JP/18/WWF2

Raci and apo in Bajo Sampela

Bajo people live in harmony with their surroundings

Hasrul The Jakarta Post/Kendari

It was very hot and the wind from the sea blew softly on the coastal areas of the Wakatobi islands late one morning when Nira, 40, fanned the flames on a stove in the space underneath her stilted house.

Then she stirred the raci, gastropod-like shells, which were almost done in the frying pan. Her lips and tongue were red as she continually chewed betel leaves and lime.

The well-cooked shells were then taken to one corner of the house. Nira drained the water away from the raci and threw the water away.

While do this she greeted, in Bajo language, the people passing by in their boats. Meanwhile, Tao, her small daughter, was busy extracting the flesh from the shells with wooden pincers.

Raci is a favorite dish for the Bajo Sampela people. The shells must first be cooked for two hours and then the meat is taken out and cooked again in a mixture of spices. The Bajo Sampela people usually have raci for lunch. Often, it is mixed with steamed cassava and formed into a conical shape.

Nira and her family live in Sama Bahari village in the coastal area of Kaledupa. Her house, just like those of hundreds of other Bajo people, stands on a slab of rock, locally called apo, which is also the foundation of the house.

In Sampela and in other coastal areas of the Wakatobi islands, where other Bajo groups live, raci is a common dish. "Eating it, for us, is like smoking. It's better not to eat rice than not to eat raci," Nira said about the relationship between raci and the local residents, who usually go about barefoot, put on a thick layer of powder on their face or swim in the sea dozens of times a day.

'Apo' an integral element

In a single day, the Bajo Sampela people, comprising 216 families, consume some 300 kilograms of raci. They also sell the shells to other islands for about Rp 18,000 per kilogram.

Locals stopped looking for raci and apo a long time ago because the government prohibits these activities. "Marine life might be damaged," said Laeto, a Bajo fisherman.

Dark-skinned Laeto, in his 50s, said that his people were very concerned about the environment. No matter what island they live on, they never damage the environment. "We never kill the birds. We never collect wild orchids from the forest. We do not engage in illegal logging," he said.

The Bajo people carry out their activities at sea, something quite unusual for most people. "Many people, who live on the land, say that our lives are difficult. However, we can survive just fine. Life is easy for me and my kids. We can just wear our sarongs. The most important thing is that all my children are good at fishing," Laeto said.

The Bajo people have lived in the coastal area of Sampela since the 1950s and they fully rely on their fishing haul to survive. At first, they lived in the coastal area of Mantigola, to the west of Kaledupa, then the home of most Bajo people.

Unfortunately, the arrival of pirates caused them to scatter. In Sampela, the 216 Bajo families occupy an area much larger than the Bajo dwelling place in Mola, Wangiwangi district, where about 8,000 live.

Water is the source of life for the Bajo people. Apart from being fishermen, they also collect raci and apo. To make sure that there is apo in a certain place, they use a bamboo stick, known locally as tokong, which they will hold close to their ear.

Their instincts will then tell them whether they can find apo or not in that particular place. To obtain a boatload of apo, a collector sometimes has to dive to a depth of some 10 meters. Apo is sold for between Rp 20,000 - Rp 40,000 per boat. "Again, the government has forbidden the collection of apo now," said Laeto, dejected.

Modernity accepted, too

Nira and the other Bajo fishermen may seem to many an isolated tribe. While using her kuhu, an instrument used to find lice, Nira said that the Bajo people also accepted modernization. Her children, for example, use toothpaste, soap and shampoo.

They also buy blue jeans for Idul Fitri. However, they are still not used to wearing sandals or shoes. Some of them tried to wear shoes but found it difficult to walk. Besides, the shoes also hurt their feet.

In their small houses, the Bajo women make fires, bathe their children and also deliver their babies. Bajo babies are usually healthy, although some are born deaf.

However, the Bajo people have their own perception about deafness. For them, this is a sign of a good diver who can descend to a depth of 20 meters. Generally, only one in every 100 Bajo people dies while diving.

Bajo people in different parts of the country have something in common: their boats. They also speak the Bajo language. "Our Bajo language is the same everywhere, with the exception of the accent," Laeto said.

Chris Majors, a U.S. anthropologist who has spent a decade studying the Bajo people in the Kaledupa coastal area, said that the they believed that their ancestor, Umbo Mandilao, lives in the sea and will always ensure the sea is an inexhaustible source for their livelihoods.

That is why the Bajo people freely use explosives and other means of destruction when collecting fish. The Bajo people believe that their Umbo Mandilao will always supply them with new fish.

Preserving their culture

Cultural diversity in the Bajo community is maintained through a humanitarian approach. Efforts are made to make them understand the significance of preserving their indigenous culture without harming their beliefs.

Majors says that the Bajo people, who speak the Boang Sama language, will need a long time to preserve their culture in view of their way of thinking.

Indeed, the problems that the Bajo people face in their lives will affect the way they behave. For them, education and health are very difficult problems.

Research conducted by the Bajo Mattila Foundation documents how the people have been neglected by the government. The school curriculum for the Bajo children, for example, is not directly related to their real needs.

"Bajo kids aged five are very good at fishing in the sea. They do not go to school. That's why only about 30 percent of school- aged Bajo children actually attend. They go to school because of their friends. When they get fed up with the school, they will return to the sea to fish," said Majors.

He hopes that the government will devise a special curriculum for the Bajo children. They would be able to study on the beach, for example, and Bajo language could be used as the medium of instruction.

-- Profile of Chris Majors on Page 20