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three-year study of the Baduy Dalam tribe has revealed that the self-isolating Banten tribe does not recognize the concept of play for children, as akin to what mainstream society would consider games, play is instead considered as a task and responsibility among the Baduy Dalam.

The study, which was presented as a dissertation during an open session for a doctoral degree at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) last week, suggested that everything that Baduy Dalam children, women and men do is, in some way. linked to their ability and skill to respond to natural conditions.

The researcher, Mohamad Zaeni Alif, 41, said that the Baduy Dalam community did not recognize the concept of play or games in childhood.

“I decided to study the Baduy Dalam after noting during my initial visit that their community knew nothing about games or traditional games,” said Zaeni, the creator of an inventory of more than 2,500 games from across Indonesia.

Zaeni’s research revealed that play was forbidden among the Baduy Dalam. Quoting Baduy Dalam customary chief Jaro Sami of Cibeo subdistrict, Zaeni said that play was forbidden in order to ensure all members carried out their tasks.

For the tribe, children’s activities are considered tasks, even though outside society would consider them games or play. “From an early age, the boys in the tribe carry cleavers as supporting equipment until they are adults,” Zaeni said.

Baduy Dalam children’s work includes making kancung or bird traps from bamboo and ropes made of kasungka or string bamboo bark and traps to catch other animals including wild boars, deer and fish.

From his research, including in-depth interviews, Zaeni concluded that all the work children were tasked with was linked to the ability and skill to understand the natural environment. The concept is maintained through the tribe’s customary law or pikukuh.

Zaeni noted that the delegation of such work was carried out on particular occasions, such as when boys went into the field with their fathers or when girls were at home with their mothers.

In the dissertation, Zaeni also mentioned that the Baduy Dalam people had expressed hope that they would receive less frequent visits from outside people, so that they would be able smoothly to pass on their knowledge of nature to succeeding generations.

Rasudin, 39, of the Baduy Luar community, said that children’s work was on the decline among the Baduy Dalam. “It is vital that it be passed on, as our grandfathers and ancestors did this work,” Rasudin said.

He added that everything Baduy Dalam people did was aimed at reaching kaendahan or perfection.

The chairman of Zaeni’s promoter team, Agus Sachari, said that Zaeni’s dissertation was rare in the world of science, describing the study as “pioneering”.

To document the research, Zaeni was forced to use old methods such as writing and making sketches, as the Baduy Dalam ban cameras in their territory.

To reach the community, Zaeni also had to walk between 13 and 15 kilometers through the woods, depending on which subdistrict he was visiting. For locals like Rasudin, it takes less than an hour to reach the tribe, but for visitors the journey is three or four hours.

Although he noted some 35 examples of children’s work, Zaeni focused on just 10.

“The work or games in my view are a form of parenting; through this method, children are introduced to their environment, culture and community,” he said.