Forgotten people in mist of Gunung Halimun

By Dami Buchori

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Dadun has lived all his life in one of the remote Kasepuhan communities among the trees of Gunung Halimun National Park. He is 72 now and no longer ventures into the dense forest to gather wood, rattan or bamboo.

When he was young and strong, he collected wood for his daily needs. He would also make handicrafts from rattan and bamboo after he had finished his work in the fields. Gunung Halimun -- halimun is Sundanese for the mist often blanketing the area -- is home to many varieties of trees and wild plants with medicinal properties.

The fact that few people know about this beautiful rain forest, about 80 kilometers southwest of Jakarta, is an ironic blessing. Spanning around 40,000 hectares, Gunung Halimun is the largest remaining primary rain forest on Java. Its remoteness has also contributed to its preservation.

Its area ranges from 529 meters to 1,929 meters above sea level. This contributes to immense habitat diversity and is conducive to the magnificent biodiversity of the park.

Many species of indigenous wildlife are found in the area. Gunung Halimun is a refuge for the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) and the grizzled langur (Presbytis comata). The shy Javan gibbon is a monogamous tree dweller which rarely descends to land. The leaf monkey, long-tailed macaque, leopard and many species of birds, including the critically endangered Javan hawk (Spizaetus bartelsi), also roam the park.

The Kasepuhan are the human inhabitants. Legend says they are descended from the ancient Padjadjaran kingdom, but others believe the Kasepuhan share anthropological ties with the Baduy tribe of West Java. These people have lived and protected the forests for generations, long before the area was designated a national park by the government. This strong bond can be seen in individuals like Dadun, who lives in harmony with the forest.

The Kasepuhan believe that the forest is a legacy from their ancestors, and thus should be preserved to support their lives rather than be exploited. This wisdom has been passed down from generation to generation. Spiritual ties with the fields and forest are maintained through a series of traditional laws administered by the Abah, the hereditary leader of the Kasepuhan society.

These traditional laws govern most of the society's life. It is seen in the timing of planting rice, festivals and religious ceremonies, and even the type of roofing materials on Kasepuhan houses. Traditional law is also the reason the forest has been preserved for so long. The belief divides the forest into different areas, leuweng kolot, leuweng titipan and reuma. The primary forest belongs to the first two categories, in which all kinds of human intervention is strictly prohibited. The latter is secondary forest, where people are allowed to enter to collect forest products.

Like the majority of Kasepuhan, Dadun is a traditional farmer. They depend on the growing of rice, maize, cassava and cash crops such as coffee and cloves for their livelihood. In the past, the Kasepuhan mostly practiced migratory agriculture. Before 1990, the Kasepuhan's belief did not allow them to use agricultural techniques and tools needed for paddy rice cultivation, thus necessitating the use of slash and burn agriculture.

This farming technique is not practiced anymore. The Kasepuhan are unique in not using the IRRI rice varieties, proven to be more sensitive to pest attacks. Instead, they plant many traditional rice varieties not commonly grown anymore. In this sense, the community is also preserving many rice varieties which are no longer used in other parts of the country.

Rice is stored in traditional rice storage containers made of bamboo and straw called leuit. Selling rice to the outside community is only permitted if there is a surplus and, under traditional law, only husked rice is permitted for sale.

The Kasepuhan are a community most informed and concerned about the threats to biodiversity. This is because maintaining diversity has always been a part of their lives. But how long will this diversity last? Is preservation best ensured by remaining unknown to the rest of the world ?

It is obvious that Halimun, with its distinctive wildlife, is an asset to the country. Unfortunately, there are many threats imperiling its preservation. At night, as the Kasepuhan sit together and join in traditional dances, their concern for the future is apparent. Dadun and his community worry whether they will be successful in protecting the land, the people and the wildlife.

They worry that shared ties as people and dependence on one another are being silenced in the growing clamor of an escalating outside human population with greater demands for a better material life. But the Kasepuhan, far removed from society and with no understanding of lobbying systems, are powerless. It will be up to others to point out the vital importance of the bonds that link human life to all other life forms which share the earth.