Anthropologist Koentjaraningrat receives top honor

Anthropologist Koentjaraningrat receives top honor

By T. Sima Gunawan
and Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Life is full of surprises. Sometimes you think
you've made a lousy decision, only to find out later that it
helped change the world.

Anthropologist Koentjaraningrat is one of the few who --
through his decision made over four decades ago -- helped change
the world, at least for Indonesians.

Today witnesses one of the most significant moments in the
life of Indonesia's guru in anthropology as he receives the grand
prize of the sixth Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prizes for his
significant contributions to the establishment and development of
anthropology in Indonesia.

"Oh yes, I am happy," Koentjaraningrat told The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, a few hours before flying to Japan.

He was the first Indonesian to study anthropology. Added to
that is the fact that he studied it at one of the world's most
prestigious universities, Yale.

Why did he choose anthropology?

"I did not choose it. I got a scholarship from the government
(of Indonesia) to study anthropology at the prestigious
university," he said.

He freely admitted that he decided to apply for the
scholarship because of the great name of Yale, not because of his
interest in anthropology.

"But I was there under the state's sponsorship. I could not
just play around. So I studied seriously and I liked the subject
very much," he recalled.

He obtained a master's degree from Yale in 1956 for his thesis
A preliminary description of the Javanese Kinship System. He
acted as a special researcher at Pittsburgh University, the
United States, from l961 to 1962, a visiting professor at Utrecht
University in the Netherlands in l966 to 1968 and a visiting
lecturer at Wisconsin University, the United States in l980.

"Anthropology is essential in the administering of the state,
especially in a country like Indonesia, which has hundreds of
ethnic groups. But, sad to say, not all government officials are
aware of this," he said.

"The government has to understand the culture of local people
and their way of thinking. That way the authorities can make
policies which are suitable to a region," he explained.

"Everything will be in a mess if the authorities refuse to
understand the varied cultures of the people," he said.

However, Koentjaraningrat, 72, disclosed that when he studied
at Yale, he was not aware of the importance of anthropology in
running a government.

"Ignorance about local cultures can result in serious
conflicts. That's what is happening in some provinces like East
Timor and Irian Jaya," he maintained.

He warns that as long as local culture is ignored, conflicts
will continue.

Born on June 15, l923 to a Yogyakarta noble family -- RM Broto
Koesoemo and RA Titipratitis -- a direct descendant of Paku Alam
VI -- Koentjaraningrat got his name from his grandmother. But he
seemed reluctant to reveal the meaning of the name which in
ancient Javanese literally means "famous person in the world."

Anyway, the meaning has finally come true. His great
contributions to the development of anthropology, both in
Indonesia and foreign countries, have made him famous in
international scientific circles.

During his childhood, Koentjaraningrat was recognized as an
ardent art lover. His favorite activities were dancing and
playing the gamelan.

"You waste your time playing gamelan and dancing," his mother
used to say.

To discourage him from the entertainment world, his parents
sent him to special Dutch schools which accepted only Dutch
students and Indonesian students from noble families.

Koentjaraningrat was still in his first year at University of
Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta when the independence war broke out. He
joined the university's Student Corps and was registered with
Brigade 29 in Kediri, East Java, to whose members he was asked to
teach English and history.

In l948, Indonesia and the Netherlands signed the Renville
Agreement and the war was suspended for a certain period.
Koentjaraningrat quit Brigade 29, returning to his studies at
University of Gajah Mada.

Brigade 29 was later crushed as it was found to fully support
the Muso communist movement in Madiun, East Java, in l948.

Koentjaraningrat moved to Jakarta and studied at the
University of Indonesia. He graduated in l954.

In the mid l950s, the relationship between Indonesia and the
Netherlands entered a rough period as the dispute on Irian Barat,
now Irian Jaya, had not been settled. Due to this, there was no
chance to study further at a university in the Netherlands, where
most local scholars used to go for advanced education. Many
scholarships were available in several other countries such as
Japan, India, Egypt and the United States. Young Koentjaraningrat
chose the prestigious Yale University and graduated in 1956.

Misconception

Koentjaraningrat returned to Indonesia and initiated the
opening of the department of anthropology in the country's
universities, such as in the University of Indonesia (Jakarta)
and the University of North Sumatra (Medan).

The anthropology department was part of the school of letters
at universities. In its development, some universities, like the
University of Indonesia, "transferred" the anthropology
department to the School of Social and Political Sciences. But in
other universities, including University of Gajah Mada, the
anthropology department is still part of the school of letters.

"Many people have the wrong idea about anthropology. They
think we study ancient objects. They confuse us with
archeologists," Koentjaraningrat said.

Koentjaraningrat, who is retired and lives with his wife
Kustiani, 60, has produced 100 scientific articles and 20 books.
Among them are Pengantar Ilmu Anthropology (Introduction to
Anthropology), Kebudayaan, Mentalitet dan Pembangunan (Culture,
Mentality and Development) Pokok Antropologi Sosial (The Basic
Principles of Social Anthropology), Rintangan-Rintangan Mental
Dalam Pembangunan Indonesia (Mental Obstacles in Indonesian
Development).

His new book, entitled Kebudayaan Daerah dan Kebudayaan
Indonesia (Rural Culture and Indonesian Culture) will be
published soon.

Koentjaraningrat defines mentality as thoughts, which are
called values, ways of thinking, behavior and attitude.

Indonesian people have extraordinary tolerance, which is good,
he said.

"With such great tolerance, Indonesians live in harmony even
though there are hundreds of ethnic groups and several
religions," he pointed out.

"It is also tolerance behind the Javanese people's acceptance
of Malay (which was later developed as the Indonesian language)
as the national language even though the majority of Indonesian
people speak Javanese and Javanese has the most ancient
literature among the dialects," he added.

Indonesians are fortunate because of this value of tolerance,
but Koentjaraningrat perceived that while all values are good,
not all of them are suitable for development.

Citing an example, he said that the values of gotong royong
(mutual benefits), solidarity and kekeluargaan (family spirit)
are good and important in the sense that with these values,
people are willing to cooperate and help one another.

But he perceives that they have negative aspects because they
can also make people less independent.

"People do not have the spirit to fight alone," he argued.

Another value which badly hampers development is the local
hierarchy, which worships seniority.

"That is why we have not enjoyed democracy," he told the Post.

Koentjaraningrat said Indonesia will enjoy democracy if there
is a strong middle class. People in the middle class are not
bureaucrats, but those with skills in trade and entrepreneurship.
The middle class has started to emerge with a gradual change of
mentality, especially in the younger generations.

Koentjaraningrat said it was very difficult to change people's
values because people start to learn them from very young.

"I think we need a generation to change them," said
Koentjaraningrat, who has three children and a number of
grandchildren.