Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Vol. 17 No. 2 (2016)

Ethnoastronomy-The Baduy agricultural calendar and prediction of environmental perturbations

JOHAN ISKANDAR (Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Postgraduate of Environmental Science (PSMIL & DIL) and Institute of Ecology (PPSDAL), Universitas Padjadjaran)
BUDIAWATI S. ISKANDAR (Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Aug 2016

Abstract

Iskandar J, Iskandar BS 2016. Ethnoastronomy-The Baduy agricultural calendar and prediction of environmental perturbations. Biodiversitas 17: 694-703. In the past, the village farmers of Java and other islands owned extensive the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) on climate or pranata mangsa. It had culturally practiced as guidance to various agricultural activities, such as planting rice which is considered and fixed with dynamic climate conditions. Nowadays, however, the pranata mangsa has eroded and neglected by the majority irrigated rice (sawah) farmers. Unlike the sawah farmers, the Baduy people have culturally maintained the pranata mangsa (called by Baduy as pananggalan) for annual practicing the swidden farming (ngahuma). This paper discusses the way in which cultural practices of Baduy swidden farming based on traditional calendar. Method used in this study qualitative which is based on ethnoecology or ethnoastronomy approach. The result of study shows that the Baduy rice farming cycle isfixed annually with reference to an agricultural calendar. It has slightly affected by the various environmental perturbations, because the Baduy people have developed some strategies, such as by organizing the traditional calendar and applying the traditional agroforestry that productions can be used for both subsistence and commercial purposes.

Copyrights © 2016






Journal Info

Abbrev

biodiv

Publisher

Subject

Agriculture, Biological Sciences & Forestry Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology

Description

The Biodiversitas Journal was first published in 2000 by the Department of Biology, FMNS, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia, then in 2006 it was co-published by the Society for Indonesian Biodiversity and that department; since 2017 it was also hosted by Smujo. From 2003-2012 it was ...