JP\/4\/Earth<\/p>\n
Mother earth<\/p>\n
Marianne Katoppo
\nContributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
In Scandinavia, every day of the year has a name. This custom
\nis probably derived from the medieval saints' calendar which has
\npersisted until modern times. It is imperative that a good
\nnewspaper duly report the times of sunrise and sunset, and the
\nname of the day.<\/p>\n
For example, April 30 is \"Mariana\", and when I lived in Sweden
\nfriends used to call or send cards or sweets on that day.
\n(Unfortunately, it is also the notorious Walpurgis Eve, when
\nwitches are supposed to come together and do all kinds of weird
\nand wacky things that only witches know how to do.)<\/p>\n
On Mariana you were, of course, supposed to return the
\ncourtesy. It lent a certain charm and warmth to an extremely
\nmodern and well-organized society: the days had names, they were
\nnot just months and numbers.<\/p>\n
Our modern calendars are beginning to look like the
\nScandinavian one. Globalized \"Days of Whatever\" are becoming more
\nnumerous. AIDS, Human Rights, World Health, Food, No Smoking,
\nFlora and Fauna, Water, to name a few. And now Earth Day is
\ncoming up.<\/p>\n
Of course it's only fair that the Earth should get her very
\nown day. The week is already dedicated to the Sun, the Moon,
\nMars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn (although in English and
\nthe Nordic languages, the deities are Tyr, Wodan, Thor, Freya and
\nLoki). Where would we be if there were no Earth?<\/p>\n
Gaia, the Blue Planet, Mother Earth are some of the names we
\nhave given to our abode. Mother Earth (in Indonesian, Ibu
\nPertiwi) is perhaps the most common.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Earth is our mother who carries us, nurtures us and
\nkeeps us safe. But how do we treat her? The so-called primitive
\nslash-and-burn cultures acted out of respect for Earth. Rather
\nthan cut her with plows, they slashed and burned the vegetation,
\nmoving periodically to avoid exhausting the land.<\/p>\n
In ancient times, conquering armies used to burn the fields,
\nthen plow the land with salt to ensure that nothing would grow
\nthere again. There are numerous Biblical references to this.<\/p>\n
In not so ancient times it was reported that the Garden
\nFestival could finally be held near Newcastle in England, a
\nregion that had been so polluted for years that nothing would
\ngrow on it. Instead of coals, the Brits carried tons of fertile
\nsoil to Newcastle to spread over the desolate land.<\/p>\n
Japan was once extolled by the poets as mizuho no kuni Yamato,
\nthe blessed isles of Great Peace, with crystal clear waters and
\nrolling fields. This was 1500 years ago, in the time of the great
\nKobo Daishi.<\/p>\n
Industrial pollution turned some of those crystal clear waters
\ninto poison from which no living creature was safe. Minamata and
\nthe itai, itai disease became infamous all over the world.<\/p>\n
In his great epic Desavarnanna, which became widely known
\nunder the name Nagarakrtagama, the 14th century poet Prapanca
\nsang the praises of the deep forests and the fertile fields of
\nJava, replete with game and wild life.<\/p>\n
I don't even know if there are any Javanese tigers left.
\nTwenty years ago there were only six, and there have been too
\nmany reports of foreign tourists trying to smuggle tiger skins
\nout of the country.<\/p>\n
As for the fertile fields, well, when you next drive out of
\nJakarta or some other city on Java, see just how many fertile
\nfields you can spot.<\/p>\n
In my home province of Northern Sulawesi, the legend tells us
\nthat Lumimu'ut, Mother of all Minahassans, told the earth to keep
\nstill, stop quaking, so that her children could till the land and
\ngrow their crops. Apparently at the time there were even more
\ntremors than now. But the land was fertile and the waters were
\nclear.<\/p>\n
Having arrived at the 21st century, Minahassa now boasts Buyat
\nBay, with levels of mercury and arsenic poisoning that may set
\nnew records. Besides Buyat Bay, there are all those unnamed and
\nunlisted illegal gold mines across the county that are also
\npoisoning the earth, and whose effects are not yet disclosed.<\/p>\n
Natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis are also
\nravaging the earth. Apart from those, every so often we hear
\nabout landslides, which really could have been prevented but
\nweren't, thus resulting in more death and devastation.<\/p>\n
Consider the garbage avalanche near Bandung, that glorious
\ncity of Asian-African import. Perhaps we should ask the delegates
\nto the Summit to observe a few moments of silence for all those
\nunfortunate people who died in that avalanche. Or aren't they
\nsupposed to know about it? Rather too much to sweep under the
\ncarpet.<\/p>\n
As long ago as 2002 the garbage heap was rated dangerous and
\nrequests were made to have it removed. However, \"there was no
\nfunding for this, so it was indefinitely postponed.\"<\/p>\n
I was somewhat puzzled by this. No funding, when a major
\nprestigious conference was about to be hosted in Bandung? Who
\nlikes to receive guests in a filthy house?<\/p>\n
Poor Mother Earth, your children do not treat you well.
\nEarthquakes and tremors are an almost daily occurrence in some
\nparts of the country these days, and 11 volcanoes (including the
\nLokon on whose slopes I was born) are reported active.<\/p>\n
Perhaps you are trying to tell us something, Mother Dear?<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp4earth-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }