Retreating, Although Not in Defeat

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Agricultural area around residential areas in Sirnaresmi village, Cisolok district, Sukabumi regency, West Java, Friday (04/01/2019). In Sirnaresmi village, which is located in Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi, the villagers plant 68 different varieties of rice. The locals also have a custom of giving 10 percent of the harvest to the poor, orphans and those in need.

Progress is like a double-edged knife for adat (customary) communities. Progress makes life easier, but on the other hand may undermine local cultures. In the face of progress, customary communities often choose to retreat, although not in defeat.

It was still morning on Friday (4/1/2019), but the Imah Gede in Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi in Sirnaresmi village, Cisolok district, Sukabumi regency, West Java, was already crowded. People were busily making notes of the aid for landslide survivors in the village’s Garehong hamlet. The Imah Gede is a multifunction village hall where locals gather to discuss village affairs or receive guests. In this time of disaster, the imah gede is used as a logistics post.

At one corner of the hall, Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi elder Abah Asep Nugraha monitored everything. He was wearing a black headband. A book and a cell phone were beside him. Despite strict implementation of customary values, locals in Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi did not shut themselves to progress.

“We cannot avoid the influence of technology. As long as it is not in conflict with traditional values, we can use it,” Asep said.

He said that cell phones were really useful in communications. However, if used excessively, cell phones may lower their users’ sensitivity to those around them.

This is why Asep always warns parents to limit their children’s use of gadgets. Parents are encouraged to take their children to the rice fields early on. “The Earth belongs to God. He only gives it to us for safekeeping. So, we need to keep it safe,” he explained.

Paddy has always fostered locals’ humanist spirit. Each home has a leuit, a granary to store rice after harvesting.

The harvested rice in the granary was not a display of wealth. Instead, it symbolizes prosperity and a spirit of sharing. The paddy must not be sold before all locals’ needs are met.

Locals must allocate 10 percent of their harvested rice for orphans, the poor, widows and anyone else in need. In olden times, the leuit was at least 50 meters away from the main house. Nowadays, many leuit are built less than 10 meters away from the main house because of the limited availability of land.

Sirnaresmi villager Enih, 55, said that locals could never avoid technological progress. However, customary values must still be preserved, including the requirement for all houses to have a leuit.

“No matter how small a home is, it must have a leuit so that everyone can help other people,” he said.

Asep said that locals in Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi follow the philosophies of nyanghulu ka hukum (adhering to law), nunjang ka nagara (referring to state laws) and mufakat jeung balarea (relying on discussion and consensus).

However, on certain things, the kasepuhan refuses to accept government aid, such as government assistance in the form of rice seeds that can be harvested in 100 days. “The customary rule is clear, namely that rice is harvested once a year. The land must have a rest. We only want to use our own rice seeds that can be harvested once every six months,” Asep said. There are 68 local paddy varieties for cultivation.

However, Asep said that the kasepuhan’s members participated in the government’s gas conversion program, but the gas must not be used to cook rice.

“Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi glorifies rice. Rice must be cooked on traditional stoves. Rice is not milled but pounded,” he said.

Challenges

As time goes by, population growth is inevitable. Currently, Kasepuhan Sinar Resmi has about 3,000 residents in three regencies, namely Sukabumi and Bogor in West Java and Lebak in Banten.

Customary values regulate sources of livelihood and house construction. One of the rules is that residents are banned from cutting down trees in the forbidden forest to earn a living. Residents are also banned from building homes near water springs or on land between two streams.

The locations of paddy fields are also regulated. According to Asep, the ancestors said that locals should not disturb the slopes of the hills. However, limited land availability has forced people to cultivate rice on slopes. The requirement is that people should create rice terraces to minimize the chances of landslides.

Landslide survivor Sumar, 35, said that he had adhered to the rice-terrace and one-planting-a-year rules. His house is far from springs and he always shares his harvests. However, no one can avoid nature\'s will. When disasters strike, they affect everyone indiscriminately.

The rice fields on the slopes of Garehong hamlet, Sirnaresmi village, slid after a heavy week-long rain. Local houses were buried. The latest data on Friday revealed that 22 people had died and 11 were missing.

“There was a small landslide about 20 years ago, but there were no casualties. Perhaps this was a warning from nature. We will study whether we have violated any customary law,” Asep said.

No one can reject progress. Amid limited options, locals try to adjust. However, the road ahead is often rocky. (TATANG MULYANA SINAGA)