Indonesians in Focus: Achmad Mikami Sumawijaya

By Barrie | September 26th, 2007 | No Comments

“I have built a cultural village to encourage people to participate in the seren taun (harvest festival). I hope that young people from the Land of Sunda (West Java province), particularly Bogor, learn to love Sundanese culture. I feel concerned by the fact that Sundanese culture is now being eroded by foreign cultures,” said Achmad Mikami Sumawijaya.

Born in Bogor in 1970, Achmad is a pupuhu (traditional chief) in Sindangbarang Cultural Village. He is also the grandson of the late Etong Sumawijaya, a traditional elder in Bogor who had a street named after him in Sindangbarang.

Raised with a strong sense of Sundanese culture, Achmad has been working to ensure that the values, customs and patterns of Sundanese life are sustained. One of the ways in which he has done this has been to build a cultural village in Sindangbarang, Tamansari, Bogor.

The cultural village has been built on a private plot of land that Achmad inherited. Measuring a total of 8,600 square meters, the land has 25 buildings on it, including the imah gede (main house) where the pupuhu (traditional chief) resides, imah penengen/pangiwa (house for traditional elders), pasanggrahan (guest house), bale pangriungan (place for discussion), saung talu (stage for performances), imah girang serat (house of the secretary), saung lisung (a place where rice is pounded), leuit (a place where rice seedlings are stored) and alun-alun (public park).

The buildings in this cultural village took four months to complete, between May and August 2007.

Achmad’s project has gained support not only from his family but also from the Bogor regency administration and West Java Governor Dani Setiawan. The governor donated Rp 750 million, while the Bogor regency administration extended Rp 75 million in assistance.

“One day, when I had the opportunity to meet the West Java governor, I told him of my plan to build a cultural village. I said I had inherited a plot of land and would build the village there. The governor welcomed this initiative and supported the construction of the village until its completion,” Achmad said.

Now that the cultural village is in existence, seren taun and traditional ceremonies that were previously performed in a field, can now be held in the cultural village. Seren taun is one of the best loved Sundanese festivals and is held to thank and praise God for the gifts of food and good weather.

Achmad said that young people preferred modern Western culture — which appeared more sophisticated — to Sundanese culture. Many schoolchildren, for example, do not even know what a traditional Sundanese house looks like.

“On the other hand, many foreigners come here, to the Land of Sunda, particularly Bogor, to learn traditional Sundanese dances or martial arts. Our culture is unique. We must learn to take pride in it and preserve it.”

In this respect, Sindangbarang is a special case in point as it is home to a lot of archaeological sites. Researchers from the School of Anthropology of the University of Indonesia have identified 53 historical sites there, all dating back to the Sundanese Padjajaran Kingdom in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Since it opened to the public, Sindangbarang Cultural Village has been visited by school and university students, tourists and researchers. When they are in this cultural village, visitors can watch Sundanese art performances and observe how to grow paddy on non-irrigated fields and also how to pound rice. They can also trek to archaeological sites and learn how to play the Sundanese gamelan and perform Sundanese dances.

Achmad is one of the youngest traditional chiefs in West Java and his words are generally heeded and obeyed by residents of Sindangbarang.

“Although I’m a traditional chief here, I never issue appeals or provide advice because some of our residents are traditional elders. I spend more time visiting them to foster good relations and listening to the opinions of the community. Besides discussing the Sundanese traditional culture, the subjects we cover are how to grow rice and how to maintain the equilibrium involving water, forest areas and the environment,” Achmad said.

Sindangbarang is part of Bogor regency and is never lacking in water, even during the dry season. There are 12 springs there that have their origin at Mount Salak. That is why the soil is so fertile. One of the springs considered sacred is the Jalatunda spring, which is located close to Taman Sribaginda. “At every meeting with residents, we exchange ideas and make proposals, like growing plants around the periphery of the springs to keep them in good condition. We also remind residents not to throw their rubbish in the waterways to ensure the river water remains pristine,” Achmad said.

Theresia Sufa