Sahan Village Customary Forest

Upholding the Dignity of Dayak Bakati: Cultural Exploration in Sahan Village Customary Forest

Hutan Adat Kampung Sahan, located in Sahan Village, Lumar District, Bengkayang Regency, West Kalimantan, is more than just hundreds of hectares of green trees. This place has transformed into a living culture center for the Dayak Bakati people. As the last bastion of traditional defense, Hutan Adat Kampung Sahan, or locally known as Tembawang Sahan, plays a crucial role in integrating nature conservation with the strengthening of Dayak cultural identity.

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The Philosophy of Tembawang and Traditional Management

This cultural center is rooted in the concept of Tembawang, a traditional agroforestry system where communities plant fruit trees, medicinal plants, and industrial trees on ancestral settlement land. In Kampung Sahan, the presence of Tengkawang trees (Shorea stenoptera) is the soul of their culture. The Dayak Bakati people here view the forest not as a commodity, but as a cultural subject with a spirit. Forest management is carried out through strict customary law, where unauthorized tree felling by the community can result in customary sanctions in the form of denda pati (a fine) or compensation in the form of specific rituals.

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Cultural Activities and Featured Programs

In the heart of Hutan Adat Kampung Sahan, various cultural programs are designed to connect younger generations with their ancestral roots. One of the flagship programs is the "Tembawang Nature School." In this program, children and teenagers are taught how to identify endemic tree species, sustainable harvesting techniques for non-timber forest products, and to understand the philosophy behind each ritual related to nature.

Additionally, there is an oral history reconstruction program. Customary elders (Tuai Adat) regularly gather in meeting houses to recount family lineages, village origins, and Dayak Bakati mythology to visitors and future generations. This activity aims to ensure that local history is preserved despite the influx of modernization into the Bengkayang region.

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Traditional Arts and Sahan's Unique Crafts

The cultural richness in Hutan Adat Sahan is strongly reflected in its performing arts and crafts. One of the dances often performed in the forest's open areas is Tari Nyemot. This dance represents gratitude for the harvest and the harmony between humans and the forest's inhabitants. The accompanying music uses traditional instruments such as the Sape (a plucked instrument) and the Gong, which have a distinctive Dayak Bakati tone.

In the realm of crafts, Hutan Adat Sahan is the primary source of raw materials for weaving art. Dayak Bakati women in this cultural center develop Bidai crafts, which are traditional mats made from bark and rattan. The motifs used are not just decorations but symbols of nature, such as the bamboo shoot motif and the root motif, symbolizing strength and growth. Uniquely, visitors here can participate in a workshop for making Tengkawang oil, known as "Kalimantan Butter." The process, from drying the seeds, pounding, to traditional pressing, is an invaluable display of local technology.

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Education and Community Involvement

Hutan Adat Kampung Sahan functions as a social laboratory. The community is actively involved in the "Customary-Based Ecotourism" program. Tourists do not just come to see the scenery but are required to follow local etiquette, such as asking permission from the forest guardian spirits through a simple ritual when entering certain areas.

Education on traditional medicine is also a major attraction. The people of Sahan still practice using roots and leaves from the forest as herbal medicine. This medicinal plant identification program often involves researchers and students from various regions, making Kampung Sahan a center for traditional botanical knowledge in West Kalimantan.

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Cultural Events and Annual Festivals

The most crucial moment in Kampung Sahan's cultural calendar is the Gawai Dayak or Nyadangk ceremony. This is a post-harvest festival celebrated with grand rituals and communal joy. In Hutan Adat Sahan, this festival is filled with the Ngatara ritual, an offering to the creator (Jubata) for the abundance of Tengkawang fruit and other agricultural produce.

During the festival, various traditional competitions are held, such as blowgun shooting, top spinning, and traditional cooking in bamboo (Lemang). This festival becomes a magnet for domestic and international tourists, as well as an arena for the people of Bengkayang to showcase their food security and cultural sovereignty.

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Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Strategic Role

The preservation of cultural heritage in Hutan Adat Sahan is carried out through a "Culture-Based Conservation" approach. The community believes that protecting the forest means protecting customary dignity. If the forest is damaged, the raw materials for rituals are lost, inspiration for art disappears, and the identity as Dayak people is lost.

This cultural center plays a strategic role in regional development in Bengkayang. By making the Customary Forest a cultural destination, the local economy improves without damaging the environment. The sale of Tengkawang derivative products such as soap, cosmetics, and food ingredients has become a new source of income that aligns with conservation values.

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Challenges and Future Hopes

As a cultural center, Hutan Adat Kampung Sahan faces significant challenges from the expansion of monoculture plantations in its surroundings. However, with official recognition from the government through the Customary Forest scheme, the Sahan community's bargaining position is stronger. In the future, the development of a living museum within the forest area is planned to document every plant species and its connection to existing customary incantations.

Hutan Adat Kampung Sahan is tangible proof that progress does not have to sacrifice tradition. Here, under the shade of Bengkayang's giant trees, Dayak Bakati culture continues to breathe, move, and adapt. This cultural center is not just a relic of the past, but a vision of the future on how humans should live side-by-side with nature, wrapped in noble local wisdom. Through every woven bidai, the chime of the sape, and the ritual under the Tengkawang tree, Hutan Adat Sahan continues to voice an important message: that preserving culture is preserving life itself.