The Meaning Making of an Environmental Movement: A Perspective on Sedulur Sikep's Narrative of Anti-Cement Movement

Primi Suharmadhi Putri

doi:10.22146/pcd.30471

Abstract

This article discusses the narratives of Sedulur Sikep on their recent movement in rejecting cement companies in Central Java. Sedulur Sikep with their culturally-district traits through their spirituality, human-nature relationship, as well as to the authority, has strongly permeated on the contemporary anti-cement movement. This study then perceives Sedulur Sikep as peasant community that treat land and resources as their medium in expressing spirituality as well as in perpetuating their resistance to the authority. Therefore, the respective Kendeng Mountains plays important role in building the narratives of anti-cement movement that is strongly influenced by Sikep doctrines, and conversely building the meaning behind Sedulur Sikep’s environmental movement that is actually struggling for free access to and utilization of common resources.

Highlights

The heated anti-cement movement in northern-central Java for almost a decade has championed the Samin people, who prefer to be called as Sedulur Sikep (Widodo, 1997), and are populating the Kendeng Mountains in Pati–Central Java
The Meaning Making of an Environmental Movement: A Perspective on Sedulur Sikep’s Narrative in Anti-Cement Movement a new idol in many narratives of the anti-cement movement in Central Java, both in popular media and academic products, that refer to the anti-cement movement as the ‘Samin movement’
In regards to the human-nature relationship perceived by Sikep doctrines, their view on resource management further draws the power relations between Sedulur Sikep and the authorities, that has become the base of Sedulur Sikep identity and narratives that have existed since the colonial period

Summary

Introduction

The heated anti-cement movement in northern-central Java for almost a decade has championed the Samin people, who prefer to be called as Sedulur Sikep (Widodo, 1997), and are populating the Kendeng Mountains in Pati–Central Java. In regards to the human-nature relationship perceived by Sikep doctrines, their view on resource management further draws the power relations between Sedulur Sikep and the authorities, that has become the base of Sedulur Sikep identity and narratives that have existed since the colonial period These elements must be taken into account to fully understand the Sikep’s narrative on their struggle to protect the environment from the excessive exploitation of the cement industry. The common Javanese villagers have divergent perceptions on Samin’s followers or Sedulur Sikep, in part due to Dutch administrators creating a disparaging image to limit the spread of Samin’s teachings and prompting the rest of villagers to shun the movement, and in part due to Samin’s followers own withdrawal from the common village system and its social life (Benda & Castles, 1969; Korver, 1976; King, 1973) The latter was triggered by the core of Samin’s teachings, ‘Agama Adam’, which is considered a puritanical manner for both the Javanese and peasants. The government investigation found that access to resources and bundles of new regulations contributed to the attitudes of much of the Indonesian peasantry

The Dutch Colonial’s Administration published a comprehensive official report

Conclusion