FI RA WALI: CULTURE-BASED STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SENTANI COMMUNITY

Abstract

This article intends to explain how Fi Ra Wali (read: my sago my life) can be used as a culture-based community development strategy in defending the sago forest as a local community commodity from the threat of a global crisis. Interviews and literature studies were used to obtain data. Fi ra wali as a self-concept of the Sentani community has local values that are used to strengthen the existence of socio-culturalism in the face of modernization. This article reveals that in Fi Ra Wali some social norms and rules are built spontaneously to create a culture of obedience, discipline, respect, and social awareness in maintaining their local wisdom. Fi Ra Wali is a manifestation of hidden rationality, as a manifestation of hidden knowledge that shows the strength of a traditional society that is resistant. This article concludes that Fi Ra Wali is a culturally specific strategy that has a safety value in every activity, to maintain the continuity of life, not only in the present but also in the future. Keywords—Cultural Development, Modernization, Fi Ra Wali, Sago Forest, Safety Value