That was enough.
Sending off several generations of descendants is sad to hear this. First, he watched his brothers and sisters pass away one by one. The eldest brother and second sister were all around fifty years old. At that time, he was still strong and could only help with the funeral affairs. Then there were four wives, the first of whom died in the 1930s, the second and third followed one after another, and the last died in 1988, when he was 118 years old. When his wives left, he had to continue to live. The children at home were gone, and his grandchildren became the pillars. But the good times didn't last long. All five children died in middle age, some fell ill, some had accidents. Anyway, none of them lived over sixty. Grandchildren grow up, marry a daughter-in-law and give birth to babies, and he has to witness a new round of reincarnation. When his great-grandchildren were born, he could still hug them and teach them to recognize the crops in the field, but in the end, these younger generations began to leave one by one. According to village statistics, he gave birth to all his peers, all his spouses and all his children, leaving only his grandchildren and younger ones around. Think about it, from his birth in 1870 to his departure in 2017, how many funerals did he attend in more than a hundred years? I have to stand there every time, watching the coffin fall into the dirt, and the dirt covers it shovel by shovel. This is not longevity, but repeatedly tasting the taste of loss.
At the end of the year, Sapaman's body was still tough, and after a hundred years, he could still eat and walk on his own, without family support. But the emptiness in his heart became heavier. He began to publicly say that he wanted to die, lived enough, no regrets, just hoping to go early, to see the loved ones who went first. The family asked him why, he said he wasn't really bored, waking up every day from the middle of April 2017, had to face the empty house. At the age of 140, he even prepared the coffin in advance, sent him to Sragon's hospital, the doctor checked out that the carpenter was heartbroken, mainly because the lack of food caused the weakness of the hospital. He didn't eat in the cemetery, he turned his head to
Speaking of longevity, everyone loves to hear, especially the case that lived especially long, one can’t resist to think too much. Sapaman Sodi Maijo, the man in the village of Sragon in Java, Indonesia, became such a legend. He wrote on his identity card that he was born on December 31, 1870, died on April 30, 2017, according to this, he lived 146 years and 4 months. To know, at the time Indonesia was still a Dutch colony, the emperor of the Qing dynasty just came to power for a few years, the world pattern is different from the sky now. His life, basically in that small village, when the whole life of a peasant, the day passed smoothly, there was nothing big, but this is the ordinary, his story makes sound out of the air.
Sapaman grew up in rural areas. His family was a typical peasant family. His parents made a living by growing rice. At that time, Java Island was full of paddy fields. The rainy season was ruined, and the dry season was cracked. It is unclear where he ranked, but it is said that he has more than a dozen brothers and sisters, all of whom left before him. He had never gone to school himself, so he followed his family to work in the fields early, weeding, transplanting rice seedlings, and harvesting. These tasks lasted for decades. When he became an adult, he married four wives. The first was a village girl, who managed housework together after marriage. Later, he married three more wives one after another, either because of the previous deaths or because of local customs. Adding up his four wives, he gave birth to five children. The eldest son, second son, etc., all died in middle age or prime of life, leaving no one left. He was the only one carrying the whole family, watching the younger generation leave one by one. This must be a huge age difference.
His living habit, to be honest, has no special secret, that is, he smokes hard every day, and he can smoke several packs of Crop cigarettes a day, that cheap local Indonesian product. He himself said that the trick to longevity is to "have no worries, smoke and sleep". The villagers said that he had a good attitude, never blushed with others, and didn't care about things. When doing farm work, he is always rigid. The sun tans his skin and his hands are callused, but he never complains. By the middle of last century, Indonesia became independent, and the village was slowly connected to electricity and roads were built. He also followed the changes of the times, from pulling plows with cattle to occasionally seeing tractors entering the village, but his life was still the same, getting up early and going to the fields, and having dinner around his family at night. The number of grandchildren has increased, and it is said that there are more than thirty descendants. The villagers call him Mba Goto, which means grandfather, and everyone respects him.
But longevity sounds glamorous, but only he knows how much bitterness it actually hides. From the early 20th century to the 21st century, he witnessed the aftermath of the two world wars, Indonesia's independence struggle, the economic take-off of the Suharto era, and the impact of the Asian financial crisis. The village has changed from a small colonial farm to a modern countryside. He only came into contact with things such as mobile phones and televisions in his later years, but for him, these changes came too slowly and far. He has never traveled far, but most of all, he goes to the nearby market to buy cigarettes and rice. The habit of smoking had been developed since he was young. The doctor advised him to quit, and he tried, but he didn't stick to it. Experts studying longevity later analyzed that his genes may have advantages, coupled with a simple diet, eating more rice and vegetables, less meat, and a lot of exercise. These combined together allowed him to last for so long. But then again, the average life expectancy in Indonesia is only in his early seventies. At 146 years old, anyone would suspect whether his ID card was fake. The Guinness World Records did not certify him because he lacked an official birth certificate and was only supported by oral inheritance in the village and ID card. But the villagers believed in him and so did his family. That was enough.
Sending off several generations of descendants is sad to hear this. First, he watched his brothers and sisters pass away one by one. The eldest brother and second sister were all around fifty years old. At that time, he was still strong and could only help with the funeral affairs. Then there were four wives, the first of whom died in the 1930s, the second and third followed one after another, and the last died in 1988, when he was 118 years old. When his wives left, he had to continue to live. The children at home were gone, and his grandchildren became the pillars. But the good times didn't last long. All five children died in middle age, some fell ill, some had accidents. Anyway, none of them lived over sixty. Grandchildren grow up, marry a daughter-in-law and give birth to babies, and he has to witness a new round of reincarnation. When his great-grandchildren were born, he could still hug them and teach them to recognize the crops in the field, but in the end, these younger generations began to leave one by one. According to village statistics, he gave birth to all his peers, all his spouses and all his children, leaving only his grandchildren and younger ones around. Think about it, from his birth in 1870 to his departure in 2017, how many funerals did he attend in more than a hundred years? I have to stand there every time, watching the coffin fall into the dirt, and the dirt covers it shovel by shovel. This is not longevity, but repeatedly tasting the taste of loss.
At the end of the year, Sapaman's body was still tough, and after a hundred years, he could still eat and walk on his own, without family support. But the emptiness in his heart became heavier. He began to publicly say that he wanted to die, lived enough, no regrets, just hoping to go early, to see the loved ones who went first. The family asked him why, he said he wasn't really bored, waking up every day from the middle of April 2017, had to face the empty house. At the age of 140, he even prepared the coffin in advance, sent him to Sragon's hospital, the doctor checked out that the carpenter was heartbroken, mainly because the lack of food caused the weakness of the hospital. He didn't eat in the cemetery, he turned his head to