Rhythms of A Nation: Traditional cultures in Indonesia

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.