Minang people keep hunting boar far from their homeland

By Indra D. Himrat

JAKARTA (JP): Minang people go boar hunting not only in their homeland of West Sumatra, but also outside the island. While boars are hunted in their homeland to protect crops, now migrant Minang people go boar hunting for sport.

To them hunting boars is not only recreational, but also an occasion when they can strengthen the social ties with fellow countrymen who live far away from their hometown.

"We migrant Minang people in Jakarta are no longer farmers living in one village. We do non-agricultural activities for a living such as working for private companies or the government or running our own businesses. So we go boar hunting for sport and for recreation. Of course, our hunting is also useful to local people because it reduces plant-destroying vermin," said Surya Neldi, 34, of the Minang People's Association of Boar Hunting Sport in Jakarta (PORBI Jaya).

Neldi was the secretary of the organizing committee of a boar hunt held on Dec. 13 by PORBI Jaya in a forest area around Jatiluhur Dam, some eight kilometers from Purwakarta, West Java.

This boar hunting event was participated in by some 300 people. Most of them arrived in private cars, others in chartered vehicles. "None of them came by public bus because they had to bring their dogs with them," said Yasril, a participant.

The participants came not only from Jakarta but also from towns in West Java such as Purwakarta, Subang, Tasikmalaya, Bogor and Sukabumi. They all took their dogs with them. These dogs, which are vital in a hunt, chase and render helpless the hunted boars.

"Without dogs, we'd be just roaming the forest for nothing," a participant from Jakarta commented. Besides taking dogs, some participants also took machetes and other weapons with them.

The boar hunting site chosen was Jatiluhur village and Kuta Manah village, both to the east of Jatiluhur Dam.

"It is cool in these two places. Besides, boars often devour the local people's plants," said Adi Donar.

Most local people earn a living from farming. At the time of the hunt, some were harvesting cucumber, cassava or corn. Some of the locals also hunt boars because it is advantageous to them.

"Hunting boars is advantageous to us. It will reduce the number of boars as some will be killed during the hunt. Others will move to other places because in the course of the hunt, participants shout out loud," said Maman, a youth leader of Jatiluhur village.

Indeed, you shout out loud when you hunt boars. Boars or other game will move away because they feel disturb by the noisy shouting in the Minang language.

When a hunt is in progress, it is very noisy in the forest because, apart from hunters shouting to alert others of their presence, the dogs continuously bark. Once set free by their masters, the dogs run fast in search of hiding boars. They do not stop until they find some.

"These dogs return to where they were set free," said Heri, a regular participant.

"A well-trained hunting dog can fetch some Rp 15 million, while a novice dog can be bought for only Rp 350,000," said Surya Neldi.

According to him, a well-trained dog is very expensive because of its sharp sense of smell, it runs fast and only chases boars. It will never chase other animals and will not disturb people, he added.

"Understandably, such a dog is very expensive because it takes a lot of time, money and effort to train it through lots of hunts," he said, adding that a well-trained dog would be bought a leash costing between Rp 150,000 and Rp 2 million.

So, you must have a lot of money to go boar hunting. Of course, you will have to spend some extra money on taking care of your dog, However, Adi Donar denied that boar hunting was limited to well-off people.

"No, it's not limited only to rich people. We all have our businesses to run. So, it is quite natural for us to take up this sport once or twice a month. We'll be running here and there and also shouting. You see, walking through the forest is really refreshing and takes our minds off our routine work," he said.

Many go boar hunting to have some kind of recreation and also to foster relationships. Donar said that since he actively started hunting he had developed a robust and healthy body.

"Besides, I can also run long distances," he added.

Other participants will hold up Amir Husin, 74, as a model. Husin is a pioneer of boar hunting. Despite his age, he is still in good health and can run well in a forest.

Another advantage of boar hunting is that the participants can improve their relationships with one another and establish good relations with local people, who usually welcome the hunts because they help reduce the threat boars are to their crops.

"This time three boars which used to devour the local people's plants have been killed. Some local people even contact us if there are a lot of boars in their area," said Surya Neldi.

In every boar hunt, at least 10 locals are involved. They help the hunters find the boars' hiding places. A muncak, someone well-versed in the art of hunting, accompanies them.

"Migrant Minang people must always cooperate with the locals living in the area where the hunt is carried out," said Neldi.

Boar hunting has its own game rules. "Participants must not damage or destroy the plants in the hunting ground, either grown by locals or protected by the government," said Haji Adi Donar, 53. He added that this rule was important to ensure that boar hunting did not impede environmental conservation.

Donar produced his PORBI Jaya membership card to show that the every member could read on it government Regulation No. 13/1994 on game hunting, Law No. 5/1967 on basic stipulations on forestry and Law No. 5/1960 on the conservation of natural resources and the ecosystem, stipulating, among other things, that nature may be utilized by hunters.