Save the Heart of Kalimantan

_______________

by Bayu Dwi Mardana Kusuma. In The National Geographic Indonesia November 2006 Edition

Tiwah: The Art of Death in Southern Kalimantan

Abstrak

Di Kalimantan Tengah terdapat masyarakat yang masih memelihara adat mengelola kematian, yang merupakan bagian tak terpisahkan dari kepercayaan Kaharingan, sampai sekarang di antaranya adalah kelompok etnis Dayak Ngaju (or Ngaju), yang terbagi lagi menjadi beberapa sub-kelompok kecil. Salah satu sub-kelompok kecil ini mendiami daerah Pendahara di Sungai Katingan. Praktek mengelola kematian menekankan gagasan tentang hubungan kehidupan di alam maya dan alam baka yang dapat mempengaruhi kesejahteraaan manusia yang masih hidup. Fokus pengelolaan kematian ini adalah penanganan jenazah dan upacara kematian Tiwah. Kegiatan pengelolaan kematian merupakan suatu karya manusia sebagai realisasi pemenuhan aspek spiritual kepada yang lebih berkuasa atas hidup manusia dan aspek sosial kepada sesama manusia dan lingkungan di sekitarnya. Dalam Antropologi Seni, karya manusia ditetapkan sebagai suatu karya seni berhubungan erat dengan persepsi dan interpretasi si pengamat karya. Lebih jauh lagi, persepsi semacam ini juga tergantung pada latar belakang budaya atau pengetahuan tentang suatu karya seni. Dengan demikian, jika pengelolaan kematian merupakan bagian dari siklus hidup masyarakat Ngaju sehari-hari, bagaimana upacara Tiwah dapat dinilai sebagai suatu karya seni? Artikel ini akan membahas kosmologi dan praktek Tiwah untuk dapat mengerti bentuk karya, representasi dari karya, dan social konteks karya tersebut.
_______________
Published in: Wasita, et.al. 2007. Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaoelogy, Banjarmasin. vol. 1 no. 1. ISSN: 1410-0932. In press

The Preference of choosing a site in Classic Indonesia: A Case Study in East and South Kalimantan

Abstract

The Province of East and South Kalimantan are two different regions, which each of them has its own geographical and geological characteristic. A number of archaeological remains that was discovered in both provinces indicate an interesting phenomenon in regard to their spatial feature. The site distribution reflects past human activities occurred in its ecological circle. Therefore, natural resources is considered to be one of the aspects determined in selecting prospective location to carry out one's activity. In the classical period of Indonesia, human established monuments, whether sacred or profane, according to the text of Vastusastra or Manasara. However, selection for prospective location still tend to depend on convenience and comfort to obtain natural resource, especially, water and also human resource for religious purposes.
_________
Published in: Sulistyanto et.al. (eds.). 2000. Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. No. 5: 21-25. ISSN 1410-0932.

Nation Integration a la Ngadatun and Marabia

Abstract

The Maanyan of Haringen in Central Kalimantan have been persistent on carrying out secondary treatment for their burial custom. This activity is believed to have been practiced since prehistoric. Presently, the majority of the Haringen community is Christian; however, the performance of the living tradition indicate a remarkable outlook of tolerance -a manifestation of their traditional value system, the Paju Sepuluh, which emphasizes on the completion of human life and its environmental conformity. This suggests a form of appreciation regarding the subsistence of new cultural values that motivate inter-cultural adjustments. The very existence of the secondary burial tradition is the concept of the Haringen community, which is used indirectly as means to prevent threats against present intense nation disintegration.
_________
Published in: Sulistyanto et.al. (eds.). Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. Special Edition No. 6, June 2001: 53-69. ISSN 1410-0932.

Public Oriented: Effective Publication Strategy at the Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin

Abstract

The dissemination of archaeological information is an activity of no less important compare to archaeological research, in view of the fact that freedom to obtain information is a right for every human to be able to expand one's personal and social environment. The gap existed between archaeological research policy and its implementation is seen indirectly on the orientation of archaeological information dissemination, which tends to emphasize on academic objective for the benefit of only intellectual circle.
Accordingly, based on the 2000-2004 policy of the Research Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, and the adjustments on the paradigm development of archaeological research today, it is necessary to enhance publication effectiveness, whether quantitatively or qualitatively, toward public orientation. This effort is designed for the attainment of practical requirements in managing cultural resources based on public involvement to determine policies, morally or physically, for local cultural and tourism development. The implementation of this concept aims to provide a condition for archaeological outcome to be accessible for the public interested in archaeology.
_________
Published in: Sulistyanto et.al. (eds.). 2002. Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. No. 8, April 2002: 128-137. ISSN 1410-0932

Traces of Hindu-Buddhist Culture on the Mahakam River Basin: Does the Settlement of its People exist?

Abstract

The Mahakam River Basin with its tropical rainforest ecology offers a beneficial environment for humans to conduct productive activity, whether livelihood or settlement. The river branches that provide valuable infrastructures for the interaction between the coastal communities and the hinterlanders had in the past initiated the occurrence of cultural contact, whether economic or religious. The Hindu-Buddhist remains found at the upper stream of the Mahakam River show the assessment of the width of territorial range of this cultural influence. The potency of the Mahakam River Basin, the community at the basin area, and the Hindu-Buddhist remains, however, are weak variables to encourage the assumption in regrad to the settlement establishment of the Hindu-Buddhist adherents on the Mahakam River Basin. On the other hand, the religious architectural concept regarding Boechari's formula of 'sacred structure and its settlement', which could be relatively expected to be applied easily in Sumatera, Java, and Bali, is in fact problematical for the study of the Hindu-Buddhist settlement at the Mahakam River Basin. This circumstance has likely arisen due to factors such as: 1) characteristics of archaeological remains, whether sporadic or moveable; 2) inquiring methods employed, which were most performed unscientifically by the locals; and 3) lack of valid supporting data, whether inscription or toponym. Therefore, more intensified achaeological researches using excavation and absolute dating methods implemented upon the region that nota bene had witnessed the early contact between the local and the great Indian culture are unquestionably encouraged.
_________
Published in: Kusmartono et.al. (eds.). Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. Special Edition No. 9, October 2002: 40-59. ISSN 1410-0932

Candi Laras and Candi Agung: Chronology and Cultural Contact in Classical Indonesia

Abstract

Since the initial development of Classic Indonesia in the early 5th Century in East Kalimantan, the expansion of the classical culture did not occurred successively in Kalimantan, instead it appeared to leap to West Java, Sumatera, Central and East Java and progressing toward the eastern part of Indonesia. Nevertheless, the discovery of Candi Laras and Candi Agung in South Kalimantan proves that the Classic Indonesia had also developed in other parts of Kalimantan. Candi Laras and Candi Agung are familiar to the Banjarese in South Kalimantan, since both names are frequently mentioned in their local narrative, the Hikajat Bandjar, and believed to be the sites of the remains of two ancient kingdoms. The chronological analysis indicates that the relative dating of Candi Laras: 7th-9th Century; and the absolute dating of Candi Agung: 8th Century. By and large these chronologies lead to the assumption that there were two channels of cultural interaction in Kalimantan: 1) the north, which produced the development of classical culture/s in East Kalimantan; and 2) the west, resulting cultures in South Kalimantan. However, until today the written resources that directly indicate Candi Laras and Candi Agung have not been found yet. Therefore it is difficult to obtain the genreal idea of their precise positions in the framework of ancient kingdoms of Classic Indonesia. This article will discuss the existence of Candi Laras and Candi Agung in South Kalimantan in order to understand their temporal setting and development during the interaction between the indigenous cultures and Indic influences in Indonesia.
_________
Published in: Kasnowihardjo et.al. (eds.). 2005. Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. No. 14, October 2005: 55-63. ISSN 1410-0932. Accredited by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences

Government 'Early State' Organisation of Nagara Dipa in Southeast Kalimantan

Abstract

The development of a sovereign state is understood by noting the indication of transition from a tribal state into an early state. Such transition in the past in the Indonesian Archipelago is well described by Mulavarman inscription from Kutai in East Kalimantan; one indication of a decisive step to establish the early state is observed when Mulavarman persisted in appointing himself king by defeating the neighbour's district heads and made them his vassals. On the other hand, in the following era, the oral tradition of Dayak Maanyan and Lawangan suggested there was a tribal state known as Nansarunai existed in the southeastern part of Kalimantan. It is mentioned that Nansarunai still professed animism and ancestor worship, yet they are not familiar with temples, altars or places of worship. Furthermore, based on the oral tradition, the formed state subsequent to Nansarunai was Nagara Dipa. This article examines the social-political condition prevailed during the sovereignty of Nagara Dipa compared to that of Majapahit in the 14th Century.
_________
Published in: Wasita et.al. (eds.). 2006. Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology. Special Edition No. 15, April 2006: 24-34. ISSN 1410-0932. Accredited by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences

Sacred Landscape of the Ngaju: the Disposal of the Dead

Abstract

Konsepsi pre-Hindu tentang alam semesta dan manifestasinya di dunia fana masih dapat dilihat eksistensinya sampai saat ini pada beberapa komunitas di Indonesia. Konsepsi tentang alam ini dipandang sebagai sebuah dunia sakral dari sebuah tatanan yang ideal yang terdiri atas ruh-ruh tertinggi dan tempat tinggalnya, serta pusat segala kejadian bermula. Tatanan ideal ini direpresentasikan oleh kutub-kutub yang berlawanan yang menggambarkan aspek dualitas, namun secara utuh bersama-sama menciptakan keseimbangan dunia. Keyakinan inilah yang memotivasi manusia untuk membangun sebuah replika di dunia fana, yang tidak saja diperuntukkan bagi masyarakat yang hidup, tetapi juga bagi yang telah meninggal. Di dunia fana, dunia sakral ini sering diwakili oleh anasir jagat raya yang kemudian diaplikasikan pada sebuah arsitektur atau lansekap. Suatu lansekap sakral merupakan identitas kultural adalah manifestasi ideologis suatu masyarakat. Salah satu komunitas yang masih meyakini pentingnya konsepsi keseimbangan dunia adalah salah satu keturunan langsung masyarakat petutur bahasa Austronesia yaitu, suku Ngaju yang berdiam di Kalimantan bagian selatan. Suku Ngaju ini memperlihatkan keyakinan ideologis yang sangat dalam yang direfleksikan baik pada praktek penguburan maupun aktivitas lain yang tampaknya non-religius, namun pada dasarnya kosmologi masih melandasi gaya hidup mereka. Tulisan ini membahas ‘tata cara menempatkan si mati’ yang dipraktekkan oleh masyarakat Tanah Putih dan Pendahara berdasarkan kosmologi Ngaju dan bukti-bukti arkeologis. ‘Tata cara menempatkan si mati’ diharapkan dapat memberikan informasi bagaimana setiap sub-suku mematerialisasikan dunia sakralnya pada lansekap lingkungannya.
_________
Published in: Wasita et.al. (eds.) 2006. Naditira Widya. Archaeological Bulletin. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. No.16, October 2006: 115-129. ISSN 1410-0932. Accredited by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences

Traces of Ancient Austronesian Tribes in the Heart of Borneo

Abstract

Traces of past human life and living tradition, which continuously practiced in a number of places in the Indonesian Archipelago, are important data for history writing and determining the local culture identity. In 1970s the Indonesian archaeology was enriched by the discovery of a Neolithic open-site in Kapuas Hulu in West Kalimantan, the Nanga Balang. It is suggested that the archaeology of Nanga Balang indicate relative parallel dating between Kalimantan, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei i.e. a prehistoric life during 2,500 BCE until the beginning of the Common Era. On the other hand, human remains found in the interior of Ceruk Bukit Tahapun, present significant information on Austronesian occupation in the heart of Kalimantan. This research aims to identify the potency and characteristic of Nanga Balang and the nearby area of Bukit Tahapun.
_________
Published in: Wahyu (ed.). 2006. Journal of Archaeological Research News. Banjarbaru: Centre for Archaeology, Banjarmasin. No. 17: 1-14. ISSN 1410-3443

Agta and Punan: Surviving Hunter-Gatherers in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The forms of economic system salient to the progress of human life at present are agriculture and trade. Archaeological records show that agriculture was introduced into Island Southeast Asia by the migrations of Austronesian-speaking people after 2,800 BCE. Exchange and trade occurred later when luxury products such as spices and incense-woods were in high demand in the Chinese and Western Asian markets. However, despite all this trade and development in some regions in Island Southeast Asia, there still exist surviving hunter-gatherer populations, which among others are the Agta of the Philippines and the Punan of Borneo. Based on available social and economic historical data it is understood that the Agta and the Punan lead a very interactive life with neighbouring farmers in the rainforest environment. The Agta engage in agricultural labour and collect forest products to exchange for supplementary food with the farmers, which cannot be acquired by hunting. And, the Punan play a significant role providing forest products for the non-nomads in exchange for items of no great importance to the Punan such as “metal, salt and tobacco”. However, it is assumed that both the Agta and Punan still concentrate on their foraging economy as their primary means of subsistence. Up until today both Agta and Punan maintain a prehistoric subsistence system as a cultural diversion, being pushed into a specific niche by sedentary farmers. Nevertheless, a group of present day Agta people in Zambales Province have altered their subsistence system relying totally in swidden agriculture. Meanwhile, rich sago starch and large varieties of animals provided by the Borneo rain forest ecosystem enable the Punan to survive by basically practising hunting and gathering.
_________
Published in: Simanjuntak, Truman et.al. (eds.). 2006. Amerta. Journal of Archaeological Research and Development. Jakarta: National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology. Vol.24.No.1:42-46. ISSN 0125-1324

The Origins of the Malagasy: Current Archaeological and Linguistic Evidence

Abstract

The Malagasy today have unique society composed of blended cultures of Austronesian and African background. Despite the recognized existence of Western Malayo-Polynesian language so close to African cultural territory, archaeological data discovered in Madagascar to date provides only little information on the origin of the Malagasy cultures. The existence of Western Malayo-Polynesian-speaking people in Madagascar suggests the knowledge of making pottery. However, apparently the pottery found in Madagascar is rather difficult to compare with that found in Sumatra, Java and Borneo, due to lack of absolute dating. On the other hand similarities between Malagasy and languages spoken in Indonesia suggest that the Austronesians, who migrated to Madagascar spoke a language belonged to the subgroup of Barito from South Borneo. The evidence of Sanskrit loanwords in Malagasy also suggests that the migrants left Barito immediately after the arrival of Hindu influences in South Borneo. Furthermore, ethnographical data show that Malagasy has a close resemblance of customs to the Dayaks of South Borneo, especially in death rituals. Other indirect evidence of Austronesian and African influences into Malagasy is the remains of iron smelting and the term tempa found in the Malagasy language. The East African Bantu undeniably have contributed some linguistic elements such as vocabulary and word structure. Nevertheless, the differences of lifestyle between those of Austronesian descent and the Bantu are directly visible based in the choices of dwelling place, respectively, in the highland and coastal areas, and physical characteristics.
_________
Published in: Simanjuntak, Truman et.al. (eds.). 2006. Archaeology: Indonesian Perspective. R.P. Soejono's Festschrift. Jakarta: Indonesian Institute of Sciences and International Center for Prehistoric and Austronesian Studies. pg: 543-548. ISBN 979-26-2499-6