Cultivo in vitro de las cepas de P falciparum

The Orang Rimba

The Orang Rimba of the central part of Sumatra (Jambi Province) are originally a group of hunter- gatherers. Even though their history is not well- known, early reports on the Orang Rimba indicate that have lived in the lowland forests of Central Sumatra for centuries. Some authors argue that they are descendants of people who have fled into the forest in order to escape from slavery, while others argue that they have left agricultural settlements in order to become specialized hunter-gatherers as has also been suggested for several other hunter-gatherer societies (Schebesta, 1925; Sandbukt, 1988; Prasetijo, 2015). At present the Orang Rimba number of few thousand people. The conditions in which these people live however vary widely as a result of a range of causes. Traditionally they lived in relatively simple huts in small groups consisting of a number of families. They made a living by hunting forest animals such as wild boar, monkeys, deer and a number of smaller animals such as rats and snakes. In the past a spear used to be their main weapon, but nowadays many Orang Rimba avail of locally fabricated shot guns. They were not familiar with bows and arrows nor with blow pipes as hunting weapons. In addition to the bush meat, the Orang Rimba also collected wild tubers, forest fruits, honey, fish and mollusks for their daily food intake. For a long time the Orang Rimba have resisted the cultivation of food crops such as rice or corn just as they did not keep domesticated animals such as chickens, goats or cows. However, already since quite a number of decades this type of livelihood is no longer possible because of the

changes in the environment and the encroachment into their territory by outsiders.

The changes in the living conditions of the Orang Rimba are in the first place to be ascribed to the large scale logging operations that have taken place since the early 1970s. In the wake of the logging companies, large areas were converted into rubber and palm oil plantations or they were prepared as transmigration sites for people from Java and Bali through official governmental programmes. Relatively few people survive in more or less intact rainforest that has been declared as a protected area, a reserve or even a national park. Most of them however survive in a strongly modified landscape, which has been transformed dramatically compared to the original lowland forests that used to dominate the landscape in this part of Sumatra (Whitten et al. 2000).

As a result of this transformation the population density in the area has rapidly increased over the last few decades. Not only have the Malay people increased in numbers as the dominant ethnic group in Jambi, the influx of transmigrants and so-called spontaneous migrants have turned the Orang Rimba into a numerically small and weak population that survives at the edges of settlements and plantations, or in the remaining patches of disturbed rainforest or in some protected areas. In the past the settlements of Malay people were located on the banks of the major rivers, which also allowed for some irrigation of their rice fields. The Orang Rimba used to live inside the rainforests at some distance from the Malay communities. For trade purposes they would visit the settlements to exchange forest products for other commodities such as tobacco, sugar, coffee, cloth, and machetes. To some extent the Orang Rimba were also being hired as daily laborers to work in agricultural fields or the rubber gardens of the Malay peasants. Early Forecasts

At the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century there was a relatively large interest in the Orang Rimba. These were the times of evolutionary thinking about cultures and societies. The simple lifestyle of the Orang Rimba and what was called ‘the early forms of civilization and Figure 3.1: Digging up diascorea tubers (Persoon, 1986).

religion’ attracted quite a bit of attention from the early ethnographers and colonial civil servants. Another interesting aspect of their culture was the so-called silent trade with outsiders, the silent exchange of forest products by the Orang Rimba for other articles without actually meeting the traders. Interesting studies were written by Winter (1901), Hagen (1908), Van Dongen (1906, 1910 and 1912) and Volz (1909). It was not uncommon in those days to make a distinction between two types of Orang Rimba, the ‘wild’ and the ‘tame’ Orang Rimba. The basis of the distinction was the degree of assimilation into the Malay world as everybody was expecting that in the end the Orang Rimba would either completely assimilate into the world of the Malay villages or they would go extinct. The ‘wild’ Orang Rimba were the people who still were roaming around in the forests, living a nomadic way of life of hunting and gathering and with only very little interaction with the outside world. In many of these studies the authors were also speculating about the possible future of the Orang Rimba. But just like in many other cases of hunter-gatherer societies the idea prevailed that these people would become extinct in a relatively short time. A senior official of the Dutch government, for instance, stated:

“The original Koeboe, who are at the lowest level of civilization, will soon be extinct. This ‘Naturvolk’ is one of the few remaining ‘Schlocken’ of the great civilization process of humanity that is rapidly expanding.”

(Kol, 1912, our translation).

A mining engineer, Van Waterschoot van der Gracht 1915, who was exploring the central part of Sumatra for oil fields also had a number of encounters with Orang Rimba. He remarked that:

“As untamed children of nature they live hidden in the forests, with hardly more needs than wild animals and living exclusively from the little food that these forests provide, and in which a non- native would not find anything eatable and would undoubtedly die from starvation. … This interesting people is disappearing fast and will be swallowed in front of our eyes by the all-encompassing process of ‘civilization’.”

(Van Waterschoot van der Gracht, 1915: 220 and 225)(our translation). Another author was considering whether or not the colonial government had a role to play in the assimilation process and in the end he came to the conclusion that:

“We don’t need to do this in order to bring these peace loving and well-willing forest dwellers to ‘culture’, which will undoubtedly make them unhappy. Soon this tiny people, the only people that lives in real peace, that does not know lie, nor hate, nor animosity, will be extinct.”

(Adam, 1928: 299)(our translation). A few decades later and after numerous failed efforts to persuade the Orang Rimba to become rice farmers and live in orderly settlements, government officials were still faced with what they called ‘wild and nomadic’ Orang Rimba. Sometimes the suggestion was raised that the government would give up its efforts to bring these people to civilization. After another incident with a group of ‘wild’ Orang Rimba a civil servant wrote:

“These are deplorable and desperate people who do not want to give up their freedom and laziness. Most likely it is a group that will become smaller and smaller and that will be threatened on the one hand by the feared assimilation with the Malay population and on the other hand by the daily lack of food. Should the government provide assistance? Figure 3.2: Limited material possessions are crucial to maintain a mobile

I don’t think so: the hunger will eventually force them to give up their freedom (which is by the way very limited). … Assimilation under certain conditions is to be preferred: the state of nature of the Koeboes is not very ideal.’

(Keereweer, 1940: 394-395)(our translation).

In the period leading up to, as well as during, the Japanse occupation in Indonesia (1942-1945) there were very few publications about the Orang Rimba. In the first decades after Indonesian independence hardly any research was done among the Orang Rimba. Many people assumed that the process of assimilation and integration of the Orang Rimba into Malay society progressed during those years. The first reports that appeared about the Orang Rimba were written by the Department of Social Affairs as part of the preparation for the resettlement of the Orang Rimba into new villages, in which special development programmes were going to be implemented (Departemen Sosial, 1973 and 1974). It would take quite a few years before modern anthropological research among the Orang Rimba was started again (Kamocki, 1979; Sandbukt, 1984, 1988 and 2000; Persoon, 1989 and 1994; Muntholib, 1995). Major Changes

As mentioned above, in the decades following Indonesian independence (1945) not much was written about the orang Kubu, as they were still called at that time. However in the 1950s and 1960s, a small number of reports about the Orang Rimba were produced, along with some governmental efforts to settle these nomadic people permanently.

Figure 3.4: An encounter between employees of a logging company and some Orang Rimba (Persoon, 1984).

Figure 3.3. Picking up durians inside the forest of Bukit Duabelas (Wardani, 2015).

It would take quite a number of years before these efforts would really take off. The Department of Social Affairs was put in charge of the process of civilization and development of all the country’s isolated communities (suku-suku terasing). In the early 1970s resettlement projects were constructed for the Orang Rimba. The idea was that the people would give up their nomadic way of hunting and gathering in favor of a sedentary life in villages at a relatively small distance from settlements of the dominant Malay people. Background studies were made on the identified positive and negative aspects of the lifestyle of the Orang Rimba. These projects would always involve about 50-100 houses. During a number of years the inhabitants would receive aid goods, such as food and agricultural tools, in order to encourage them to take up agriculture. A number of such resettlement villages were actually built. Many of these projects however were not successful. After a relatively short period the Orang Rimba would go back to the forest and take up their traditional lifestyle again. They preferred to life in relatively simple huts or lean-to’s and roam around in the forest. The future as projected by the Department of Social Affairs did not coincide with the preferred lifestyle of the Orang Rimba themselves. The Department’s ultimate aim was to integrate the Orang Rimba into mainstream Indonesian social, economic and cultural life. In this part of Sumatra, assimilation would certainly mean ‘becoming like the Orang Malayu’, in terms of the language spoken (Bahasa Indonesia or Bahasa

Malayu), the food eaten (rice and other cultivated

foods instead of ‘wild food’), the religion (Islam), the settlement patterns in tidy villages with schools,

mosques and other community buildings and the lifestyle of small peasants, partly incorporated into the cash economy through the cultivation of crops such as rubber and the collection of non-timber forest products (like rattan, damar, forest fruits, honey). Though the Orang Rimba were among the very first ethnic groups to be identified by the government as being in urgent need of civilization and development, and numerous efforts have been made to settle them, the resettlement villages have not generally been successful (Departemen Sosial, 1985). In various documents reasons are given as to why this is the case. They refer to arguments such as the fact that the Orang Rimba are not used to the heat, the regular work rhythm in the agricultural fields. Mention is often made of the tradition of melangun, as the reason for why people do not stay in a permanent settlement. The tradition of melangun refers to the custom of moving away from their dwelling place when a family member has passed away. This is done during a long period of mourning.

One conclusion however is not mentioned and that is the fact that the Orang Rimba generally prefer their traditional lifestyle to living in a permanent settlement with many people from other ethnic groups. For many Malay people as well as for Javanese and Balinese transmigrants, the Orang Rimba are still considered as being primitive and dirty. Orang Rimba do not feel comfortable in these settlements as they feel that they are looked down upon or feel they are being discriminated as ‘primitive people’.

While the aim of the Department of Social Affairs was to explicitly create a new future for the Orang Rimba, the impact of other causes of change were mainly felt indirectly. The large-scale logging operations that were started in the 1970s never had an explicit focus on the Orang Rimba. The impact of logging and the establishment of plantations for oil palms or rubber trees as well as the large-scale transmigration sites was largely indirect. The state granted concessions to the logging companies or made land use plans for transmigration sites all based on the assumption that the state forest lands were ‘empty’ (tanah

kosong). The presence of the Orang Rimba was

never a problematic issue in itself while considering

the granting of such concessions. In addition, the ‘problem’ of these forest dwelling communities was supposed to be solved through the resettlement programme of the Department of Social Affairs. As a result of a few decades of this type of land use transition, the lowland forests of Jambi have drastically been converted into oil palm and rubber plantations, and transmigration sites where thousands of migrants from Java and Bali have found a new home. In addition, the Malay farmers and numerous spontaneous migrants from many parts of the country have entered Jambi in search of arable land. The Orang Rimba were in many cases forced to adjust to these changing environmental conditions by moving into new areas or by changing their ways of living. They have done so in a variety of ways because it was simply impossible to continue to live just by hunting and gathering alone. Some have done so by starting slash and burn agriculture for the cultivation of cassava and upland rice. More recently others have started planting rubber trees thereby creating clear evidence of cultivation of the land which is a requirement for claiming land rights. In this way the Orang Rimba, faced with dramatic changes in the landscape, have created new options for themselves as an alternative to complete integration.

Another type of future for the Orang Rimba was also strongly promoted through missionary activities of Christian churches. The Orang Rimba were officially considered as ‘people without a religion’, and for that reason they were subject to missionary activities of various organizations. In some case these activities were undertaken by Indonesian protestant churches such as the HKBP, GKI and others. These churches are based in North Sumatra and send out missionaries to communities that are supposedly still ‘pagan’. To some extent these projects are successful and they create small Christian enclaves in the middle of the dominant Muslim Malay population. This difference in religion (and therefore also the difference in preferred food etc.) limits the possibilities for real integration into the Malay communities. The Christian enclaves are being served by protestant ministers from North Sumatra. The religious organizations sometimes receive money from abroad for their missionary activities.

Bukit Duabelas Reserve

To a large extent the lowland forests of Central Sumatra were subject to heavy logging operations and conversion into other forms of land use (plantations and transmigration sites). In addition, the construction of the Trans Sumatra Highway and its web of connecting roads from the north of the island to the southern tip, created new opportunities for migrants and landless peasants in search of arable land. People from various parts of the country worked their way into the forests in the wake of the logging companies and road builders.

At the same time nature conservationists also started to express concern about the massive onslaught on the island’s forests and biodiversity. This also had a direct impact on the environment of the Orang Rimba, though they availed of little means to protest against transformations in their landscape. Supported however by the Nature Conservation Department of the Ministry of Forestry and their

jenang (Malay middlemen), efforts were made to

start a discussion about the need for protection of at least part of their territory. The deplorable situation of the Orang Rimba, begging along the highways or hanging out near bus terminals in transmigration sites, helped to increase awareness among some policy makers, including those from the Ministry for the Environment. Eventually in the mid-1980s, a relatively small area in the central part of Jambi was declared as a protected area. This area is called Bukit Duabelas and consists of a small mountain range in

the middle of a large peat swamp between Jambi’s main rivers, Batanghari and Tembesi. Initially the protected area was 28,900 ha. The protected status implied that logging activities would be prohibited but also that Malay farmers from the villages along the Air Hitam River would not be allowed to expand their rubber gardens into that area. Though the protected status of Bukit Duabelas was of course extremely important, the area itself was too small to provide sufficient opportunities for the three major groups of Orang Rimba living in the area to continue their traditional lifestyle. For their daily needs they were still forced to search for food in the area north of the protected area in which logging companies were operating. Initially the park was a protected area but with the support of the Ministry of Forestry and the Environmental Ministry it was given the status of a

cagar budaya, a cultural reserve, meant for the Orang

Rimba. At the same time the area was also expanded to 60,500 ha. Soon after that came a decision to classify the protected area as a national park. This happened also at a time when environmental organizations and the Ministry for the Environment were changing their perspective on the relatively simple lifestyle of the Orang Rimba and similar groups in the Indonesian archipelago. In the year 2000 a leader of one of the three groups that lives inside and near the Bukit Duabelas reserve was invited to Jakarta to receive the Kehati Award from the then president of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri. The Orang Rimba leader, temenggung1 Tarib was praised for the sustainable lifestyle of his people and for the