- Many Relics of the Past and Wars
It was never expected before that there are many past relics in the remote area of Aru Islands. We can find relics of the prehistoric, royal, and even during wars in the Aru Islands. A famous British researcher, Alfred Russel Wallace, mentioned that since the 1800s, Aru had been visited by many merchant ships carrying various marine products and other commodities in the European market. The book published by Australian University entitled “The Archaeology of the Aru Islands, Eastern Indonesia” also revealed many past relic evidence in the Aru Islands. These relics include artifacts, cave paintings, ceramics, ancient jars, and weapons of the war era. When world war II occurred, the Aru Islands are the strategic location for a military base. Not only in world war II, but the area in the Aru islands and its society also have a big role in Indonesia’s victory in the Trikora war of 1961.
- Local Community Wisdom in Managing the Natural Resources
Aru areas, known as Jargaria, have two major tribes that are Ursia and Urlima. The people’s life in the Aru Islands is still closely related to the local wisdom values in managing the natural resources of their areas. The strong value of local wisdom in Aru’s Society is proven by preserving natural forests on that island. One of the cultures that still exist and reflects Aru’s society’s local wisdom is the Sasi culture (a prohibition to take natural resources). Sasi Ceremony is conducted by the society to manage their natural resources. By the existence of Sasi, society makes their own regulation in determining when they should harvest Aru Islands’ natural resources. In their life system, Aru’s society is very familiar with their philosophy, “Sita Kaka Walike.” A philosophy that describes and manages the social relationship either in individual or community in the Aru Islands
Those are seven interesting facts about Aru Islands. Hopefully, the more we know about facts in the Aru Islands, the more we can open up our insights that natural forests in the small islands, especially in the Aru Islands, must always be protected and preserved. Let’s love Indonesia. Keep exploring and discover other interesting hidden facts (MFB)