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‘My ancestors are not angry, I did not sell this land’

The tradition of the Rendu indigenous people is threatened by the Mbay-Lambo Reservoir.

Written by FITRIYANI ZAMZAMI/ Republik

Last July, residents of the Rendu indigenous community had a celebration. The men of the tribe wore local woven sarongs, usually with black and yellow patterns. At night, they stay in the hills scattered across the highlands of Nagekeo Regency.

After that, they then head to the hunting area. They perform a post-harvest ritual called Ndai in the local language. For three days, they hunt wild boar, deer, porcupine pigs and other game animals.

This year, the yield is low. Much less than three years ago and in previous years. “Maybe this is our last ritual. Next year we won’t be able to do it anymore,” said Vincensius Jawa, a member of the Rendu tribe when met by Republika with a group of journalists brought by KEMITRAAN-Partnership for Governance Reform to the village last August. How is the article?

The Rendu indigenous community lives in South Aesesa District, Nagekeo Regency, NTT. The distance between the Nagekeo Regency government center and Rendu Village is approximately one hour by road.

They live in a number of villages, namely Rendu Butowe, Ulupulu, Labolewa and Rendu Ola, which is the oldest village. Currently, around 800 hectares of the area has been pegged to be included in the Mbay-Lambo Reservoir project. The Rendu tribe’s hunting territory is included in this scope. It is a special stretch of land. A vast, beautiful field surrounded by towering hills.

As a result of the dam construction, they were forced to find a new hunting location. This was no easy task. Antonius Thakemue, 68, a representative of the Woi Nakaghupu from Gaja, a sub-tribe of the Rendu, said that the elders must first make a kutika from grass and wood. The tool is to find a lodging area before hunting that is approved by the ancestors.

Once found, the lodging area will be marked with chicken blood. After staying overnight, the men of the Rendu tribe then hunt. In the past, animals used to be herded towards the river in the valley. Currently, the valley has been cultivated for the construction of a reservoir.

“So there is very little hunting,” says Antonius Thakemue. “Many hunting grounds have been destroyed.”

Not only the Ndai ritual is threatened by the dam construction. The reservoir area also took away the sacred land where the Rendu tribe used to perform rituals before the planting period. When the rainy season does not come while planting time is approaching, residents usually look for practices that violate taboos. Once found, traditional mantras will be recited in the ritual area to ask for forgiveness from the Almighty as well as to ask for rain.

There is also a bathing ritual in the river that must be performed by a father whose daughter is growing up and entering marriage time. In the ritual called Tau Ae, the father will bathe in the river wearing a woven sarong which is then thrown as a symbol of self-cleansing. The river used to perform the ritual was also affected by the construction of the reservoir. The location is not far from the zero point of the reservoir, a place that will later be inundated with water.

In the ritual, ritual plaits such as mathatata are used. The materials to make these plaits, some of which are made from palm leaves, will become increasingly difficult to find because the location where they grow will also be submerged.

“So all our traditions are in danger of being lost,” says Vincensius Jawa. The local man traveled all the way from his home in East Java to see his traditional land, which will soon be part of the dam construction.

The construction of the Mbay-Lambo Reservoir was accompanied by “compensation” for land and property taken from indigenous peoples. This was also unfamiliar to the local tribes. They were previously unfamiliar with buying and selling land.

“Since the time of our ancestors we have never moved,” said Mateus Phui (62), chief of Woi Dhirikeo from the Redu sub-tribe of the Rendu tribe. Land is usually given to heirs or sons-in-law. If there is uncultivated land, other tribe members are also free to carry out gardening and livestock activities there.

Later, if the reservoir goes ahead, he will be forced to move to a new relocation area. He will leave the land he inherited from his ancestors. Mateus Phui could not contain his emotions when asked what he would do when the time came to move.

“I will say ‘my ancestors should not be angry, I did not sell this land’,” he said tearfully. He said he would take bits and pieces of land from his evicted property and bring them to his new place as a memento.

Hermina Mawa, a mother of two from Rendubutowe Village, also sobbed when asked about her land being inundated. The Redu woman has relied heavily on her customary land, which she uses for gardening and livestock raising.

Since her two children, a son and a daughter, were young, her husband has passed away. Mama Mince, as she is affectionately known, has been working alone to support them. She grows cashews and candlenuts on her customary land, raises cattle that forage in her vast fields, and weaves so that her children can go to school.

Her two children all graduated from high school with the proceeds of their hard work. One is currently serving in the Philippines as a sister in one of the Catholic church orders there.

Mama Mince wants them to have something to pass on when they return home. “If my land is taken, what else can I do,” she said, crying. When met by Republika, she had not taken a penny of the compensation money. It is one thing that the money is unfair because it does not count plants growing, graves, and other added value from the land that was taken away. Another thing is that Mama Mince finds it hard to let go of the land inherited from her ancestors.

She is part of the indigenous women who have rejected the construction of the dam, which has been intensified socialization since 2021.

The discourse on the construction of the Mbay-Lambo Reservoir has been around since 2001. At that time, the official name of the project was the Mbay Reservoir. The continuous rejection of the indigenous people made the plan abandoned. In the era of President Joko Widodo, the plan was rolled out again.

The rejection at that time became a physical clash in 2022. At that time, there was a clash between a group of reservoir recipients who wanted to carry out a traditional ritual of blessing and a group of rejectionists. Hundreds of police officers took to the field at that time. Mama Mince was one of those who stood firmly against them along with around 200 other indigenous women.

Over time, the resistance did not work. The construction of the reservoir continued even though the schedule was delayed. Compensation was paid even though residents felt the amount was unfair. What cannot be replaced is the eroded customs. What residents are still puzzling over is how they will make a living after the land is no longer available.

To this, Nagekeo District Secretary Lukas Mere gave a brief answer. ‘They can transmigrate,” he said when met at the Nagekeo Regent’s Office in Mbay, about 30 minutes’ drive from Rendubutowe. Despite the rejection, he insists that the construction of the reservoir is a positive thing. “Water is the source of life, why would anyone reject water!” he said.

He also provides another solution that residents in the highlands already know and confuse them with. “They can change professions from farmers to fishermen,” said the Nagekeo Secretary.

Source: Republik

https://www.republika.id/posts/54638/%e2%80%98nenek-moyang-jangan-marah-tanah-ini-tidak-saya-jual%e2%80%99

2016

Pada bulan Maret 2016, KEMITRAAN menerima akreditasi internasional dari Adaptation Fund. Dewan Adaptation Fund, dalam pertemuannya yang ke-27, memutuskan untuk mengakreditasi KEMITRAAN sebagai National Implementing Entity (NIE) dari Adaptation Fund. KEMITRAAN menjadi lembaga pertama dan satu-satunya lembaga Indonesia yang terakreditasi sebagai NIE Adaptation Fund di Indonesia.

2020

Perjanjian ini ditandatangani antara Green Climate Fund (GCF) dan KEMITRAAN. Perjanjian ini meresmikan akuntabilitas KEMITRAAN dalam melaksanakan proyek-proyek yang disetujui oleh GCF.

 

Untuk diketahui, GCF adalah dana khusus terbesar di dunia yang membantu negara-negara berkembang untuk mengurangi emisi gas rumah kaca dan meningkatkan kemampuan mereka dalam merespons perubahan iklim.

 

Dana ini dihimpun oleh Konvensi Kerangka Kerja PBB tentang Perubahan Iklim (UNFCCC) pada tahun 2010. GCF memiliki peran penting dalam mewujudkan Perjanjian Paris, yakni mendukung tujuan untuk menjaga kenaikan suhu global rata-rata di bawah 2 derajat celsius.

2000-2003

KEMITRAAN memainkan peran krusial dalam mendukung pengembangan undang-undang untuk membentuk KPK. Hal ini diikuti dengan langkah mendukung Pemerintah dan DPR dalam memilih calon komisioner yang kompeten dan juga mendukung kelompok masyarakat sipil untuk mengawasi secara kritis proses seleksinya. Setelah komisioner ditunjuk, mereka meminta KEMITRAAN untuk membantu mendesain kelembagaan dan rekrutmen awal KPK, serta memainkan peran sebagai koordinator donor. Sangat jelas bahwa KEMITRAAN memainkan peran kunci dalam mendukung KPK untuk mengembangkan kapasitas dan strategi yang diperlukan agar dapat bekerja seefektif mungkin.

2003

Pada tahun 2003, KEMITRAAN menjadi badan hukum yang independen yang terdaftar sebagai Persekutuan Perdata Nirlaba. Pada saat itu, KEMITRAAN masih menjadi program yang dikelola oleh UNDP hingga akhir tahun 2009. Sejak awal tahun 2010, KEMITRAAN mengambil alih tanggung jawab dan akuntabilitas penuh atas program-program dan perkembangannya.

1999-2000

Kemitraan bagi Pembaruan Tata Kelola Pemerintahan, atau KEMITRAAN, didirikan pada tahun 2000 setelah berlangsungnya pemilihan umum pertama di Indonesia yang bebas dan adil pada tahun 1999. Pemilu bersejarah ini merupakan langkah penting dalam upaya Indonesia keluar dari masa lalu yang otoriter menuju masa depan yang demokratis. KEMITRAAN didirikan dari dana perwalian multi-donor dan dikelola oleh United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) dengan mandat untuk memajukan reformasi tata kelola pemerintahan di Indonesia.

2020

This agreement was signed between Green Climate Fund (GCF) and PARTNERSHIP. This agreement formalizes KEMITRAAN’s accountability in implementing projects approved by the GCF.

For your information, the GCF is the world’s largest special fund that helps developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase their ability to respond to climate change.

These funds were collected by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010. The GCF has an important role in realizing the Paris Agreement, namely supporting the goal of keeping the average global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius.

2020

This agreement was signed between Green Climate Fund (GCF) and PARTNERSHIP. This agreement formalizes KEMITRAAN’s accountability in implementing projects approved by the GCF.

For your information, the GCF is the world’s largest special fund that helps developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase their ability to respond to climate change.

These funds were collected by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010. The GCF has an important role in realizing the Paris Agreement, namely supporting the goal of keeping the average global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius.

2016

In March 2016, KEMITRAAN received international accreditation from the Adaptation Fund. The Adaptation Fund Board, in its 27th meeting, decided to accredit KEMITRAAN as National Implementing Entity (NIE) from the Adaptation Fund. KEMITRAAN is the first and only Indonesian institution to be accredited as a NIE Adaptation Fund in Indonesia.

2003

In 2003, KEMITRAAN became an independent legal entity registered as a Non-Profit Civil Partnership. At that time, KEMITRAAN was still a program managed by UNDP until the end of 2009. Since the beginning of 2010, KEMITRAAN took over full responsibility and accountability for the programs and their development.

2000-2003

KEMITRAAN played a crucial role in supporting the development of legislation to establish the KPK. This was followed by steps to support the Government and DPR in selecting competent commissioner candidates and also supporting civil society groups to critically monitor the selection process. After the commissioners were appointed, they asked KEMITRAAN to help with the institutional design and initial recruitment of the KPK, as well as play the role of donor coordinator. It is clear that KEMITRAAN plays a key role in supporting the Corruption Eradication Commission to develop the capacity and strategies needed to work as effectively as possible.

1999-2000

The Partnership for Governance Reform, or KEMITRAAN, was founded in 2000 following Indonesia’s first free and fair general election in 1999. This historic election is an important step in Indonesia’s efforts to move away from an authoritarian past towards a democratic future. PARTNERSHIP was established from a multi-donor trust fund and is managed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with a mandate to advance governance reform in Indonesia

1999-2000

Kemitraan bagi Pembaruan Tata Kelola Pemerintahan, atau KEMITRAAN, didirikan pada tahun 2000 setelah berlangsungnya pemilihan umum pertama di Indonesia yang bebas dan adil pada tahun 1999. Pemilu bersejarah ini merupakan langkah penting dalam upaya Indonesia keluar dari masa lalu yang otoriter menuju masa depan yang demokratis. KEMITRAAN didirikan dari dana perwalian multi-donor dan dikelola oleh United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) dengan mandat untuk memajukan reformasi tata kelola pemerintahan di Indonesia.