Mului Find Peace in Forests

The Dayak Mului indigenous people in Paser regency, East Kalimantan, have learned to live in harmony with nature.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

The traditional chief of Mului Jidan (60) pulls a rattan rope to repel birds and other pests that attack the rice fields in his field, Dusun Mului, Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, on Saturday (13/3/2021) morning.

The sun had not yet come up when Jidan (60) started walking toward his farm, about 1.5 kilometers away.

He did not want the sparrows to come and eat the paddy grains in the less-than-a-hectare field.

"If not disturbed by pests, a hectare could yield 3 to 4 tons. That is enough until the next harvest or planting session," he said.

Jidan lives in Mului hamlet, Muara Komam district, about 300 kilometers from the city of Balikpapan. The hamlet is part of Swan Slotung village in the Gunung Lumut forest area.

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Before settling in the hamlet, the Dayak Paser Mului used to live a nomadic life.

They would move from place to place when food sources were difficult to find. Yields were drastically reduced due to pest attacks, which were sometimes associated with spirit intervention.

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"Roaming around the mountains did not pose a problem, as long as we did not go so far as to get out of our territory. We changed locations while preserving our customary cultivation area,” he said.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

A resident of Mului Hamlet, Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, observed a rice field that covers less than half a hectare on Friday (12/3/2021). The hamlet, which is located 300 kilometers more than Balikpapan City, is inhabited by at least 38 families whose livelihoods depend on fields as well as non-timber forest products from their customary forests.

In 1979, the operation of a timber company, which was blamed for degrading the water of the Mului River, forced them to move away from the company vicinity, but they still dwelled close to a river.

Previously, our houses were distantly apart from each other with us cultivating our respective farms. Now we are close.

Shortly after the timber company\'s concession permit expired, in 2002 the Paser District Government asked them to settle where the company had been operating, about 1.5 km above their dwelling area. Wooden houses with tin roofs were already built for them.

“Previously, our houses were distantly apart from each other with us cultivating our respective farms. Now we are close,” said Bining (82), another Dayak Mului resident.

They still move between cultivation lands but now occupy a location for permanent living, which has become their new lifestyle.

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The settlement area gives them clean water sources at the Serari River, a tributary of the Mului River. However, it appeared they were entering a new phase of struggles in the beginning, with them having to walk a kilometer for the clean water and back home with a load of water up to 40 kilograms almost every day.

Bining\'s son Jahan (53) said they followed the government\'s decision without complaints, believing the difficult situation would end.

Their patience paid off as they received water piping assistance from the government in 2019 to channel water from the river to the residents\' homes.

The people of Mului hope the forests will not be a target of exploitation anymore by timber, mining or oil palm companies.

KOMPAS/SUCIPTO

Bining (82), a member of the Dayak Paser Mului tribe, plays the gelondang, a six-tone musical instrument in front of his house in Swan Slotung Village, Muara Komam District, Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, Saturday (13/3/2021). The traditional instrument is made of sungkai wood which grows a lot in their customary forest.

Supported by the Indonesian Paddy Association, Jidan as the Mului customary head came to the Environment and Forestry Ministry office in Jakarta to submit the community’s aspiration.

They were granted by virtue of the ministry\'s decree last year, stipulating that the Mului customary forests cover an area of 7,722 hectares.

The Dayak Paser Mului have embraced Islam since 1950, while still observing local customs. They adopted a nomadic lifestyle, moving for a better life without leaving the damage in their old place.

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Each time they left, they made sure greenery was restored. Trees up to 50 meters high are commonly found in the former areas of cultivation and have also become beehives.

Once harvested, residents can get 100 liters of honey, which they sell or consume themselves.

The Nation\'s Capital City

In December 2019, President Joko Widodo went to Sepaku in Penajam Paser Utara regency, as part of the government\'s plan to move the nation\'s capital.

The new capital area, about 95 km from Gunung Lumut conservation area, will cover parts of Sepaku, Muara Jawa and Samboja in Kutai Kartanegara regency.

"I welcome the capital city to move here, but please don\'t destroy our customary forests. That is our mother\'s milk as a source of life,” Jidan said.

In conjunction with the International Day of Forests, which falls on March 21 as well as the spirit of building the new nation\'s capital as a forest city with environmentally friendly management, Mului people send their bolum serga message, which is a local term meaning to live in prosperity. Prosperity for them means living in harmony with nature for a better future.

This article was translated by Musthofid.