Early Warning System, the Local Wisdom Version

      Indonesia lies at the collision of three of the world's plates, namely the Indo-Australian plate, the Eurasian plate, and the Pacific plate. The collision of these three plates has produced the Ring of  Fire, a chain of active volcanoes formed by seismic activity and high-intensity earthquakes. So it is no surprise that natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and so on occur often. Indonesia also lies between two continents and two oceans, namely the Asian and Australian continents and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The meeting of the two continents and two oceans gives Indonesia a maritime climate, so rainfall is high and triggers floods. From these facts we already know that Indonesia is a paradise of disasters.
      Natural disasters are certain to occur and cannot be avoided; all of it is the line of destiny from the Creator. Humans cannot change fate, but we can minimise the consequences or impacts that arise from disasters. One way is by carrying out disaster mitigation, which has been taught down the generations by our ancestors. Disaster mitigation has also entered the learning materials at school. So learners are given an understanding of disaster mitigation from an early age. To support this learning we can make use of what already exists in nature. Technology is indeed ever more advanced, with many tools to detect various kinds of disasters. However, rural and remote communities still face many obstacles in using such technology. So they make use of the local wisdom of their regions, passed down from their ancestors. Yet it cannot be denied that this turns out to be quite effective as an early warning system. Small things that are often taken lightly turn out to have a big impact.
      Take the Mentawai Islands, an area frequently struck by earthquakes. The Mentawai people also have mitigation based on local wisdom of a cultural nature. They have a folk song titled “Teteu Amusiast Loga”, which means an earthquake is coming because the squirrels are already screaming. This song is often sung by Mentawai children while playing, without knowing its meaning. According to Mentawai belief, teteu is one of the rulers of the earth. When angry, he shakes the earth (earthquake). Before an earthquake there are several signs given by animals, such as squirrels becoming restless and chickens crowing for no reason. All of these are cultural early warnings for the Mentawai people.
      Not only the Mentawai people: the people of Yogyakarta also have their own early warning system from nature. As we know, Yogyakarta has an active volcano, Mount Merapi, which could erupt at any time. Therefore, people must always be alert and watch for signs around them. One of them is the “plethok-plethok” sound produced by bamboo in the forest. This sound arises from temperature changes in the area. When they hear the plethok-plethok sound of the bamboo, people know the volcano is about to erupt. So they can prepare themselves and minimise casualties. 
      Not only bamboo: banana trees also play a role in the disaster mitigation of the people of Yogyakarta. According to research, banana trees are able to slow the progress of an eruption. Banana trees hold water reserves in 80% of the plant. So they are able to survive amid Merapi's pyroclastic clouds. Banana trees are classed as succulent plants containing a lot of water, so heat transfer from an eruption proceeds slowly when it hits these plants. Besides their mitigation benefits, banana trees also have high commercial value. Almost every part of the banana tree can be used; the leaves, fruit, and trunk all have economic value. So banana planting in Yogyakarta needs to be promoted on a large scale. The more banana clumps there are, the more they will slow the course of an eruption and the speed of pyroclastic clouds.
      There is so much local wisdom in Indonesia, different in every region. Besides being a cultural treasure, local wisdom turns out to play a big role in mitigation efforts. However, people are often not sensitive enough to this. So it is the government's task to keep promoting local wisdom as one of the mitigation efforts. A small action with a big influence. Sometimes, when people imitate the behaviour or habits of their ancestors, they are unknowingly carrying out mitigation. Let us preserve regional culture and make the best use of local natural resources as an early step in tackling disasters. In addition, the implementation of disaster mitigation based on local wisdom will have its own uniqueness, depending on which region the local wisdom comes from, giving each region its own distinctive character.