Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia - Free EBooks Library

Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia Chapter two
developments. Where possible, we will make comparisons with the contemporary rice
cultivation systems.
According to some archaeologists, rice was already being cultivated even before the Indians
came to Indonesia, about 2000 years ago. The first written evidence is the Canggal
inscription, written in Sanskrit in 732 AD. It records that there was ‘a greater island called
Yawa, abundantly supplied with grain and other seeds and rich in gold mines….’. Thus,
already at that time, rice fields were large enough to attract the comment of Indian writers
(Van Setten van der Meer, 1979:4). According to Ismani (1985:118) reliefs can be found
with fertile rice fields on the Borubudur temple on Java, dating from the 9 th century. Thus,
rice has been cultivated in Indonesia for more than one thousand years.
The earliest known irrigation structure in Indonesia also dates from that era. It is the
Harinjing cascade in East Java, mentioned in an inscription, dated 804 AD (Angoedi, 1985).
Fourteenth century inscriptions from the Singosari Dynasty in East Java also describe
irrigation systems (Pigeaud, 1963).
Ambler suggests that by 1339 AD, gold and iron mining were already of considerable
importance on Sumatra and Java. It is assumable that agriculture in general may have been
producing a surplus for a non-agricultural population (Ambler, 1988). This implies that
already in the 14 th century, some parts of Java could produce enough food to feed
themselves and sell the surplus. Consequently, rice as a commodity product already existed
at that time.
The construction of sawahs, dams and irrigation channels in ancient Indonesia are still quite
similar compared to the present day situation. Building materials consist of bamboo, trunks
of coconut palms and stones. Farmers use baskets of woven bamboo filled with heavy
stones to build dams in smaller streams. Larger dams are made of tree trunks, which are
laid across the river and the spaces in between are filled with reeds and bushes. From here,
the water is directed to the sawahs through bamboo pipes or open channels to smaller ones
(Van Setten van der Meer, 1979:25).
However, there are also disadvantages of such simple constructions. Especially in
the rainy season, they are washed away easily. On the other hand, the materials are
inexpensive, easy to get, and the constructions are relatively easy to repair (Van Setten van
der Meer, 1979:25).
One of the differences between ancient and temporary irrigation systems is the
introduction of concrete by the Dutch in the second half of the 19 th century 5 . Of course,
concrete is stronger and thus more durable compared to the local materials. Nevertheless,
in distant areas it can be difficult for farmers to maintain and repair concrete dams and
channels. They do not always have access to the right materials for mixing the different
components of concrete, and the availability of the right tools might be problematic. Farmers
in remote areas can also have a lack of knowledge in relation to the maintenance of
concrete dams and channels. Furthermore, development agencies such as the United
Nations, who often sponsor irrigation projects, do not always have structural and long-term
maintenance programs after finishing a project 6 .
An indirect implication of more durable concrete dams and channels is that farmers
can afford to cooperate in a less intense manner with each other. This might have an impact
on the social cohesion within small rural communities.
Nevertheless, both in the centuries before the introduction of concrete as in the
contemporary situation, wet rice cultivation encourages farmers to achieve a high degree of
mutual cooperation and aid. This applies to farmers who own sawahs that lay next to each
other, but also between neighbouring villages.
5 Consult for example the article of Ravesteijn, 2002
6 See for example Lusthaus et al, 1999 and Qualman & Morgan, 1996
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