The Inspiring Baduy

Paul Mc Cartney in his famous song “Ebony and Ivory” tells us that there is good and bad in everyone, that we learn to live, to give each other what we need to survive. The Baduy, do learn from us in their survival of tremendous flux of  “bad” magnetic cultural field outside the Baduy Villages boundary. And we do learn also that there’s something “bad” that the Baduy strictly adhere to. Such as, the taboo for modern education.

Image by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Image

But, the good of Baduy need to be preserved. The Baduy community has been managing its social order and conformity for a long time period, no crimes, no social problems. They are able to be economically self-dependent  and they guard the virgin rain forest to such an extent that the modern civilization would not have thought of. The Pu’un, the leaders of Baduy have been bringing their leadership so powerful and effective. In terms of economic prosperity the Baduy has reached what other Indonesian villagers must learn. The Baduy Villages may become an economic development model for other similar villagers.

The homogeneity of all member attitudes that conform with the ethical teaching of Sunda Wiwitan is also something of bold notion adding to its characteristic of Baduy, the People of Kanekes. Along the way, human history is filled with the scenes of wars, racial and religious hatred. Nowadays, these problems are still persistent and contagious. Just take a look at issues in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Indonesia bombing terrorist attack. These are definitely two contrast ambient of human landscapes, between the Baduy and the rest of the world. The Baduy Villages are places where landscape paintings of solitude peace awaits you.

Although the late rocker of John Lennon imagined that if there were no religion there would be no war, the Baduy people apply this imagination into their realm. The Baduy have in fact been veiled their spiritual world from outside and at the same time they reject any offer from religious mission to convert. The community is an artifact of socio-religious survival success which is only a remnant population in the region. The geo-region that has been predominated by exported religious teaching from India and Middle East. It is clear that a peaceful society of Baduy Villages do not belong to any religion that are recognized officially by the Indonesian government. Technically, they have no religion. If we ask what they believe, they simply say, 'Sunda Wiwitan.' This spiritual teaching tells that the origin of mandkind and the center gravity of life to be in Kanekes, the Land of Baduy.