Badui

General Information

The Badui (also known as Kanekes) are the descandants of the Pajajaran princes and Their population of approximately between 5,000 and 8,000 are centered in the Kendeng mountains at elevations of 300-500 meters above sea level, in West Java just within 5,000 hectares of hilly forest area just 120 km from Jakarta, Indonesia's megalopolis of high-rises and fast cars. The Baduis are divided into two sub-groups; the Badui Dalam (Inner Badui), and the Badui Luar. (Outer Badui). No foreigners were allowed to meet the Inner Badui, though the Outer Badui do foster some limited contacts with the outside world.

Language

The Badui speak a dialect derived from archaic Sundanese. However, modern Sundanese and Javanese influences in their archaic dialect can be heard in their speeches.

Religion and Beliefs

The religion of the Baduis are known as Sunda Wiwitan, and this suggests that their religion is supposed to be Hinduism. However, due to lack of interaction with the outside world, their religion is more inclined to Animism, though they still retain many elements of their original Hindu-Buddhist religion, like the terms they use to define things and objects, and the rituals in their religious activites. A very slight Islamic influence has also penetrated into their religion, with some original ideas thrown in for food measure.The ultimate authority is vested in Gusti Nu Maha Suci, who originally sent Nabi (prophet) Adam into the world to lead the life of a Badui and Nabi Muhammad to organize the world's religious affairs.

The Baduis also observe many mystical taboos. They are forbidden to kill, steal, lie, commit adultery, get drunk, eat food at night, take any form of conveyance, wear flowers or perfumes, accept gold or silver, touch money, cut their hair. Other taboos relate to defending Badui lands against invasion: they may not grow sawah, use fertilizers, raise cash crops, use modern tools for working ladang soil, keep large domestic animals. Due to their rigid taboo system, the Baduis have remained much backward even in modern times.

Social Classes

Generally speaking, the Baduis are divide into two groups: The Badui Dalam and The Badui Luar. Their community of villages in which they live are considered mandalas, derived from the Hindu/Buddhist concept but referring in the Indonesian context to places where religion is the central aspect of life.

The population of about 400 Badui Dalam consists of 40 families Kajeroanl which live in the three villages of Cibeo, Cikaratawarna, and Cikeusik in tanah larangan (forbidden territory) where no stranger is permitted to spend the night. They are probably the purest of Badui stock. The Dalam follow the rigid buyut taboo system very strictly,( see Religion and Beliefs for more information about their taboos ) and thus they have made very few contacts with the outside world as they are considered as "People of the sacred inner circle". The Dalam are the only one of these two major clans that have the Pu'un, the spiritual priest of the Baduis. The Pu'un are the only people that visit the most hallowed and sacred ground of the Baduis lies on Gunung Kendeng, in a place called Arca Domas. Unlike the Luar, the Dalams hardly influenced by Islam.

The Badui Luar make up the remainder of the Badui population, living in 22 villages and actng as a barrier to stop visitors from entering the Sacred Inner circle. They do follow the rigid taboo system but not as strict as the Dalam, and they are more willing to accept modern influence into their daily life. For example, some Luar people now proudly sport the colorful sarongs and shirts favored by their Sundanese neighbors, unlike the past, when the Badui Luar only wore only their homespun blue-black cloth, and forbidden to wear trousers. Other elements of civilizations (toy, money, batteries) are rapidly infnfilrating especially in the villages to the north, and it is no longer unusual for an outer Badui to make a journey to Jakarta, or even to work outside as a hired hand during the rice planting and reaping seasons. Some even work in big towns and cities like Jakarta, Bogor and Bandung. Animal meat is eaten in some of the outer villages where dogs are trained for hunting, though animal husbandry is still forbidden.

History

Many historians believed that the Baduis are the descandants of the aristocracy of the Sunda Kingdom of Pajajaran who lived near Batutulis in the hills around Bogor; their domestic architecture follows most closely traditional Sundanese architecture. Pakuwan, the capital of Pajajaran, was destroyed by invading Muslims in 1579. However, the Baduis today have been increasingly losing touch with their Hindu cuture and increasingly getting closer and closer to nature both in their own religion and their life, as they use no electricity, fertilizer or irrigation techniques in their farming. Another theory could be that their origin to northern Banten; pockets of people in the northern hills still speak the archaic dialect of Sunda that the Badui use.

Education

Up till today, despite the ways that Suharto tried to threaten them to change their lives and build modern schools in their territory, the Baduis themselves opposed against the government. As a result, very few Baduis were able to read or write.

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