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Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia Chapter three
For those traditional communities in Indonesia that cultivate wet rice in a traditional way, the
meaning and background of identity, tradition and adat play a crucial role. These three
concepts are the focus of the first paragraph in this chapter. Identity is defined as ‘a
symbolic construction of a coherent totality of specific characteristics of a social group,
making this group distinguishable and recognisable from other social groups and attributing
a meaning to the customs, habits and behaviour of this social group’. Tradition is defined as
‘customs, habits and behaviour of a specific social group that have been passed down from
generation to generation, for the survival of the same customs, habits and behaviour, and
the survival of the identity of this social group in general’. Lastly, we defined adat as ‘a set of
sacred rules which are to be maintained’. The concepts of identity, tradition and adat form
the basis of all other concepts in the remaining part of the chapter.
The next paragraph deals with a number of symbolic aspects within traditional wet rice
cultivation. Especially on Java, people in small rural societies have a cosmological and
holistic view of the universe. They believe that everything relates with everything. Therefore,
it is of utmost importance to maintain the harmonious balance in the universe. Continuing
the way in which wet rice is cultivated might be part of maintaining this harmonious balance.
Myths and rituals make this vision more clear and enact them. Moreover, they often assist in
expressing the identity and tradition of a rural community. The legend of rice goddess Dewi
Sri also helps us in understanding this cosmological view of traditional rural communities. It
is not surprisingly that satisfying Dewi Sri and maintaining the cosmic balance are the most
important goals of rituals during the process of cultivating rice.
The last paragraph consists of a description of the concept of traditional authority
and its acceptance. We defined traditional authority as ‘the physical and extra-physical
power of one or more persons which is accepted by the members of a traditional rural
community, through which the actions of the members are placed or maintained in a
condition of order”. Legitimacy is ‘the justification of authority’, and assists in finding reasons
of why traditional authority is accepted. We can conclude from the literature that traditional
authority is based on power, the basis or legitimacy of this power is based on adat, and adat
is based on rules that are laid down by the ancestors.
In relation to the second hypothesis, relevant literature made clear that a traditional
leader is expected to uphold the established order and to be reserved with introducing any
innovations. This is highly relevant with regard to the possible integration of modernisation
influences in wet rice cultivation. We can understand this attitude of a traditional leader from
the fact that he is responsible for the harmony and balance in the community. Because of
the cosmological view of the universe, members of a traditional rural community believe that
disturbing balance and harmony might cause disaster. The worst scenario is of course a
failed harvest, causing a shortage of rice. However, it does not mean that any innovation is
an absolute taboo. Innovations might be accepted as long as they are not in conflict with the
identity of a traditional social group.
Combined with the data gathered from the field – in chapter five, six and seven – this
conceptual framework will contribute in testing the two hypotheses. In the concluding
chapter, we should be able to understand the reasons behind the fact that there are rural
communities in Indonesia that do not change and modernise the utilisation and
management of wet rice cultivation. But before the field data are presented, the methods
and techniques of the research is elaborated in the next chapter.
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