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The Uniqueness of Kampung Naga, “The Dragon Village”

One of the most interesting villages in all of Sunda land is Kampung Naga. It is a small village in the beautiful mountains, some 30 km from Tasikmalaya. Kampung Naga is an ancient village of West Java, Indonesia that hasn’t been changed in nearly 450 years. Its houses, religious believes, cultures and the villagers life changed merely nothing, counting from the birth of the village. The village located in the middle of a valley and its only access is 300 steps of a snake-like stairs. It only contain 200+ houses, one mosque, a few storages (for the rice fields), and a few public facilities.

The Indonesian word naga refers to dragons. Ancient, mythological, serpent-like creatures that live in the myths and folk lore of so many cultures. But there are no dragons in Kampung Naga. Yet, be there dragons or not, life in this mistakenly-translated “Dragon Village” is no less ancient nor mythical than that creature itself. It is a realm, disconnected from the age we live in and hardly tethered by threads of the 21st century. It is a place where lives and life itself is set in another dimension.
The origin of the name turns out to be more down-to-earth rather than anything else: it is cleverly abbreviated from the Sundanese dialect phrase, dina gawir, which means “beneath the hills,” or more simply, a valley. As the people like to shorten the name, thus it becomes “Kampung Naga” or Naga Village. Despite its fierce name it is in reality a very peaceful place that has preserved its traditional village layout, architecture and way of life. The valley, where the indigenous tribe dwelt is encircled by steep cliffs. Diverse vegetation blankets these massive rocks, and here and there a small waterfall tumbles from a great height. The Ciwulan River, with its gentle current, meanders through this valley and its sienna-colored water nurtures every living thing constantly
The people (still) lived exclusively in the tradition that extends to the old time of Java. They maintain their tradition, way of live, and as well as the numbers of community.
Their house construction is just simply like the old Sundanese house dating back to before “modernization”.
Their way of life do depend on agriculture and supported by fishing in a small ponds found around the village. The founder(s) of the village is highly respected and buried down on the upper hill where spiritually they keep watching and blessing to the people down below.
Other uniqueness of this village lies in the uniformity of the houses: the direction they face, their design, and the building materials. All the gables of the houses face the river and are aligned along an east-west axis. The thatching material for the roofs is ijuk (sugar-palm fiber). Their house is raised up about half meters above ground and supported by 4 or 6 or 8 pillars where underneath for nothing. That’s they way to avoid any danger in account of animal or flood.
There are no motorcycles or any other vehicles in or near the village; they could not negotiate the stairs, anyway. The narrow lanes between the houses are made of round cobble stones, as are the retaining walls and the stairways which led to the upper parts of the village. There is no electricity in Kampung Naga, and even the use of window glass is very recent. All in all, Kampung Naga has just over a hundred houses and as many families. In the village center, right next to the assembly hall, is a small stall selling handicraft items made from split bamboo at very moderate prices. A curious specialty is the collapsible sunhat. The Kepala Adat, the man in charge of traditional cultural affairs, has his house just below the village assembly hall and might be willing, if he is there, to brief you on aspects of the old Sundanese culture as they have been preserved in Kampung Naga. Among these is a monthly procession to the grave of the village’s founder, Sembah Dalem Singaparna, located on a hilltop to the west. Another tradition is s festival called Pedaran in memory of the ancestors; it is held each year during the lunar month of Mulud (the Islamic month in which the Prophet Mohammed was born). On the 12th of Mulud, weapons and heirlooms are ritually cleansed in the river. Reportedly, there was once a book written in Sanskrit containing many details of the history and particular culture of this village; seems to have perished in clashes between Islamic fundamentalist and government troops in the year 1956 when the fundamentalists wanted to set up West Java as an Islamic state.
Sources: http://dieny-yusuf.com, http://www.trekearth.com, http://www.java-travel.com,
and http://us.my-indonesia.info

What is Tasikmalaya about

Tasikmalaya is a city and regency in southeastern West Java, Indonesia, between Bandung and Purwokerto on the southerly of the two major road routes across Java. The city is located in the mountainous Preanger region, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Bandung, at an elevation of 1,151 feet (351 metres). Roads and railway link it with Bandung to the northwest and Cilacap to the southeast. Geographically, is situated between 107° 53′ to 108° 20′ eastern longitudes and between 7° 3′ and 7° 49′ southern latitude. A quarter of Tasikmalaya Regency, which has an area of about 256,756,692 hectares, is covered by forest. This Regency may be divided into two areas, lowlands and mountainous regions.

The population of the entire regency (the city and rural area around it) is about 1.58 million. Like most of West Java, it is mostly populated by Muslim, ethnically Sundanese people, with a small Chinese Indonesian minority. The city is sometimes called the “City of a Thousand Pesantren,” for its many Islamic religious schools. There is a large mosque located in the city.

The city is a trading centre for agricultural produce including rice, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), and rubber. Locally manufactured goods include purses, trays, handbags, floor mats, bowls, straw hats, and paper umbrellas. Tasikmalaya is known for its bamboo and pandanus woven goods and tussah silk printed by batik of particular designs and colors . The production of handicrafts for domestic and international consumption is an important local industry; in 1998 and 1999, export of handicrafts earned 2.6 billion rupiah for the region. There is a place which is famous for plaited handicraft, called Rajapolah.

Tasikmalaya Regency is rich in places of interests and cultural attractions. First of all, there is an interesting area called Kampung Naga. Thirty km from Tasikmalaya, visitors will find the uniqueness of Kampung Naga. The distance from Bandung to this kampong is about 88 km. The people of this Kampong still adhere to the old traditions. Their house building is unique. The uniqueness lays its uniformity, starting from the building materials, the house designs to the direction their houses are facing. Instead of its proximity to modern society, it has retained its traditional customs over the centuries. It is a small village in the beautiful mountains of the Salawu District. The most important traditional ceremony is called “Upacara Pedaran” which illustrates its age-old history and culture, held only once every year.

Places of interest in Tasikmalaya include the most attractive natural resorts. On April 5, 1982, the volcano Gunung Galunggung erupted about 24 km from the city, causing major damage through lahar and ash projection, and forcing a temporary evacuation of the area. From a tourism viewpoint at least, the area has benefited from the latest eruption of the Galunggung Mountain. The remains of the eruption have now become taking scenery and are worth-visiting. A lot of tourists, both foreign and domestic, have started visiting this resort. Shady trees are growing again and visitors can also enjoy the sight the crater and bathing in the spa.

Transportation is easily available, although the distance from Jakarta to Tasikmalaya is about 380 kilometers, and from Bandung about 120 kilometers. Since the road is good the distance can easily be covered by either public or private transport.

2. Potential agricultural sectors for development

- The main objective of the study is to suggest an integrated agribusiness approach that links the improvement of income levels in the primary production sector with the generation of new jobs in a market-oriented secondary processing sector;

- The specific conclusions and recommendations are directed towards five of Tasikmalaya’s agricultural sectors; these have been thoroughly analyzed to define integrated agribusiness approaches. The central focus in reaching the objectives was market-orientation;

From each agricultural sector, the sub-sector with most agribusiness potential has been translated into a potential market-oriented pilot project. The pilot projects are meant to initiate a pro-active approach, i.e. to carry out more in-depth research which will lead to solid feasibility studies and/or bankable proposals for development.

Developing an Agricultural Development Strategy in the Tasikmalaya Regency through an Integrated Agribusiness Approach

Summary of Findings

1. Required enabling environment for private sector development

- The overall conclusion is that for an integrated agribusiness approach to work, the Regency needs improved public measures that actively create an enabling environment in support of private sector initiatives;

- Private entrepreneurs in the agro-food sector may contribute significantly to job creation and income improvement. The Tasikmalaya Regency lacks an integrated and market-oriented development strategy for this sector. The present situation discourages rather than supports start-ups in the private sector;

- Without a medium and long-term strategy from the public sector, both foreign and local investors in agro-based industrial activities have no policy framework that defines their business climate. A supportive ‘enabling environment’ framework will need to be developed to support dynamics in the private sector, for example by providing access to financial (start-up) capital and minimizing legal obstacles (licenses, fees, taxes);

- Without this integrated and pro-active approach towards private sector initiatives (producing and processing), Tasikmalaya will continue to face strong competition from imported agricultural products from neighboring Regencies and foreign markets. Meanwhile, due to low investments in own SMEs, high-quality produce leaves the Regency to be processed elsewhere;

- For value-adding processors to succeed and be competitive, a consistent supply of high quality raw materials is required. Farmers should shift from a production-focus towards a demand and market-oriented focus. There is a clear need for institutional and organizational support rather than production-oriented support to make this happen;