There is something different about the village of Sumurkumbang, located at the foot of Mount Rajabasa in South Lampung, at the tip of Sumatra.

Most villages in the area are steeped in the culture and traditions of Lampung or nearby South Sumatra '€“ or of the transmigrants from Banten, located in Java, on the other side of the Sunda Strait.

Sumurkumbang, however, has a distinct Sundanese atmosphere. Most of the residents of the village come from the Sunda ethnic group of West Java and are believed to have settled on the slopes of Mt. Rajabasa long before the nation'€™s independence.

The language most used for daily communication in the village is Sundanese. Nonetheless, the local residents, who almost all work on forest conservation projects, live in close contact with Lampung'€™s indigenous people without conflict.

The village, which sits in the middle of the Mt. Rajabasa protected forest zone, has been classified as an enclave by the government and is excluded from forest status.

Despite their West Javanese ancestry, people in Sumurkumbang embrace their Lampung heritage, citing that their parents were almost all born there.

They continue to observe Sundanese customs, one of which is the tradition of paperahan.

The ritual is a year-end outdoor party where everyone joins a roadside communal feast, instead of in side a building or the village hall. It is a pot luck enjoyed collectively, with lambs donated by the community '€“ and prepared by the women '€“ comprising the main dish.

'€œIt'€™s a manifestation of our gratitude and harmonious life,'€ Mastur, the village head said.

'€œThis activity is always held by the end of the year to express our gratefulness to God for our peaceful existence through generations in the forest zone of Mt. Rajabasa.'€

He continues. '€œThe Paperahan serves as a gathering where residents nurture an intimate relationship between community members. They feel grateful for being blessed with the bountiful Rajabasa forest to earn a living.'€

According to Mastur, the tradition has been practiced since before independence.

If the food prepared cannot be eaten by local residents, the leftovers must be fed to domestic animals such as chickens, ducks, fish, dogs and cats.

'€œTaking home the food already brought to the Paperahan feast is forbidden,'€ he adds.

Santika, a customary leader of the community, said that there were six days of restrictions before the paperahan, including prohibitions on travel outside the area before Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar; on engaging in activity after midday prayers; on building houses or making handicrafts; and on operating anything that produces loud noise.

'€œResidents going to the Rajabasa forest to collect firewood must not take home the wood already gathered after midday,'€ Santika adds.

'€œThey can take it home the next morning after leaving the wood at the village border for the night.'€

Meanwhile, Mahyudin said that the paperahan was related to conservation of earth and the protected Rajabasa forest zone.

On the seventh day, according to Mahyudin, pre-paperahan rituals commence, including mamaca, which is the recitation of the Sheikh Abdul Qodir Zaelani, written by by customary leaders, religious figures and community chiefs.

'€œMamaca lasts from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. As the local leaders are engaged in their religious
recitation, village youths are tasked with collecting banana leaves from Mt. Rajabasa.

'€œThe leaves, in their whole form with their mid-ribs, are to be laid down on village roads for the party,'€ Mastur said.

In the meantime, housewives were already cooking lamb on the morning of the paperahan day. When they are finished, the mamaca ritual will be completed.

'€œNow village residents will be relishing their food on the roads. Before Friday prayers, the party will be over,'€ concluded Mastur.

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