Baduy’s Diligence Sustains the Heritage of Forefathers

DWI BAYU RADIUS

· 5 minutes read

For decades, Baduy people have lived amid the forest without damaging it. They follow their forefather’s will to preserve the natural environment. Indeed, they have even spread the spirit of preserving nature and preventing disaster to people outside their traditional lands.

If one strolls around the Baduy area of Kanekes village, Leuwidamar district, Lebak regency, Banten, they will feel the fresh air. People’s houses stand in front of the thick forest, where the trees grow 30 meters high.

Fern, blume, durian, coconut, bamboo, stink bean and ceiba trees grow amid the houses. The Baduy use palm leaves for the roofs of their houses, with bamboo walls and wooden foundations, highlighting the their close relationship with nature. Near their homes, farms span in orderly fashion, alongside the forest.

Small rivers with clean water flow inside the forest. Valleys and hills can be seen from afar.

Harmony between the human and natural world best describes the Baduy lifestyle. They sustain the environment.

Kanekes village is about 100 kilometers from Serang, the provincial capital of Banten. The Baduy village has become a destination for tourists who not only enjoy panoramic views, but also want to learn the local wisdom.

The author of Saatnya Baduy Bicara, “It’s Time for Baduy to Speak Up,” a book published by Bumi Aksara and Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Serang, in 2010, Asep Kurnia said it was unknown how long the Baduy people had lived in Kanekes village, as the Baduy did not write.

“They have an oral culture. Their stories have been passed down through the generations orally. It is known, however, that the Baduy have lived in Kanekes village since before the Banten Sultanate in the 16^th century. They were known to have diligently sustained the forest,” Asep said.

Kanekes village head Saija said Baduy people live in their customary land of 5,100 hectares, of which around 3,000 hectares is forest. “That is the protected forest kept by the Baduy. The Baduy population is around 12,000 people,” he added.

They live in 65 kampongs. Two groups live in Kanekes village, the Baduy Dalam and the Baduy Luar. Baduy Dalam people follow customary rules by not violating various restrictions such as using electronic devices, riding in vehicles or wearing footwear. The Baduy Luar are permitted to utilize these objects.

Within their customary land, except within the forest, Baduy people are allowed to build houses and farmland. They grow rice, banana, galangal, ginger and palm sugar. Baduy people have never trespassed into the forest to build houses or farmland.

Their obedience to customary rules has helped sustain the forest until today. Their reference is the mandate of their forefathers, which consists of messages about life. Saija mentioned two primary messages to sustain the environment. “Gunung teu meunang dilebur, lebak teu meunang dirusak (the mountain must not be destroyed and the valley must not be damaged),” he said.

Baduy people are allowed to take fruits, use river water and take honey as long as they do not cut down the trees. People caught cutting down trees are summonsed by the community leaders and told not to do it again. Even though the sanction is lenient, people rarely break the rules. Saija said he could not remember the last time a person was caught destroying the forest.

“If there were people who cut down trees, they mostly came from outside Baduy. They only cut down one or two trees so generally the forest was sustained,” he said. Baduy people believe in karma and believe floods, tornados or landslides will strike their homes if they damage the forest.

Minimal disaster

Natural disasters almost never affect the Baduy area, thanks to their harmony with nature. They implement the messages of their forefathers without question.

“Principally, we did not do what is forbidden. We follow the messages of our forefathers. We implement the customary rules,” he said.

Baduy Dalam leader Ayah Mursyid said Baudy people used logic to sustain the natural environment. The forest must be preserved because it is the source of water. “Thus, the forest must not be damaged. It is not only the task of the Baduy to preserve nature,” he added.

It is the responsibility of all people to preserve the natural world. Mursyid added people must understand that the forest is the lung of the world. If forests are damaged, the environment will be destroyed. “There are borders between forests and farmland. There are also a few hectares of forbidden forest. People are not allowed to enter that forest,” he said.

The forest is the place for Baduy leaders to meditate. To prevent people from entering the forbidden forest, there are sanctions for those who violate the rules. “If the perpetrator belongs to the Baduy Dalam people, they are isolated for some time, and must spend around 40 days living outside the Baduy Dalam community,” he said.

After this time, the perpetrator is asked if he or she wants to return to Baduy Dalam or stay in the Baduy Luar community.

“If the perpetrator wants to return to Baduy Dalam, the community leaders discuss the rules further,” Mursyid said.

Baduy people not only follow the rules inside their community. They also spread the spirit of environmental preservation beyond the Kanekes village. Every time the Seba Baduy festival is held, thousands of Baduy people go to the administration offices of Lebak regency, Serang regency, Pandeglang regency and Banten province.

During the Seba Baduy festival, the message of preserving the environment is always been repeated. Without hesitation, representatives of the Baduy people also remind local administration heads to take care of the environment. The Seba Baduy festival aims to voice people’s aspirations to local administration heads.

Tanggungan Jaro 12 Baduy resident Saidi Putra voiced such a message during the Seba Baduy in Lebak regency at the end of April. “If nature is destroyed, disaster will occur,” said the representative, responsible for preserving traditional Baduy culture.

Editor:

KEEPING THE ARCHIPELAGO Baduy