Tumenggung Tarib fights for a cause

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

If anyone ever wanted to know what love looked like, Tumenggung Tarib, leader of the Orang Rimba (Jungle People) tribe, would be the one to show them.

Tarib, 45, is illiterate, yet he is a hero to his people thanks to his fight to protect them and their environment.

Tarib shows his love for the soil, water and air, and he struggles against those people who want to destroy his beloved forests where his people live in harmony with nature.

His home is deep in the Bukit Duabelas National Park (TNDB), somewhere in the Paku Aji river basin, Pemanatang Kabau village, Pauh district, Sarko regency, Jambi.

Today there are only about 22 families or some 5,700 Orang Rimba.

As a senior member of his tribe, Tarib was entrusted to represent his people at the first congress of traditional communities in Indonesia held at the Hotel Indonesia, Jakarta, on March 15, 1999.

The lanky Tarib, a father of eight, attended the congress in his normal clothes -- a loincloth.

He was also named a member of the Regional Alliance Council, representing the Alliance of Traditional Communities in Jambi province for the period between 1999 and 2002.

In this council, Tarib had the chance to ensure the sustainability of the forests that maintain his tribe.

In appreciation for the efforts of Tarib and his Orang Rimba to save the forest and its biological diversity through the implementation of their hompongan agricultural method, the Kehati Foundation, a non-governmental organization for biological diversity conservation, honored them and presented the tribe with Rp 40 million in January 2000.

For nine years now, Orang Rimba have been practicing the hompongan agricultural method.

They open up land for agricultural activities along the reserve boundary, allowing these plots of land to also serve as a fortress that prevents outsiders from entering the reserve.

This method of land opening has effectively separated the nature reserve from the residential areas outside of it, preventing illegal logging in the forest.

Between Sept. 18 and Sept. 25 this year, Tumenggung Tarib took part in the second congress of traditional communities in Indonesia.

At the congress, in the presence of government officials, including the second deputy to the state minister for the environment, Jhon Purba, Tarib called on the government to follow through on its logging policy.

"I'm asking our leaders to save our jungle in TNDB. Saving the forest means saving us as well. If the forest is gone, then it will be the end for our people," he said.

Although the hompongan agricultural method can serve as a fence for the national park, illegal logging cannot be completely prevented. Many logging bosses, he said, continue to log in the forest using sophisticated equipment. Tarib and his people are powerless against these illegal loggers.

"Illegal loggers will kill us if we try to stop them. We are powerless because we are outnumbered. How can we fight against illegal loggers that are guarded by members of the security apparatus. If the provincial administration of Jambi turns a blind eye to these practices, the Orang Rimba will in for a great disaster," he said.

Apart from safeguarding the forest from illegal logging, Tarib also takes part in activities to protect biological diversity in the national park.

Thanks to his effort through the Orang Rimba communication forum, a loose organization facilitated by WARSI, an environmental non-governmental organization in Jambi, all of the Orang Rimba now share a common perception about how to save their forest.

A farmer and a collector of non-wood forest products, Tarib is also a traditional healer. He can concoct various herbal medicines for his people.

A 1998 biodata survey performed by a team from the health ministry, in cooperation with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the University of Indonesia and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, found there are 137 medicinal herbs in TNDB.

Tarib is always involved in such surveys as he is considered the most knowledgeable of all his people about this matter.

"Every time a biodata survey is made in the national park, I am included on the survey team to tell them the efficacy of medicinal herbs."

Indonesia has been an independent state for over half a century, but the Orang Rimba have never officially become Indonesian citizens. None of them, for example, possess a resident identity card.

"We are not officially registered as Indonesian citizens. None of us have a resident identity card although we are required to take part in the general elections," he said.

"Let us live our traditional life without a resident identity card. Just leave our forest as it is. This is what matters most to us," Tarib said.