Abstract:
Indigenous knowledge is numerous ways of life of local community to adapt and survive to their surrounding environment. The ways to harvest and extract forest resources to supply the daily needs of the forest people are ranging from one ethnic to another, and naturally being transferred from the old to young generation. These practices are also implied to the forest people at Manggera village, Kaimana, West Papua. Mangasa is local name for one of Non- Timber Forest Products (NTFP), which produces an essential oil, well know as Cullilawang or Kulit lawang (Cinnamomum culillawang BL.).
Due to limitation of geographical access, and numbers of the forest people who have distillated devices, a short field trip was conducted to survey the natural standing stock of Lawang (C. cullilawang), and Manggera village was selected for this purpose. This field trip was also to closely examine how bark of Mangesa was selected, harvested, prepared, and transported by the local ethnic using their traditional knowledge and ways before the distillation processes are taking places. One forest people, an expert and has distilled devices, was selected for demonstrating a traditional distillation method representing the Manggera indigenous knowledge. Also, interview was conducted to investigate deeply and enlarge this knowledge for fully understanding the related issues of this NTFP commodity.
The results indicated that cullilawang essential oil is traditionally used to cure, and treat a daily symptoms or illness, such as skin care, protection from insect and mosquitoes, massages, and so on. It was found that using their own experiences, the cullilawang trees were selected based on a minimum DBH of 30 cm, and season of March-April, when the young leaves are grown, a stage or physiological conditions that a bark is less sticky to the trunk. The selected cullilawang trees were felled, debarked using traditional ways and tools, as well as drying the debarked bark to reduce moisture contents and costs of transportation. The reduced moisture of barks was chopped prior to distillation. All chopped barks from whole trunk were poured into the wooden tank distillator for single distillation time. Local scale and simple construction of distillation kiln made from local material were used to extract the essential oil of cullilawang. The essential oil collected, then filtered using compacted white cotton with funnel into dark recycled bottles and then sealed. This essential oil is marketed into local market or barter with other daily- consumed products. Harvesting and extracting cullilawang essential oil are ways to earn extra incomes and alternative works for some forest people in Manggera village, particularly when they cannot go for planting, fishing, and hunting. Probably, these practices are rational method to manage and utilize their own forest resources for fulfilling their needs, and probably could be highlighted as indigenous wisdoms leading to what we call as sustainable ways.
