Kanggo wargi-wargi KUSNET, ieu seratan ngeunaan Baduy nu tos medal dina Indigenous Science Network Bulletin (ISNB) edisi Juni 2006. Mangga diantos tanggapan & saran para wargi.
Hatur Nuhun
Ely Djulia
| Indigenous Science Network Bulletin |
| NEWS and VIEWS |
NEWS and VIEWS
The Natural Wisdom from Mountain Kendeng
Ely Djulia, Medan, Indonesia
As part of cultural tourism the traditional Kanekes village located in West Java Province of Indonesia has been visited
by many people for various purposes. Some common people want to get a blessing from the honored leader called Puun. Some students want to get first-hand knowledge about the village society. Even some anthropologists want to investigate more deeply about the traditional life of the Baduy people who live there.
It was hot work in half a day. We reached the kampong (village) of Cicakel after walking for three hours, passing through three other kampong called Keduketug, Balingbing and Gazeboh. It was very hard though for newcomers to reach that place. Surprisingly, it was very different when we saw some children quickly running happily through the forest. That was their habitual life, moving in and out of that village unexhausted. Walking around the village we found it quiet with only a few people there. Most people were working in the unirrigated rice fields at the time. Because we spoke different languages we couldnt talk, only smile at each
other.
On our first visit we decided not to continue our walk into Cibeo, a kampong in the heart of their lands. We didnt have the energy to continue and it would be better to postpone our journey for the time being. Six months later, on our next visit our guide chose another easier way to reach the kampong of Cibeo. We found a better way to pass comfortably through a kampong called Kaduketer, while the rest of our walking was through tropical forest.
| A row of rice barns at Kampong Kaduketer (outer Baduy) before arrival at Kampung Cibeo (inner Baduy) |
After four hours walking, we reached the edge of the kampong, hearing running
water from the river beneath the Ciparahiyang bamboo bridge. It was very fresh, clean water, free from any pollutants. Nobody here is allowed to use any chemicals, not even soap, shampoo and so on. A charismatic man with a torn white cloth and curly-hair welcomed us very kindly.
He is Jaro Sami, and we will visit his home soon, said our guide as he introduced us to him. Were not allowed to use any electronic tools like camera, handycam and so on in this place. They called it a traditional ban even though they neglected to tell us its reason, only its consequence.
Coming to Cibeo kampong is just like entering story land. Theres a row of wooden houses of the same size and shape. Here there are 85 houses. People have kept the natural contour of the land, using supports of bamboo to adapt to the contours, so there are long and short bamboo supports. Not only are their
houses all the same size and shape, the Baduy people also dress alike with black or broken-white, sometimes dark-blue clothes.
In his house, Jaro Sami, the leader of Cibeo kampong welcomes us with a drink of water and granules of palm sugar. His neighbours also arrive soon afterwards.
This is special for guests, Jaro Sami said.
The drinking cups are made out of bamboo and hang on the wall of the house. They usually use traditional utensils to eat and drink and they are all made of bamboo. We talked to them for almost two hours.
According to Jaro Sami, Baduy people can build one house together in one day by helping each other. All the tools for the house are usually made from bamboo and wood and are prepared beforehand, without using metal tools. They are not allowed to cut wood every year.
| A rice barn at Kampong Gazeboh in Outer Baduy |
Most of their ritual ceremony is connected with rice and the activities in the unirrigated rice fields. The ancestors have convinced the society that planting in the unirrigated rice fields is an obligation accepted from generation to generation. People are not allowed to sell the rice as it is kept for daily needs. They manage the unirrigated rice fields by only using rain water, not by irrigating their field. They use organic fertilizer by combining some medical plants such as small trees, the roots of which produce dyes (e.g. Morinda, calamondin), not by using pesticides.
They are not allowed to cultivate avocado, coffee
and cassava. They believe these plants would have unexpected effects on them. There are some fruits from trees of Tamarindus sp (tamarind), Durio zibethinus (durian), carambola, mango, papaya and tomato that they are allowed to consume. Sometimes they grow incidentally. The forest is their natural heritage given by the ancestors, so there is not reforestation here. Certain people are organized who have responsibility for managing the forest.
Baduy people recognize the beginning of the first month of their new year as leaving kidang when the kidang star emerges. According to their knowledge, new year must be at that time when the sun is located to the north or tending to move to the north. At that time the soil has been cold and is ready to plant. They usually plant rice in the unirrigated rice field at a certain time following these phases. Their Calendar
system is also strongly related to the sequence of planting activity in the field. The first process of preparation in the field is known as narawas and establishing new field is called as nyacar and held on the fourth month. The new year of the Baduy people is also in this month.
Table 1. The Phases of Traditional Planting in the Unirrigated Rice Field
| No | Phases | Activity |
| 1 | Narawas | Finding new field |
| 2 | Nyacar | Cutting grass, bush, small trees, so that soil can get enough light |
| 3 | Nukuh | Drying grass, leaf, branches, to be dry matter. It usually takes
three weeks. |
| 4 | Ngaduruk | Burning all dry matter |
| 5 | Ngaseuk | Selecting and planting seed |
| 6 | Ngirab sawan | Keeping the soil free from gulma |
| 7 | Mipit | The first process of harvesting is conducted by the leader of traditional community |
| 8 | Dibuat | Harvesting activity followed by all the society |
| 9 | Ngunjal | Transporting the harvests from the field to the barn |
| 10 | Mganyaran | Celebrating the harvest by consuming the newly harvested rice |
| 11 | Ngawalu | Transporting the rest of the harvests back to the barn as thanksgiving for their success. |
| 12 | Ngalaksa | The ceremony to produce laksa, a spaghetti-liked food made from
flour of the newly harvested rice, cooked by women. It is as a symbol of respect to their ancestors for providing a safe environment. Ngalaksa activity is a sign of finishing field activity of the year. |
| 13 | Seba | Presenting gifts to the head of the County, conducted by men. |
Planting in the unirrigated rice fields becomes a process of direct education in nature for their children since they are young kids, even when they are still a baby, then as teenagers until adult.
When we asked one of kids there, Do you go to school?, his father answered: He learns in the field.
Baduy people bring their kids to the field from when their baby is still one-month-old. They also give their five-year-old kids a tool to collect wood for household needs. They usually go home at 4 pm with their mother and arrive at home at 6 pm.
They are prohibited to use some metal tools during cultivating activities. Some animals like cows and sheep are also not allowed to pass their fields. This is to keep away from their field from animal disturbance. Beside Baduy people have deeply agricultural experiences of planting seedlings and formulating organic fertilizer. This is proven because grain harvested in the unirrigated rice field is relatively longer than those planted in irrigated rice field. By learning and practicing this from generation to generation they traditionally conserve rice from cultivating rice in the field until transporting the harvest to the barn.
Acknowledgement: I
thank Martina A. Napitupulu and Yaya Rukayadi for critical suggestions to improve the manuscript
(The location of Baduy Village can be seen by visiting this map of West Java. A previous article on Indonesia's indigenous peoples by Ely Djulia was published in the October 2005 issue of the Indigenous Science Network Bulletin.)
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