Guardian of Gandang Dewata

Anyone who wants to climb Mount Gandang Dewata must "report" to Thimotius Sambominanga. This 91-year-old grandfather is a caretaker of the mountain, which is known as mystical, in the West Sulawesi region. Don’t be arrogant, don’t have bad intentions and don’t damage nature – those are his messages to anyone who wants to climb Gandang Dewata.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Timotius Sambominanga

In Mamasa, West Sulawesi, almost no one knows Thimotius. However, if we mention the name Papa Daud, people will know him and can show where the old man\'s house is located. Papa Daud means the father of Daud. Daud is the first son of Thimotius.

Thimotius\' house can be reached in less than 30 minutes by motorcycle or car from downtown Mamasa. It is located in Buntu Buda village, Mamasa district, the last village before the climb to Mount Gandang Dewata, which is now a national park. People go to Thimotius’ house to meet him and ask for permission to climb the mountain.

However, you should first get permission and don\'t bring bad intentions there. If there are bad intentions, I am afraid he or she will get bad luck.

"Anyone can climb the Gandang Dewata. However, you should first get permission and don\'t bring bad intentions there. If there are bad intentions, I am afraid he or she will get bad luck," said Thimotius in an interview with Kompas Daily Wallace Expedition Team on Saturday (17/8/2019).

He talked about the origins of the name Gandang Dewata. Without mentioning specific instances, the name was taken from an event that is often experienced by hunters on the mountain, which has an altitude of 3,074 meters above sea level. When hunting in the forest, hunters often hear the pounding sound of the drum. In fact, there is no human settlement in the forest. The nearest village is two or three days away from the forest.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Timotius Sambominanga

In Mamasa custom, the drum is beaten during a ceremony for someone\'s death. Sure enough, said Thimotius, when the hunters returned to their village, they found one of their relatives dead. Not just once, the sound of a drum being beaten while hunting was repeated several times. "The people believe that the drum was beaten by the gods as a sign," said Thimotius.

Fighting for status

Thimotius had a role that could not be taken lightly in the process of making Gandang Dewata a national park. It all started when he was a guide for researchers from the United States in the 1970s. At that time, he was in his 40s and often went up and down the mountain, so he memorized every inch of the footpath in the Gandang Dewata. "The researcher told me that the nature of Gandang Dewata was truly extraordinary. For him, Gandang Dewata is a field of knowledge that must be protected."

The message that the ecosystem of Gandang Dewata must be protected even became stronger in a series of studies conducted by a team from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and researchers from the US and Australia in 2011. In that study Thimotius, was again asked to be a field guide.

"All agreed that Gandang Dewata was designated as a national park. Finally, on one occasion in 2016, I approached the environment and forestry minister directly to make Gandang Dewata a national park," he said.

Gandang Dewata is a field of knowledge that must be protected."

Thimotius\' efforts to get Gandang Dewata designated as a national park were not easy. He was rejected by an adat (customary) organization on the grounds that the forest in Gandang Dewata was a customary forest.

He ignored it. In his mind at that time, Gandang Dewata had to have a stronger legal basis for protection so that its preservation would be maintained. "Those who refuse it are not from here [Mamasa]. They don\'t know better than the Mamasa people about the Gandang Dewata," he said.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Forest rangers and locals take a break at Post 1 of Mount Gandang Dewata hiking track, Mamasa regency, West Sulawesi, on Aug. 8 (16/8/2019). They guided Kompas to explore the Gandang Dewata National Park, a natural laboratory with hundreds of types of flora and fauna that have not yet been identified. The park is also home to many endemic species of flora and fauna of Sulawesi.

Thimotius’ perseverance with the support of other parties in Mamasa paid off. On Oct. 3, 2016, the Environment and Forestry Ministry issued Ministerial Decree No. SK.773/MENLHK/Setjen/PLA.2/10/2016, which declared Gandang Dewata as the 53rd national park in Indonesia.

For his role, Thimotius received an award in 2019 for the conservation of the Gandang Dewata National Park from the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

Dependent

For generations, Gandang Dewata has been the source of life of many people in West Sulawesi, especially Mamasa. In addition to being a source of water, local people also rely on the Gandang Dewata forest. "Even though it hasn\'t rained for months in Mamasa, the springs here never dry. Likewise, plants in Gandang Dewata are traditionally used as medicines," he said.

Gandang Dewata has given us a lot. We should also preserve it.

Gandang Dewata National Park has an area of 189,208 hectares. From a number of studies conducted by LIPI and also academics from Hasanuddin University and the Central Sulawesi Center for Natural Resources Conservation, it is known that the ecosystem of the Gandang Dewata has a high biodiversity.

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At a certain height, Gandang Dewata has moss forests, like ancient forests that are very charming. Not only that, some of the tributaries are so clear that the rocks at the bottom are clearly visible. The river water in Gandang Dewata is as cold as ice water. "Gandang Dewata has given us a lot. We should also preserve it," said Thimotius.

Thimotius Sambominanga

Born: Mamasa, July 16, 1928

Award: Customary Figure in the Conservation of Gandang Dewata National Park in 2019 from the Environment and Forestry Ministry