Disasterchannel.co,- The author’s daydream began to penetrate deep into the region in eastern Indonesia, where when he was hypnotized by the beauty of an area in North Maluku. Far away, on Tidore Island, there is a beautiful place called Kalaodi.
Kalaodi is one of the kelurahan whose area is included in the Tagafura Protected Forest area. Kelurahan Kalaodi oversees 4 village neighborhoods, namely Golili, Dola, Kola, and Suwom. These four neighborhoods are located on hills that are far apart from each other and are separated by forests and gardens. The village government center is in Kampung Dola.
Its location which is at an altitude of ± 900 meters above sea level, makes this village so cool and comfortable to live in. The fertile soil makes the community garden, most of the residents plant cloves, nutmeg and bamboo. Until now, the Kalaodi area is still one of the best producers of nutmeg and cloves in Indonesia.
Its sustainable nature, in the midst of the ecological crisis that hit various regions across the country, has become a significant differentiator between the Kalaodi village and other villages. Curiosity continues to grow and wants to immediately uncover the secrets of why nature here is so awake.
The answer comes from a local wisdom named Bobeto. Bobeto is the ancestral oath of the Kalaodi people, in the form of a human agreement with nature which is the good faith of a group of humans to live in it, side by side, and in good ways to treat nature. Bobeto means a promise not to do evil, be honest and always take care of nature.
Bobeto which has been passed from generation to generation and across many generations until now. There is a Kalaodi ancestral advice about nature that the community continues to uphold, the advice reads:
“Nage dahe so jira alam, ge domaha alam yang golaha so jira se ngon”
“It means that anyone who destroys nature will be destroyed by nature.”
The community has a belief that it is not permissible to cut or damage certain trees which are believed to have a bad impact on humans. A causal relationship in the supernatural dimension. This is believed because there are creatures that inhabit valleys and hills called guards. The rules continue to be carried out not because they believe (god) in nature but are an effort to glorify the guardians of nature.
Bobeto is a Local Wisdom owned by the people of Kampung Kalaodi in Tidore which is inherited from their ancestors and is still preserved from generation to generation until now is an awareness of thoughts about the relationship between humans and nature. For them, destroying nature is not only hurting their ancestors, but also bringing misery to the people of Tidore City.
One of the implementations of Bobeto is in the Paca Goya ritual. The Paca Goya ritual, which is a hereditary tradition in the form of organizing an activity for the Kalaodi Village community to clean places that are considered sacred, such as hills and mountains. “Paca” in Tidore language means to sweep or clean and “Goya” comes from the phrase Goi which means to visit there sometime (sacred place).
After harvesting, a traditional leader called Suwohi Buku Se Dou set Thursday as the time for the community to stop their activities for three days. People are prohibited from going to plantations, cannot trade, and do not do any work. After previously cleaning the sacred place or area inherited by the ancestors in the form of the Paca Goya Ritual. Retreating in the style of Kalaodi Village intends to honor the paca goya that has been done.
The twists and turns of people’s lives who have made history through natural events such as floods and landslides. This experience has changed people’s attitudes and thoughts in managing the environment. Climate change which has an impact on erratic weather makes residents and traditional stakeholders take decisions to overcome the impacts.
Residents who own land are required to plant more bamboo on cliffs and riverbanks. This is done as an adaptation pattern with the aim of resisting erosion and holding water when it rains. Thus, in uncertain weather conditions it can overcome landslides and water needs during a long dry season can still be met.
This adaptation process is also formed from the teachings of Bobeto from the Kalaodi ancestors. This Bobeto is the guide for the Kalaodi mountain residents to clear land and earn a living. This teaching really teaches every generation to take care of the natural surroundings.
Not many people swear to protect the nature around them, but this is very different from the people of Kalaido through their oath in Bobeto. Shadows of beauty continue to haunt the imagination in this brain. Then, the writer’s daydream was blown away when this article ended with a period. (LS)
Source:
Teng, I. (2017). Bobeto Sebuah Nilai Kearifan Lokal Pembentuk Ruang Ritual antara Manusia dengan Alam di Kalaodi-Tidore. Local Wisdom, 9(1), 12-22.
https://baktinews.bakti.or.id/artikel/kalaodi-kampung-ekologi-penjaga-tidore
