Rhythms of A Nation: Traditional cultures in Indonesia

By Catherine Brown

JAKARTA (JP): It is unusual for traditional cultures to be the focus of a seminar at an internationally recognized think-tank and policy center like CSIS (Centre for Strategic and International Studies). But a full-day seminar on Monday (tomorrow), part of a series of CSIS activities honoring Indonesia's 50th anniversary, will stress the growing need to include traditional cultures in development and conversation planning.

Several prominent leaders will take part in this discussion on Culture, Traditional Wisdom and Conservation. The Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja will make opening remarks and other specialists will contribute to the conversation: CSIS economists Hadi Soesastro and Mari Pangestu, Oxfam development specialist Mansour Faqih, Gadjah Mada University's anthropologist A.S. Laksono, University of Indonesia's legal anthropologist Anto Achdiat, and Sejati environmentalist, Abdon Nababan.

This seminar will be a unique discussion of how traditional wisdom can play a vital role in sustainable development and conservation.

Traditional knowledge and wisdom have been historically undervalued as relevant components of national policy and development planning. But as Indonesia enters its 50th year of independence, leaders are beginning to recognize the great wealth of knowledge the traditional communities have to offer. From Kalimantan to Irian Jaya, from the Maluku to the Lesser Sunda Islands, many groups still maintain their traditions practiced by their ancestors. These traditions have allowed the groups to live in relative harmony with their surrounding environment without disrupting its natural balance. As modern living needs clear the forests of their trees and empty the seas of their fish, the traditional communities of Indonesia can teach the general public the fundamental truths of conservation.

CSIS has raised the importance of traditional wisdom by including it in discussions of national development. As part of their effort to open this discussion to the broader public, CSIS has asked the Sejati Foundation to hold an exhibition detailing the lives of traditional communities today and the wealth of knowledge they have to offer modern society. Sejati, a non-profit organization which documents and disseminates information about the cultural and biological wealth of Indonesia, believes that until the public understands traditional values and systems, traditional resource management cannot be accepted as a conservation alternative.

"Rhythms of A Nation: Tradition and Development in Indonesia" is a multi-media exhibition which includes rare and unpublished photographs, never-exhibited artifacts, and poetic sounds of traditional life from Kalimantan to Irian Jaya. It is an opportunity for the general public to learn how traditional people live today in Indonesia and understand the pressures they face in midst of rapid development.

Using various media, "Rhythms of A Nation" will go beyond material culture: it captures the essence of traditional values. The photographs and the artifacts illustrate that every aspect of traditional culture revolves around a deep respect for the environment. Traditional communities like the Bajau from northern Sulawesi or the Kei from the Maluku know that man cannot take from nature without returning to it. They know the value of planning and saving for the future.

As part of the seminar and exhibition, a traditional king from Kei Besar Island, Maluku will speak about his new book published by Sejati. In addition to his last book Larwul Ngabal which details customary law on Kei, J.P. Rahail has written about traditional land and sea tenure on the island of Kei.

Known to his people as Bapak Raja or King, Rahail will speak to seminar participants and the public about traditional resource management and how this kind of careful, regulated system of resource use is sustainable. he will discuss, as he does in his new book, how the Kei sasi or taboo system prevents the harvest of immature trees and spawning fish for example. The taboo system puts legal controls on how much an individual and a community takes from the forest and sea. As Bapak Raja will explain, this resource management system does not exhaust the small islands' wealth: rather it sustains it.

As an audio-visual component of the exhibition, Sejati will show several films, including its most recent film Return to X Valley, Understanding the Epomek Tribe. The film explores a community known as the Mek, a traditional people who live in a valley along the Papua new Guinea border. Outsiders first encountered the Mek people in a 1969 expedition comprised of an American television news team from NBC and the Indonesian Army. At that time, the region had never been explored or chartered by outsiders. the film shows how these sweet potato cultivators have supported themselves in the hilly region of Irian Jaya. It explores the memories of army officials and the Mek people themselves in remembering the 1969 expedition and how it affected perceptions of tradition and modernity.

As a popular and general introduction to Sejati and the current situation of traditional communities, Sejati will also launch two illustrated books by Alexius Tege: Apa itu Sejati and Strangers in Their Own Land. Apa itu Sejati is a general explanation of the Sejati foundation's objective and activities. Strangers in Their Own Land shows the pressure of modern development and environmental destruction upon the traditional communities in eastern Kalimantan.

The seminar and exhibition are excellent opportunities for policy makers and the public to learn how traditional culture and wisdom can contribute to the sustainable development of this nation. Following tradition, CSIS is opening the dialogue to include development and conservation alternatives. As a nation celebrates fifty years of independence, it is not just a time to dwell on the past but also a time to look forward. CSIS and Sejati together hope that the seminar, the exhibition, the books and the film provide fuel for forward thinking -- the cultural and biological wealth of Indonesia is too impressive to ignore.

The exhibition "Rhythms of A Nation", held at the CSIS building at Jl. Tanah Abang III No. 23-27, will be open to the public from Aug. 8- Aug.13, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.