Baduyi people stick to the rules and regulations for many years, make a living by farming, coexist with nature, are not interested in the outside world, and are isolated from the global financial crisis, as if living in the "Peach Blossom Garden".
Cut off from society
The Batu people live on an island in Banten province, the westernmost part of Java Island, which is 20 kilometers away from Jakarta/Kloc-0. There are 5,000 to 8,000 ethnic groups.
Who would have thought that such a group of "hermits" lived so close to Jakarta. Baduyi people live by the mountains and rivers, and they are very quiet on weekdays. They can only hear the sound of looms and can't see motorcycles that are common in other parts of Indonesia.
They believe in Hinduism and never use soap or shoes. Every year, leaders of all ethnic groups hold sacrificial activities in a secret place surrounded by a huge stone to pray for God's blessing.
In the hearts of Batuyi people, the village is the center of the world. They know nothing about the outside world. Reuters reported on the 28th that when a reporter asked if she knew about the financial crisis, a young mother named Salina replied: "I never knew what the crisis was."
They speak with an old West Java accent. Anthropologists still don't know the origin of this nation. Some experts say that the ancestors of the Batuyi people migrated here in the16th century to escape the war.
Religious discipline
Baduyi people strictly abide by various rules and regulations, including prohibiting drinking, buying goods with money, using glass or nails, keeping quadrupeds, and changing the direction of rivers.
One cannot use an iron hoe. After research, experts found that although their farming methods are primitive, they are quite harmonious with nature and can prevent the soil from being corroded by metals.
The Batuyi people prohibit school education. Buddy Hartono, an anthropologist at Jakarta National University, said: "Batu people believe that working in the fields is an education."
The distribution of ethnic groups is also strange: there are three villages in the inner and outer floors, with about 800 residents dressed in white. These people need to observe the precepts more strictly, and if they violate them, they will be punished and live in the outer layer of the group whose members wear black clothes.
Foreigners are forbidden to visit the inner floor. Outsiders are only allowed to visit the outer layer at night and sleep on bamboo mats at night.
Resolutely defend a place
The outer layer is actually a buffer zone between the outside world and the inner layer. The leaders of the Baduyi people who live in the inner layer sometimes suddenly go to the outer layer to supervise the behavior of the people there and see if they observe the commandments.
Sometimes, leaders confiscate radios and other modern items that people think may pose a "threat".
However, complete isolation from the outside world is unlikely.
Outsiders sometimes go to nearby villages and towns to sell handmade aprons or natural honey. In most cases, they don't accept money, but take the form of barter. Sometimes some people will put away their money and use it to buy products that they can't make, such as pickled fish.
The Batu people have a certain connection with Buddy Hartono, and sometimes they suddenly visit the anthropologist's home in Jakarta. Buddy Hartono told Reuters reporter: "Batu Iraqis sometimes watch TV in my house. In addition, they know nothing about the outside world. "
The Indonesian government had hoped to integrate the Batuyi people into modern society and was ready to open this ethnic group in the 1980s. However, the envoys petitioned and insisted on preserving their way of life.
In the end, the government had to compromise and set a benchmark around the settlement of this ethnic group, indicating the geographical scope they occupied and protecting them from external interference.