Village people<\/p>\n
The annual exodus from city to villages reaches its peak this
\nweekend. This year, with the Muslim Idul Fitri holiday falling in
\nthe same week as Christmas, a record number of city folks will
\nhead for their rural home towns to mark the festivities.<\/p>\n
Most factories and offices, including most commercial banks,
\nhave given their workers the entire next week off. Even with the
\nIndonesian economy barely recovering, many poor urban people have
\nscrimped enough money to join the annual exodus. The government's
\nwarning of the perils of traveling, following recent floods and
\nlandslides across Java and Sumatra, was obviously not enough to
\ndiscourage people from hitting the roads.<\/p>\n
For most urban Indonesians, mudik -- as the tradition of
\nspending the annual Idul Fitri holiday in one's home villages is
\ncalled -- is simply a must, whatever the circumstances are. To
\noutsiders, it defies logic that people would struggle to such
\nlengths to spend a mere few days in their rural home towns.<\/p>\n
Although the exodus has yet to reach its peak, there are
\nalready massive traffic congestions along Java's main highways;
\nMerak's ferry port crossing between Java and Sumatra is already
\nreporting delays; long lines of people queuing are seen at
\nJakarta's railway, intercity bus stations and Tanjung Priok port;
\nwould-be revelers are constantly falling prey to criminals and
\nticket scalpers.<\/p>\n
Looking at the ever growing number of people who join the
\nexodus every year, the tradition of mudik has strengthened rather
\nthan weakened as Indonesia transforms from an essentially rural
\nagrarian base to a modern urban society. The growing strength of
\nthis tradition in a rapidly modernizing culture is probably one
\nof the most difficult phenomena to explain. Because it is tied to
\nthe religious festivities, mudik for most people has move beyond
\na ritual, to a spiritual experience or a journey.<\/p>\n
Mudik means spending time with their folks, to share their
\nexperiences, including their struggles in the city, and to share
\nwhatever affluence they have accumulated. The latter is a far
\nmore effective means of redistributing the nation's wealth, which
\nis heavily concentrated in the urban areas, than the corrupt
\nbureaucracy could ever hope to achieve through taxation.<\/p>\n
Their success stories and show-off items in turn encourage
\nmore rural folks to want to come to the cities. This explains why
\nafter the Idul Fitri holiday, cities like Jakarta normally end up
\nwith more people than before the exodus. The only exception was
\nin 1998, when many people returned to the villages with tales of
\ntheir failures during the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Mudik for many people also means going back to their roots, to
\ntouch base, so to speak. This is true even for second or third
\ngeneration migrants in the cities. For many, mudik is a means of
\nfinding themselves, of rediscovering their identity which they
\nhave lost amidst the dazzle of the fast-paced metropolitan life.
\nDeep down, we are all really village people who yearn for the
\nsimple things in life. Rediscovering such values while in the
\ncompany of rural people make people more appreciative of their
\ncity life. Many people will return to the cities and to their
\njobs after Idul Fitri not only with their batteries fully
\nrecharged and but also spiritually reinvigorated.<\/p>\n
Mudik is also a means of strengthening cultural identity,
\nwhich is not a bad thing given that the nation is being haunted
\nby the threat of disintegration through growing regionalism. A
\ngrowing sense of regional and cultural identity among city folks
\ncould strengthen their sense of national unity and tolerance, two
\nessential elements that have kept this diverse nation united.
\nGiven the influence that city folks command in their rural home
\ntowns, city folks can help to moderate the voices in the regions
\nas they press for greater political say and bigger share of the
\nnational pie from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
As irrational as it may seem, mudik serves many positive
\nfunctions for Indonesia during its transformation from a
\ntraditional rural-based economy to a modern urban one, and
\nhopefully a more democratic, society. Because of its virtues to
\nthe life of the people and the nation as a whole, here is a
\ntradition that is worth keeping and even nurturing. It is
\ncertainly worth the effort for the authorities to overcome the
\nmassive logistic challenge and the headache which the exodus
\ncreates every year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/village-people-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}