By Sri Jimmy Kustini

Linggang Melapeh, West Kutai (22/04) The sun began to shine brightly on the morning of April 22, 2012 on Earth Day when people flocked to the location of the Gunung Eno forest area in Linggang Melapeh Village, Linggang Bigung District, West Kutai. Men and women, young and old, big and small, young and old all took part, not wanting to be left behind to participate in the Pakant Talunt traditional ritual held in the Gunung Eno area.

The majority of the population in the Linggang Melapeh area is from Dayak Rentenukng. The community performs this traditional ritual as a form of community participation, concern and commitment in efforts to preserve forests that have been carried out since long ago. Preserving the forest means preserving the earth where humans live.

Efforts to protect the forest have been made since 1982, including by preventing timber companies from entering the protected area of Gunung Eno. The forest area of Mount Eno in the Dayak language is also called Benua Malaang Ari which can be interpreted as a forest area that crosses the path of the sun's movement. While the word Eno itself is a designation for the guardian of the forest area, namely the name of the clouded leopard or kuleh.

Melamun, the Customary Chief of Linggang Melapeh Village, said that the pakatn talutn ritual held at Mount Eno is an effort to ask permission from the 'forest dwellers' as well as notification to the dwellers that several activities will be carried out related to the management and preservation of the Mount Eno area. Through this ritual, it is hoped that the activities that will be carried out in the area will run smoothly and avoid unwanted disturbances. This ritual also implies a form of gratitude to the Creator for the resources available and the promise of the Linggang Melapeh indigenous people to continue to maintain and preserve the forest for the sustainability of life for future generations in the Linggang Melapeh region starting from the Gunung Eno forest area.

This traditional ritual process runs for two days and is led by a ritual leader, namely pemeliatn, who collaborates with the Linggang Melapeh Customary Chief. Various ritual materials are prepared for the ritual including pigs, black chickens, native chicken eggs, jars or antakng, statues, blackasi dogs, red and white sticky rice, black cloth, gongs, keratukng or drums, mandau, red kepangir flowers, black dogs, tabaq or incense, sepui and penyempayatn rice.

After the ritual is over, the period of beperikng or tuhikng or a period where no one is allowed to do activities in the forest for 4 days. The 4-day tuhikng period is enforced because during the ritual the animals offered as offerings are four-legged animals (pigs and dogs). This will give the "forest dwellers" the opportunity to "eat" the offerings. According to Dayak beliefs, if anyone fails to comply with this prohibition, they will be harmed or suffer unexpected calamities.

According to Melamun, Dayak people believe that there is a certain relationship between humans and the supernatural or other world. The traditional rituals that are carried out include several 8 rituals namely pakatn talutn, pakatn butaaq, pakatn tonoi, pakatn bangsiq, pakatn rokak, pakatn nyahuq, melaas, and temanceu. This traditional ritual presents 8 red roosters, 2 pigs and 1 black dog as offerings to the forest dwellers.

Through this pemeliatn-led ritual, incantations will be read, burning tabaq, blowing sepui and sowing penyempayatn rice to communicate and call the inhabitants or forest guardians to be present and give their blessing and not interfere with the implementation of forest conservation and management activities that will be carried out in the Eno mountain area. To maintain good relations with the supernatural world, the traditional ritual of pakatn talutn is carried out by offering various offerings.

The traditional ritual held is a form of customary support and the seriousness and commitment of the Linggang Melapeh Village community in forest conservation which is expected to increase the awareness of all parties to preserve nature that has been Dependence on nature to meet the needs of life has been lived by the Dayak people for hundreds of years, even today they still depend on forests for the fulfillment of animal protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, and medicines.

The forest area of Gunung Eno is not very large, compared to the forest area in West Kutai Regency, only about 90 hectares located between Lake Aco and Linggang Melapeh village. This forest has 5 small rivers that support the life of the surrounding community. The dominant trees in this forest are of the family dipterocarpaceae where several important species of this family have been reduced in number and are threatened with extinction. There are also several species of plants that can be utilized by the community as traditional medicines and also for vegetables.

This forest area is also home to some of Borneo's most endangered animals such as the Malu-Malu (nycticebus coucang) and the Dahan Tiger (clouded leopard). The Dahan Tiger is also the symbol of West Kutai Regency.