“The sun is watching”: Unraveling the Sentani people’s ecological knowledge through folklore
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Abstract
Contrary to the beliefs of the ancient Sentani people, who used myths to protect the environment and avert terrible catastrophes, environmental degradation is a result of land exploitation, illegal mining, and pollution in today’s Sentani, Jayapura Regency, Papua, Indonesia. This research examined the traditional ecological knowledge found in Sentani folklore, i.e., orally sung lyrics known as ehabla that young people nowadays have mostly ignored. The data for this study include existing ehabla, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) involving Sentani tribal leaders, elderly people, and ehabla chanters in Eastern, Central, and Western Sentani. Using ecocritical and sociocultural perspectives as analytical methods, the study focused on the neglected traditional Sentani ecopoetry, highlighting its rich ecological knowledge through consistent references to plant and animal names in its verses. Findings in this study underscore the importance of 1) ongoing revitalization, 2) promotion of this folklore, and 3) reintroducing ehabla to contemporary Sentani society. This study’s comprehensive approach may ensure the preservation and dissemination of traditional ecological knowledge for sustainable environmental practices. Thus, given the rapidly dwindling nature of Sentani today and the fact that ehabla is rarely known by the younger generation, continuing revitalization and promotion of this folklore form is critical.
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