Butet Manurung, champion of literacy

Butet Manurung, champion of literacy

Bambang M., Contributor, Yogyakarta

When Saur Marlina Manurung, better known as Butet Manurung,
appeared on a TV commercial for Kompas, the largest newspaper in
Indonesia, many people responded with sympathy.

A native of metropolitan capital of Jakarta, Butet Manurung
graduated with a degree in anthropology and Indonesian literature
from Padjajaran University, Bandung. Leaving the hustle and
bustle of modern life behind, she went deep into the jungles of
Jambi with a mission to teach two remote tribes -- the Anak Dalam
of Bukit Duabelas and the Orang Rimba of Bukit Tigapuluh National
Park.

She teaches them the fundamental skills of all education --
how to read, write and count.

With her degree, she could have had a well-paid, prestigious
job in Jakarta instead, but this is simply not an option for her.

After the Kompas commercial was aired by several major
television stations, many people have come up to her just to
express their sympathy for her work. In Yogyakarta recently,
students surrounded her and even asked for her autograph.

"Well, they treated me like I was a superstar," said the 2001
recipient of the Man and Biosphere Award from the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and UNESCO, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Certainly, her job is noble and demanding. She lives alone in
the jungle and walks long distances every day to teach the
various sub-groups of the isolated tribes. It is not easy to
travel on foot in a 60,500 hectare tropical forest.

When she finally finds one group, she is not sure that she
will be accepted. If a group rejects her, she goes and finds
another group, which may mean another long journey. If a group
welcomes her, she encounters another set of difficulties: how to
persuade them to learn to read, write and count? And what is the
most suitable teaching method?

"These people regard reading and writing as something akin to
black magic, and to master black magic, they must make an
offering," she said.

Of course, deep in the jungle, she must also face other
challenges, such as illegal loggers, malaria and basic survival.

However, she was an active member of an nature lovers'
organization and learned well enough how to survive alone in a
jungle.

Butet is probably one of the few people who have been
fortunate in that she has achieved her childhood dream -- when
she was young, she wanted to be Indiana Jones.

"I like my job -- it's both my vocation and my hobby."

Butet was born on Feb. 21, 1972, the eldest of four siblings
and the daughter of the late Victor Manurung and Anar Tiur
Samosir.

She began teaching the Anak Dalam in 1999, when she joined
WARSI, a non-governmental organization dedicated to developing
the life of the Anak Dalam people. She was given a job in the
organization's educational program.

Before Butet, three others had tried to teach the Anak Dalam.
Two managed for about a year, but were hampered in their task by
the many obstacles and challenges they had to face. The third was
successful in approaching and being accepted by the Anak Dalam,
but sadly, he contracted malaria and died.

When Butet first began this Herculean job, it took her about
seven months before she could approach the Anak Dalam people.

One day, Anak Dalam children happened to hear Butet recite
some of their verses from memory and were surprised that an
outsider could quickly learn their traditional verses by heart.

"I recorded the verses and then transcribed them," she told
the curious children, who were now starting to show an interest
in reading and writing.

The children told her that their tribe had thousands of
ancestral verses, but after several generations, many of these
verses had been lost as they had not been written down.

This small interlude opened up a way for her to approach the
Anak Dalam people, and Butet made use of the oral tradition
prevailing among the tribe to persuade them to learn how to read
and write.

In addition, Butet used the Anak Dalam's "one good turn for
another" creed to foster a spirit of exchange -- she told them
that she came to learn how to live in a forest.

"In return for what I learn from you, I will teach you how to
read and write," she said.

On Oct. 1, 2003, Butet resigned from WARSI. "WARSI is
concerned about the environment, while I'm only concerned about
education. My activities will also help WARSI's programs later
on."

She believes that the Anak Dalam could learn better with
teachers from their own tribe. Today, 12 Anak Dalam people have
been trained as teachers and about 120 people -- children and men
-- are literate.

Butet says the Anak Dalam people urgently need to learn how to
read, write and count, as their contact with the outside world is
unavoidable.

Anak Dalam people have often been cheated when dealing with
outsiders, she said. Apparently, one such outsider once came to
them with a piece of paper, claiming it was a letter of
appreciation from the local subdistrict head, and asked them to
sign it. They did, and were promptly evicted from their land. The
"letter" was actually a land deed, and they had unwittingly
"sold" their land.

Now that they know how to read, write and count, they cannot
be cheated so easily any more.

There are many other remote tribes like the Anak Dalam across
Indonesia, and Butet says she wants to teach them all how to
read, write and count.

"They can never fight for their well-being unless they have
some education," she said.