banten_local_interest.htm

Its not very often you come across a tribe who are keepers of their traditions and national heritage and are still surviving today. In a developing country like Indonesia, one such tribe lives far removed from the influences of the western world.

The Baduy ethnic tribe live in a territory located only around 165 kilometers west of Jakarta, in Banten province. As such, information obviously has easy access to the area, along with all its impacts. Moreover, the two nearby cities of Cilegon and Serang are growing rapidly, encroaching ever closer to the Baduy's ancestral lands.

Even so, the Baduy community continue to observe their traditional way of life, through a strict and loyal adherence to their age-old customs.

The Baduy territory is divided into Baduy Dalam and Baduy Luar, or inner and outer districts. Visitors wishing to enter Inner Baduy have to travel through several villages, including Cijengkol in Outer Baduy.

This village is about three hours' walk from Simpang Koranji, the last public transport terminal before reaching Baduy territory. The terrain leading to Cijengkol varies from rocky ground, hilly tracks and farmland to paddy fields. A white board and a field of pineapple bushes serve as a boundary between Baduy and non-Baduy territory. From here onwards, the rows of hills and woods adorning the territory are clearly visible, though the Baduy settlements are curiously obscured by dense foliage and hills.

Cijengkol has about 10 imah, or stilted houses, one of which belongs to Sarmin, 50, known to provide stopover facilities and lodging for tourists.

The village is made up of modest homes with wooden pillars, woven bamboo walls, palm-fiber-lined sago leaf roofs as well as wooden and bamboo couches in front. Using only local materials, the dwellings are built without nails or pegs, and are unpainted. Yellow plastic twine, however, is used to fasten the roofs.

"Palm fibers are now more expensive than plastic cords," said Sarmin.

At night, Cijengkol is dark, as the neat and well-arranged homes have no electricity, and light comes only from wood stoves and small oil lamps. It's so quiet that only the sound of bamboo trees rustling in the breeze can be heard.

The Baduy people, according to Sarmin, embrace the faith of Sunda Wiwitan. Baduy's custom and heritage chief, who is also the head of the indigenous religion, is called pu'un. There are three chiefs in Baduy Dalam.

"Members of the Baduy community go on a fast, or kawalu, every year," Sarmin said.

Kawalu ends with a feast day led by the pu'un called ngalaksa, the equivalent of Idul Fitri at the end of the Muslim fasting month, Ramadhan.

Sarmin said that the Baduy had refused the government's cash aid for the poor in compensation for the fuel hike. The designation "poor" had prompted locals to turn down the assistance, because they thought many people were more disadvantaged than they. "If the aid had used a label other than "poor", they might have accepted it," he added.
Why were the Baduy people bold enough to reject cash aid? It is because the Baduy are already self-sufficient in food, clothing and shelter within the structure of their modest lifestyle.

This is reflected in the daily diet of Baduy families, comprising rice, fish, tempeh, tofu, salad and sambal (chili sauce). Most of the food -- including cooking oil come from their farms, while fabrics and clothing are locally produced except salt and fish, which have to be purchased. Their income mainly originates in the sales of vegetables, fruits, honey and handicrafts. In other words, the Baduy people are not consumers.

Beyond the bridge

Visiting the Baduy would not be complete without entering Inner Baduy, whose residents are the Tangtu. From Cijengkol, the terrain is no less challenging, with natural paths, farmland, woods, rivers and undulating tracks.

A bamboo bridge spans Ciujung River, which separates Inner and Outer Baduy. About 10 meters long, the bridge was built by binding bamboo stems with palm fiber ropes. Two big trees on opposite banks serve as supporting pillars, making it solid and safe, though it may be simple in appearance.

Cikartawarna is one of three villages in Inner Baduy. It is deserted during the day, because most villagers are working on their farms and in the woods. The rows of stilted houses are built atop rock-packed foundations to make them resistant to landslides.

The next village is Cibeo, an hour's walk from Cikatawarna through bamboo copses, several outdoor "showers" made from channeled springs, and granaries. The interior set-up of its houses is not very different from that in Cikatawarna. For instance, in the tepas, or sitting room, of villager Sanif's home, no modern furnishings like chairs, tables and mattresses are to be found, let alone a radio or a TV, and only a stove and utensils made of wood or bamboo are found in the kitchen.

Inner Baduy residents who have never left the district are generally reticent and inclined to be visitor-shy, perhaps due to their rare interaction with outsiders. But some of them are fairly fluent in Bahasa Indonesia and more open to guests, like 24-year-old Sanif. He claimed to have walked to Jakarta and other areas several times.

"I've got some acquaintances in Jakarta," he said.

The Tangtu and Panamping

The Baduy, or Urang Kanekes, as they prefer to be called, live around valleys, hills and Kanekes River in groups made up of the Tangtu and the residents of Outer Baduy, or the Panamping. As inhabitants of Kanekes, the Panamping are part of the community and must thus obey all the rules imposed on them by the pu'un. This community has its own way of resisting the various elements and forces of modern culture.

Tangtu men are usually dressed in a white, hand-sewn, long-sleeved shirt without collars or buttons and match black sarongs below, while the Tangtu women members wear a white kebaya (traditional blouses) and black cloths that are wrapped around to form skirts.

Their Panamping male counterparts, in contrast, are clad in black, with Panamping females wearing black or dark blue blouses. The other Baduy characteristics are headdresses and daggers strapped to the waist, and they walk without any footwear, even on long treks.

Cikartawarna, Cibeo and Cikeusik are the three Tangtu villages that are inhabited only by those Baduy who obey the entire set of customs, including traditional prohibitions. Among others, prohibitions include smoking, committing crimes like fighting and killing, divorce and traveling by transportation -- they must walk barefoot when going to Merak, Jakarta or Bandung.

Tangtu customs also ban several kinds of modern commodities like electricity and electronics. The Inner Baduy believe that if they possess prohibited goods, they will become mamala, or cursed.

All houses are searched periodically for forbidden goods by the Baduy's "security officers", called baresan, as ordered by the pu'un.

Meanwhile, the Panamping are found in the western, eastern and northern parts bordering Inner Baduy. Their customs are more lenient than the Tangtu's.

For example, they are not banned from traveling by car when going to a city. But both Tangtu and Panamping members are not allowed to go to school. In their view, schooling makes them intelligent, and smart people sometimes become greedy, justifying any means to become wealthy and finally rejecting the Baduy custom and heritage. Thus, the knowledge the Baduy hand down to their children is limited to ngored, or farming skills, conservation and wise utilization of resources.

Any violation of customary prohibitions is liable to verbal warnings and punitive measures, with total banishment from the Baduy region as the severest verdict.

Preserving a way of life

Prohibitions are also applied to non-Baduy visitors: Mongoloid, ethnic African and Caucasian people are banned from entering Inner Baduy. In other words, international tourists are only permitted to visit Panamping. If this custom is breached, it is the Tangtu themselves who will face kuwalat or pamali -- retribution for disrespectful conduct.

Visitors are also only allowed to stay for one night.

Guests are denied entry to Inner Baduy during the kawalu fasting period. Taking pictures is also forbidden in Inner Baduy, and those who are photographed in this area must fast the whole day. Even among the Panamping, some Outer Baduy members refuse to be photographed, so visitors should seek their permission first.

Rivers are Baduy's main source of fresh water for cooking, washing and bathing. The Baduy care very much about river conservation so the use of polluting products is banned, including soap, detergent, shampoo and toothpaste.
Also, flashlights should be used minimally when going to the bathing springs or walking at night, and speech, laughter and joking must be controlled so as not to cause a disturbance.

While these rules might be a deterrent, visitors should remember that they are guests of a unique culture and a people who have maintained their traditional way of life, even against the intense wave of modernization.

Travel tips

From Jakarta, visitors can go by car or public transport. The most economical way is taking a train from Kota to Rangkasbitung station, where minibuses take passengers from the terminal to Simpang Koranji, the last village accessible to vehicles.

Among the gateways to Outer Baduy most frequently used by tourists are Ciboleger and Simpang Koranji. The route is more difficult from Ciboleger due to its hilly terrain, whereas the route from Koranji is easier but longer. After trekking from Koranji, visitors may spend the night in Cijengkol, the farthest point international visitors are permitted. Cijengkol is a good place to directly observe the Baduy custom and communal life. Local tourists can continue their hike to Inner Baduy the next morning.

Wear shoes or sandals designed for trekking, and sweat-absorbing clothing like cotton T-shirts. Hats, flashlights, and rain coats or ponchos are also indispensable, along with sleeping bags and personal needs such as medicine, food and drink.

Krakatau Volcano

Krakatau Volcano

With devastating effects this volcano erupted just over a century ago in 1883, bringing its fine ashes with the wind streams as far away as over New York City, whereas the eruption's tidal waves reached the American West Coast. At that very instant, Krakatoa vanished as if devoured by the sea, causing formidable tidal waves which in turn swept off just about everything alive from the surrounding coastal areas. However, the disappearance of the gigantic Krakatoa also meant the birth of small islands in its place, one of which is called "Anak Krakatau" or Krakatoa's Child which is at present an extremely active young volcano.
From both West Java's West Coast and from Sumatra's Lampung Province, this young and very active volcano is clearly visible. A boattrip to this place may be worth making.

Karang Bolong Beach

The view of Karang Bolong

The name Karang Bolong means Rock (karang) with a Hole bolong). This may have been some frozen lava, formed during the eruption of Mount Krakatau. The Rock forms a gate facing the sea, making it look very picturesque. There is a small forest which has been converted into a recreation spot. There is river flowing down to the sea where people can have a bath of fresh water after swimming in the salty sea

Ujung Kulon

Ujung Kulon beach

On the southwestern tip of West Java is a wildlife reserve of 51.000 hectares covering the Ujung Kulon peninsula and the nearby islands of Panaitan and Peucang. The reserve is a dense forest and is the home of the last surviving one- horned rhinoceros of which only 50 remain. Ujung Kulon is accessible by boat and the closest departure point is Labuan on the west coast.
An entry permit is needed, issued by the Forestry Service (Perlindungan Hutan dan Pelestarian Alam) at Labuan. The dense forest provides a natural habitat for many species of rhinoceros, wild ox, deer, wild boar, panthers, crocodiles, snakes and birds. Visitors are only allowed to the buffer zone where rustic accommodation is available on Peucang island where towers are erected to be able to observe the animals undisturbed.
Marine life in the surrounding seas is a kaleidoscope of colours. Beautiful sea gardens are found off Peucang and Panaitan islands and the south coast just below Tanjung layar offer spectacular deep diving for scuba enthusiasts, although at present no scuba facilities in Ujung Kulon. On the western tip of the peninsula is a lighthouse built by the Dutch which stands near the site of the ruins of old one.
A stay of at least two days on the reserve is recommended where food provisions should be taken along.

Pelabuhan Ratu Beach

Formerly just a plain fishing village it has now grown into a lovely holiday resort, more and more visited by holiday makers from Jakarta and Bandung, a mere three-hour drive from either city through cool mountain villages with picturesque scenerie Gradually but surely this area will catch up with the pace of development as is the case with Carita on the extreme West coast of Java. Pelabuhan Ratu Cisolok is a 15 km stretch of breathtaking beauty with hills, mountains and very wide sandy beaches everywhere around you, set againts the deep blue Indian Ocean.
Truly rare is the fact that thick tropical forests on rolling hills are found right next to stretches of white beaches. Taking walks uphilenables the visitor to look down on the horseshoe shape of the bay's coastline, whereas at night hundreds of fishermen's boatlamps are seemingly competing with the star-studded sky above, which is both enchanting and romantic. There is one four-star hotel, the Samudera beach, about 6 km from Pelabuhan Ratu, but several other smaller hotels and cottages are available at moderate rates.
At this virgin stage, this area represents unspoiled beauty in a typically tropical setting with hospitable inhabitants.
Because of its proximity to Jakarta this area is visited by more tourists from the capital than those from Bandung. Moreover, the highways to and from Pelabuhan Ratu have recently been greatly improved to assure you of a smooth ride to enjoy the sceneries you pass even better. Don't forget to enjoy the fresh seafood at reasonable prices.

Take from many source.