The Silent Song of Mount Gandang Dewata

Dominggus, 50, came with a bottle of yellow honey. He took it directly from the nest of honey bees. "It can sell for Rp 50,000 (US$3.57)," 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.

The honey bees are just one of the blessings of Mount Gandang Dewata. As a farmer, Dominggus plants crops in gardens and rice fields. Like most residents in Buntu Buda village, Mamasa district, Mamasa regency, West Sulawesi, agriculture is the main source of their livelihood.

"If there are visitors who want to climb the mountain, some friends and I often act as guides as well as porters for them," said Dominggus.

Dominggus and his two friends, Tandi Karaeng, 48, and Deppa Sule, 34, are reliable guides of Mt. Gandang Dewata. In addition to being able to carry heavy loads to the top of the mountain across steep terrain, they are also quite skillful in erecting tents, cooking and making campfires.

Many researchers, foreign tourists and local tourists have used their services, including the Kompas Wallacea expedition team when climbing Dewata Gandang in mid-August 2019.

In Mamasa, the drum is sounded when someone dies. Coming home from the forest, hunters found one of their family members dead.

For residents who live at the foot of Gandang Dewata, the mountain, with an altitude of 3,074 meters above sea level, is not just an ordinary landscape. From generation to generation, residents around the mountain have depended on forest products on the mountain, such as wood, various types of medicinal plants, forest honey, damar resin and water sources that never run dry.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Moss forest in Gunung Gandang Dewata National Park, Mamasa Regency, West Sulawesi, Thursday (15/8/2019).

The name Gandang Dewata is taken from the experience of hunters in the forest. Through the hereditary narrative, hunters often heard the sound of drums while hunting in the forest. In fact, the nearest village is quite far, which can take two or three days to reach from the forest. In Mamasa, the drum is sounded when someone dies. Coming home from the forest, hunters found one of their family members dead.

In the past, Mt. Gandang Dewata was also a hunting ground for Sulawesi\'s endemic fauna, the mountain anoa. The animal, which looks like a cross between a cow and a buffalo with a pair of pointed horns, was captured with snares that were set up in the forest.

"During a hunt, we got up to 10 anoas. In addition to anoas, residents also hunt deer pigs," recalled Thimotius Sambominanga, 91, the caretaker of Mt. Gandang Dewata .

Fragile

Mt. Gandang Dewata, which has extraordinary biodiversity, was finally declared a national park through Environment and Forestry Ministerial Decree No. SK.773 / MENLHK / Setjen /PLA.2 / 10/2016. The national park has an area of 189,208.17 hectares and stretches across four districts in West Sulawesi, namely Mamuju, North Mamuju, Middle Mamuju and Mamasa.

With such an area, Mt. Gandang Dewata is only guarded by five rangers. Access to Gandang Dewata is difficult and it is also difficult to save the integrity of the richness of its biological resources.

With a slope of 45 degrees to 70 degrees and soil surface being covered with slippery moss, it is quite difficult to climb the mountain. "As a newly established national park, we are trying to improve it. For the security, our priority is to guard areas that are directly adjacent to residential areas," said the head of the South Sulawesi nature conservation office, Thomas Nifinluri.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Thimotius “Papa Daud” Sambominanga, the caretaker of Mount Gandang Dewata

Potential

In the eyes of scientists, Mt. Gandang Dewata is a giant natural laboratory. In addition to being a habitat for Sulawesi\'s endemic flora and fauna, the mountain keeps various types of plants and animals that have potential as new species, such as new varieties of ginger, rat, frog and orchid.

"Mt. Gandang Dewata can be called the most intact native habitat of the Wallacea region. The unique ecosystem has a variety of unique flora and fauna. Unfortunately, there has not been much scientific research in Gandang Dewata," said Professor Ngakan Putu Oka, an ecologist at the School of Forestry of Hasanuddin University, Makassar.

Mt. Gandang Dewata also has a charming moss forest like an ancient forest. Moss forest can be found starting at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level. The area has the potential to be developed for tourism.

In a research report published by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in 2016, various types of flora and fauna were found as potential new species on Mt. Gandang Dewata. In addition, identification of biological resources in Gandang Dewata is expected to be able to find potential sources of bioenergy, food or medicine.

Mt. Gandang Dewata, which is located in a secluded and quiet area, is the last home of Wallacea flora and fauna which must be maintained intact

Although Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist who explored the archipelago from 1854 to 1862, had never set foot in western Sulawesi, he really admired Sulawesi\'s rich biological resources.

In his book The Malay Archipelago, published in 1869, Wallace was fascinated by Sulawesi’s endemic animals, such as the Sulawesi black monkey, tarsier, anoa and deer pig. He mentioned that Sulawesi was an interesting island for studies on the geographical distribution of fauna in the world.

Read more : Guardian of Gandang Dewata

Like most conservation areas in Indonesia, Mt. Gandang Dewata must be fully protected to avoid damage from poaching, forest encroachment and illegal mining.

Mt. Gandang Dewata, which is located in a secluded and quiet area, is the last home of Wallacea flora and fauna which must be maintained intact.