D

eath continues to haunt the nomadic Orang Rimba tribe in Batin XXIV district, Batanghari regency, Jambi, many members of which are still facing food shortages and poor health, resulting in deaths.

'€œWe can'€™t do much. When a member of our group dies, we have to go on melangun. This has been our custom,'€ Temenggung Marituha, an Orang Rimba tribe leader, said on Wednesday.

Melangun is the tribe'€™s tradition of escaping from sorrow by moving to another place.

It is in the process of melangun that members of the Orang Rimba tribe usually experience food shortages, since, for instance, they are currently living on an oil-palm plantation outside the Bukit Duabelas National Park (TNBD) in Jambi.

'€œWe have no prey to hunt or tubers to eat,'€ Temenggung said.

Health facilitator Yomi Rivandi of the Indonesian Conservation Community (KKI) Warsi said that since March 8, 2015, 30 members of the Orang Rimba tribe had been admitted to the Hamba Hospital in Muarabulian. Some 70 percent of them were kids, three of whom were from the Temenggung Marituha group.

'€œBased on the doctor'€™s diagnosis, most of them are suffering from bronchial pneumonia and fever,'€ Yomi said.

This, according to Yomi, had happened to them because during melangun they had been exposed to strong winds and experienced dehydration, lowering their stamina.

Most of the Orang Rimba patients were treated at the hospital for four to 10 days. They could not stand staying longer because they were too bored. As a result, another member of the tribe died after being released because of unfinished medical treatments at the hospital.

An unhealthy lifestyle, according to Yomi, had further worsened the condition of the tribe members, quickening their deaths.

He expressed hope that the Batanghari regency administration would provide immunizations in accordance with the tribe members'€™ respective ages.

'€œFor this, the medical team has to go the forest and set up a health post,'€ he said.

He added that being treated at a hospital could cause distress for the Orang Rimba as the environment in the hospital was bright both day and night.

'€œIn the jungle it is always dark at night. No illumination,'€ Yomi said.

At least 13 Orang Rimba members died in the last month due to various illnesses, which were worsened by the shortage of food.

Meanwhile, Jambi Governor Hasan Basri Agus said the provincial forestry agency had been in the process of establishing a customary village for the Orang Rimba tribe in the region.

Quoting a report from the forestry agency, Hasan said the companies that held concessions over forests in the province had agreed to give some of their lands to the Orang Rimba.

The companies, according to Hasan, were currently figuring out how much of their land to give to the Orang Rimba to be turned into a traditional village.

'€œThat'€™s what the forestry agency reported. We will monitor their progress,'€ he said.

He said what was challenging for the administration was that promises simply remained
promises. Without proper monitoring, he said, the village for the Orang Rimba tribe would never come to be.

The establishment of the customary village for the Orang Rimba was in accordance with Law No. 6/2014 on traditional villages. This law is the main reason why a traditional village will be offered to the Orang Rimba living in Jambi.