Prohibition in Baduy Dalam Community: Soil and Water Conservation Perspective

Abstract

—Baduy tribe is one of traditional community that live in Banten, Indonesia. They live in groups that still uphold to their ancestors’ habits especially in farming. The purpose of this article is to explain their habits and prohibitions in their community in perspective of soil and water conservation. We used direct observation and literature review to describe the prohibitions. There are several prohibitions that they adhere to such as they cannot enter to the larangan forest, they are not allowed to tillage and change the contour of soil, using the chemical in farming (pesticide and inorganic fertilizer), making an irrigation that can change the river flow, and they can cultivate some crops in specific area. All of those rules prevent the environmental damage such as erosion, landslides, flood, drought, and water pollution. The other advantage of the prohibition is preservation of the biodiversity. Their traditional life makes a unique way for them to save the forest and river including springs from the environmental damage.