Local wisdom of indigenous society in managing their customary land: a comparative study on tribes in Indonesia

Faculty of Law, Private Law Department, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia

Abstract

The knowledge of indigenous people in Indonesia has developed for years in line with the development of human civilization. The development produces traditional knowledge and rules resulting from the adaptation process to its environment. The recent emergence of environmental crises has created a new awareness that this crisis can be resolved by returning to the local wisdom of indigenous peoples. The discourse on local wisdom has surfaced and is recognized as an important part of future development programs, including legal development. Local wisdom or environmental wisdom can be defined as the cultural knowledge possessed by a particular society that includes a number of cultural knowledge concerning models of sustainable use and management of natural resources. The legal relationship between the community and the land creates a right that gives the community a legal group, the right to use the land for the benefit of the society. In local communities, traditional wisdom manifests in the form of a set of rules, knowledge and skills as well as values and ethics that govern the social order of the communities that continue to live and evolve from generation to generation. This local wisdom is not only contained in the customary values and norms but also in the activities of indigenous people members in managing their lands.