Revitalization of local wisdoms: Is it possible?
thejakartapost.com
Sudibyo M. Wiradji
Posted: Mon, December 14 2015 | 08:49 am
Indonesia is rich in local wisdoms but they are fading with time, partly due to globalization and modernity.
An old adage saying bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian (get sick first, have fun afterward) was an exemplary principle of life rooted from local wisdoms. The adage implies a call to build a working ethos and boost spirit to achieve goals.
Principles of gotong royong (togetherness) and toleransi (tolerance) are other examples of cross-culture wisdom, which almost all cultures in Indonesia are familiar with, especially in relation to social and nature harmonization.
Particular ethnic groups residing in hinterland also have local wisdoms that guide them to maintain and preserve nature so that when it comes to utilization of timber, for example, they consume it in moderation instead of excessive and uncontrollable exploitation.
Blessed with many islands and ethnic groups, with each having their own culture, Indonesia is rich in local cultures that contain local wisdoms, frequently defined by experts as containing wisdoms of life.
Despite the absence of a special and comprehensive study on local wisdoms and their utilization in daily life, several experts have concluded based on their personal observations that local wisdoms that serve as sources of virtues have increasingly faded, partly due to globalization and modernization.
'€œFactually we can see how local cultures teeming with wisdom and philosophy of life are almost no longer implemented in daily life practices, which are increasingly pragmatic,'€ said Suyono Suyatno of the Language
Development Institution at the Culture and Education Ministry, on kemendikbud.go.id.
He cited rampant corruption at almost all levels as tangible evidence of the denial of local wisdom that teaches, bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian and hemat pangkal kaya (thrifty is the cause of being rich).
Suyono attributes the waning use of local wisdoms to globalization, which promotes an increasingly pragmatic and consumptive lifestyle.
'€œThe frequently occurring acts of violence have reduced the value of tolerance,'€ he said, citing another example of denial of local wisdoms.
According to him, people are inclined to become increasingly pragmatic, '€œmoney'€ culture-oriented and trapped by being consumptive.
In the context of today'€™s Indonesia, he said, '€œIt can be said that local wisdoms we possess resemble heirlooms, which we inherit from our ancestors. We store and maintain them but we do not put them into practice in real life and take the heirlooms in vain in responding to challenges of the changing times,'€ he said.
Art critic and cultural issues writer Agus Dermawan T. said the younger generation'€™s lack of concern for
local wisdoms was caused by two factors. First, '€œbecause they do not know of the local wisdoms, and should they know, they will ask, '€˜will the local wisdom correspond to modern times?'€™'€
'€œThis is the problem. Schools no longer teach local wisdoms,'€ said Agus.
Post-modernism
According to him, the world community had reminded for three decades of the importance of local wisdoms, a vital part of local culture through the discourse of postmodernism.
The discourse reiterates that '€œmodernism'€ which always carries '€œuniversalism'€ (moreover, when found that modernism was dominated by Western culture), no longer matches endeavors to revive human culture, which is heterogeneous in nature, according to Agus.
The postmodernism discourse invites all nations to go back to locality. '€œThat way, local wisdoms are reread, restudied, reunderstood and repracticed,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.
'€œThe people [of Indonesia] will understand that the philosophical teachings of Ki Ageng Suryomentaram, in terms of depth, are comparable to those of J. Krishnamurti, John Locke or Albert Camus.'€
According to him, Indonesia'€™s cultural roots had become the subject of study of cultural experts around the world.
'€œHowever, following the entry of Western people in the 19th century has led to the birth of Westernization,'€ he said.
'€œThe Westernization is then managed awkwardly by our people, who are spiritually local and traditional. This has led us to becoming an awkward people in the international scene because by desire, we want to follow Western culture but spiritually we are traditional,'€ the art critic further said.
'€œFor example, our high-ranking officials lack self-confidence if they do not speak English when delivering a speech overseas, whereas the French, Japanese, Koreans, Hungarians always use their respective languages and their local wisdoms everywhere they go,'€ he said.
A leader from Java that understands local values will certainly use the philosophy of laku alam (nature behavior) to guide them in life. '€œThis can be elaborated as: A leader should be aware of what they do or why they behave so,'€ he said.
He cited an adage, laku hambeging candra (imitate the behavior of a moon). '€œThis means that a leader should illuminate like a shining moon,'€ he said.
Amid the increasingly fading local wisdoms, Indonesia still witnesses the practices of local wisdoms, such as the one related to the medical world. '€œHerbal medicine, a legacy from our ancestors in the medical area, have been developed and perfected to meet pharmaceutical standards,'€ he said, adding, '€œthat'€™s one of the local wisdoms that people have revitalized.'€
According to Suyono revitalizing local wisdoms are crucial to respond to various acute issues facing the nation and the country, such as corruption, poverty and social disparity. But this will only run well provided that there is supporting policy and role models.
'€œWithout these, local wisdoms will only become meaningless cultural accessories,'€ he said.
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