Sambi, a unique heritage village
Sambi, a unique heritage village
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Sambi, a hamlet in Pakembinangun village, Sleman regency, boasts
no historical artifacts or outstanding architectural works. Yet,
State Minister for Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardhika and Minister
of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih chose Sambi to announce the start
of Indonesia Heritage Year (IHY) 2003 recently.
The chairwoman of IHY's organizing committee, Laretna T.
Adishakti, said the village was chosen as the venue to launch the
event because of its "plainness".
"This is what is called ordinary heritage. Sambi is certainly
plain, but rich in meaning and with local wisdom of its own.
That's why it deserves preservation," said Laretna.
The reason Sambi was named a heritage conservation village was
because the village retains its original look and architecture.
Now if a villager wants to build a new house or renovate an old
one, he or she must first get the approval of the village tourism
group, which is in charge of ensuring the preservation of the
Sambi.
Sambi retains characteristics that many other Javanese
villages have long lost. There are traditional Javanese joglo and
limasan houses, with their senthong tengah (central chamber),
senthong tengen (right chamber) and senthong kiwa (left chamber).
Yards are filled with vegetable plants, fruit trees and
medicinal plants. In the yards of some houses owned by farmers,
cow stalls and equipment to cultivate rice fields are visible.
"The way the houses, yards and the village as a whole is
arranged, along with the local wisdom the village contains, makes
Sambi worth conserving," said Laretna.
She said heritage activists were worried about losing villages
like Sambi to modernization.
In Sambi, for example, some of the traditional houses are no
longer lived in and more modern-looking buildings have begun to
color the village.
"It's not that we are against development. We believe that
humans and human life has to be dynamic and keep on developing.
But that does not mean it has to erase local wisdom and values.
Development has to be able to see which things should be
continued and which should be changed," said Laretna.
The future challenge, she said, was to develop villages as
historical environments that not only fulfilled residents' needs,
but also maintained an ecological balance and preserved natural
resources.
"That way we will create a much better environment that in
turn will lead to a higher quality of life," said Laretna, who is
also the director of the Center for Heritage Conservation at
Gadjah Mada University's School of Architecture.
She called on everyone to help in the conservation of villages
across the country, which she said would benefit villagers
economically, socially and culturally.
"We have the right to preserve our heritage. Architects,
heritage activists, landscape experts and other concerned parties
are welcome to do so. During Indonesia Heritage Year 2003, more
and more villages in the country will hopefully join the effort
and voluntarily preserve their own specific and valuable
characteristics," Laretna said.
She said there were already numerous conservation and
beautification efforts underway in Sambi. Sleman regency, along
with the Yogyakarta Agricultural Institute's Community Service
Department and local residents, for example, is developing a
tropical flower garden in empty areas in the village.
Villagers also are working to boost art and cultural
activities in Sambi, and some residents have turned traditional
houses into homestays for visitors, who can trek through the rice
fields, learn to play gamelan instruments or how to plant rice.
"You can also enjoy a classic Javanese dance performances, a
shadow puppet play or a ketoprak (traditional drama) during your
visit," said one villager.