Hutan Tano Nenek Puyang

The Tano Nenek Puyang Forest is an area that is protected and sacred by the Makekal Hulu Indigenous People because it holds high cultural and spiritual value for them. The name “Tano Nenek Puyang” itself means “Land of Ancestors” in the language of the Indigenous People. The Indigenous People depend on the forest for their livelihood, relying on forest products for daily needs, such as food, medicine, and building materials. They also have a system of knowledge and rituals closely related to the forest. The forest is used as a place for traditional ceremonies, childbirth, hunting, a place for the deities believed in by the Indigenous People, as well as for searching for the Senggeris and Sentubung trees—this is what creates a strong relationship between the Indigenous People and nature.

The Tano Nenek Puyang Forest was established and agreed upon by the Makekal Hulu Indigenous People in 2010. The establishment of the Tano Nenek Puyang Forest was due to the high escalation of land clearing by surrounding communities and palm oil companies. This fear prompted the Indigenous People to take the initiative to create a protected forest as an identity for them, because when the Indigenous People no longer have a forest, they lose their identity and feel they can no longer be called Indigenous People.

The Indigenous People have a division of space according to customs. The Tano Nenek Puyang Forest has several areas with the following uses:

1. Tano Prano’on is used for childbirth.

2. Tano Pasoron is used for the deceased (graveyard).

3. Bebalai is used for traditional ceremonies.

4. Tano Terban is used for the deities; physically, this place is prone to landslides.

5. Tano Templanai is used for the deities; physically, this place is prone to landslides and has water channels, and is also used as a place to store unused clothes of shamans.

6. Tano Subon is used for the deities; physically and structurally, this place is almost like a lake and muddy.

The Indigenous People have trees that are considered valuable, located in the Tano Nenek Puyang Forest, namely the Setubung Tree and the Tenggeris Tree. The Indigenous People have rules and prohibitions against cutting down these two trees. Likewise, there are several wild animals that are prohibited from being consumed because they are believed to be deities they respect, such as tigers, hornbills, kuau birds, siamang, ungko, simpai, monkeys, and pangolins. The Indigenous People believe that nature will retaliate against humans who destroy nature for their own interests.

In living their lives and managing natural resources, the Indigenous People have roles from each customary stakeholder led by the Temenggung. Additionally, there are also representatives of the Temenggung, advisors, Depati, and Mangku as dispute resolvers in the ketemenggungan area, Anak Dalam as community mobilizers, Menti as message bearers, and the Head of Customs as supervisors from the Temenggung down to the Menti.

The Tano Nenek Puyang Forest contributes to the preservation of biodiversity because it has trees that are considered valuable for the life of the Indigenous People, such as the Senggeris Tree and the Sentubung Tree. The Senggeris Tree is a tree that has been used and believed by the Indigenous People since ancient times as a hardener for the soft spot (fontanel) of newborns; the outer skin of the Senggeris tree is taken and sprinkled on the soft part of the fontanel of newborns. Meanwhile, the Sentubung tree is used as a symbol of childbirth in the Indigenous community. When a baby is born, the placenta will be buried, and 3-4 branches of the Sentubung plant will be planted. The remaining cut branches of the Sentubung tree will sprout and be protected. Both of these trees also symbolize that every baby born is marked by the emergence of one tree.

Moreover, by protecting the Tano Nenek Puyang Forest through the values upheld by the Indigenous People, it greatly contributes to the preservation and protection of the ecosystem. The natural resources and cultural sites within it remain preserved. These natural resources are utilized as medicines and beauty products such as: Larengon Jao for shampoo, Pengendu Urat for bone pain, Ranting menikom for shortness of breath, Sompodu tanoh for malaria, Akar penyegar for adult men, Keliliat for baby bath spices, Daun Ketepeng for ringworm medicine, Tobuhungka for headaches, Celak budak for abrasions, Daun Setajap for back pain, Daun Sedingen for miscarriages, Lidah Bedok for shortness of breath, Daun durian for bath spices for the sick, Tengkolak Pisang for dizziness and fever, Cerako for ringworm, Sengkah Mato for eye pain, and Honey as a multipurpose medicine.

The Indigenous People also directly save the Tano Nenek Puyang Forest from threats of deforestation, land conversion, resource exploitation, and even their exclusion from conservation programs in the National Park itself. The local knowledge and values upheld by the Indigenous People have also contributed to reclaiming their rights to their customary space.

The Tano Nenek Puyang Forest is located in the Bukit Duabelas National Park area. The Bukit Duabelas National Park was designated based on the Decree of the Minister of Forestry and Plantations Number: 258/Kpts-II/2000 dated August 23, 2000, and the Minister of Forestry Decree Number SK. 4196/Menhut-VII/KUH/2014 dated June 10, 2014, which established the Bukit Duabelas National Park area covering 54,780.41 ha, located in 3 districts: Tebo, Batanghari, and Sarolangun. After the issuance of the decree, in 2015, the Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation re-established the zoning of the Bukit Duabelas National Park with Number SK.22/IV-KKBHL/2015 dated January 27, 2015. Besides being a habitat and livelihood for the Anak Dalam Tribe (SAD) or Indigenous People, one of the specific objectives of designating the TNBD area is also to protect, preserve, and develop medicinal plants that are a source of livelihood for the Indigenous People/SAD.

However, the change in status of the Bukit Duabelas area to a National Park is not necessarily good for the Indigenous People, as the zoning system to be applied does not fully accommodate the customs and needs of the Indigenous People in the Bukit Duabelas National Park area. The Cappa Keadilan Ekologi Jambi Foundation has been assisting in obtaining recognition of their living space since 2010. Based on the declaration of the “Joint Agreement on the Management of Bukit Duabelas National Park/Tano Nenek Puyang by the Indigenous People according to the Customs of the Indigenous People/Suku Anak Dalam with the Rules of the National Park,” this declaration was attended by 13 representatives from the Bukit Duabelas National Park, the head of the TNBD office, the CAPPA Foundation, SOKOLA, the Makekal Bersatu Group, Warsi, the Director General of KSDAE, and the Regent of Sarolangun.

In September 2018, the Director General of KSDAE and KLHK visited Bukit Suban to sign a cooperation agreement with the Sarolangun Government. The signing of the cooperation agreement, which was inscribed, serves as a commitment from the office representing the government to integrate the customs of the Indigenous People with government regulations in managing the TNBD. This cooperation agreement between KSDAE and the Sarolangun government is important as a recognition of the Indigenous People as the true owners of the forest area in the Bukit Duabelas National Park. As a result of that meeting, on May 20, 2019, the Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation, Mr. Ir. Wiratno, M.Sc issued SK. Number 191/KSDAE/PIKA/KSA.0/5/2019 concerning the Customary Space Zone Management of Bukit Duabelas National Park, Tebo District, Batanghari District, and Sarolangun District, Jambi Province. With the issuance of this decision by the Director General of KSDAE, the decision of the Director General of PHKA No. SK.22/IV-KKBHL/2015 dated January 27, 2015 concerning the zoning of TNBD is declared revoked and no longer in effect.