A Local genius
Moving field!!
It appears, the Kubu tribe isn’t the only tribe that respect forest, there’s also Dayak tribe in Kalimantan (borneo). The Dayak tribe or Dyak, a borneo’s native tribe, that ever since, lived inside the forest. Some of us think of them as a very primitive tribe, with a very primitive clothes, very primitive culture, and very primitive face!
But, Dayak tribe isn’t as primitive as the medieval dutch’s colonial media says! Well, yeah... Maybe the long-ear tradition is still go on, and... yeah, maybe the tattoo tradition for women and men still go on.. but they don’t have long tail or hunt down some human heads, just like the medieval era colonial media says! They actually a wise people, especially when it comes to nature.
Their culture is all about forest, and all things in it. Forest is their soul, their life, their veins, and their source of living. They have 7 principle in maintaining natural resource, and that is continuity, collectivity, variety, subsistensi, Organic, Rituality, and common law. If someone broke the principle, he/she will be punished.
It’s maybe looked like it, but moving field tradition isn’t forest razing activity. Dayakologi institute says that the moving field system is an integrated indigenous farming system. It’s not moving field, but rotation field system. Because this field system from Dayak tribe, cultivate in other field to give time for the old field some time to rest (about 10 years) so later on, they’ll cultivate it again. This agricultural system is the right answer for struggle to protect life above an unfertile land.
Dayak's Tribe
| Long ear of Dayak Tribe. adopt from http://www.acrossindonesia.com/ |
Tattoo of Dayak Tribe adopt from http://adoem-poeboe84.blogspot.com/ |
Hudoq Dance, the clothe made from 100% natural resources! ^_^ http://www.vivaborneo.com/?p=38 |
The irony..
Hence all that, there’s still some people whom blame the tribes for the mass loss of Kalimantan’s forest. They said, Dayak tribe’s moving field tradition that already goes on hundreds of years is the main cause of the mass loss of forest.
Even though they’ve done the moving field tradition for hundreds of years, the mass loss of forest occurred for the last 20 years. In 1968, Kalimantan (borneo) have 41.470.000 ha of forest areal, while in 1990’s there’s only 34.730.000 ha left. While in Sumatra, in 1950, according to Mukri, forest areal in Sumatra reached 37.370.000 ha, and today, there’s only 28.649.030 left. [From http://www.walhi.or.id/kampanye/hutan/konversi/070307_hti_li/?&printer_friendly=true, and http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2008/12/19/alih-fungsi-hutan-menuai-banjir-di-sumatera/] br />
So, why can this thing happen? Does those tribes dared to chopped down those trees, that gives so much to them? Impossible! There must be someone came to where they live, study their culture, and use it against them! Let’s ask our selves again, DO they dared to chop down their own trees?
“Okay-okay… calm down… sheesh”
“Sorry… I got too carried away….”
“No problem”
“Okay, let’s continue”