https://archive.md/Xb2SF
"BULUKUMBA REGENCY, Indonesia — By midmorning, beams of tropical sun cut
through the rainforest canopy, illuminating a bamboo hut in a rare clearing of
trees. Inside, a wrinkled old man, sitting cross-legged with his eyes shut,
whispers blessings to the Earth.
After the spiritual leader, the Ammatoa, goes silent, groups of men wearing
dark indigo sarongs jump to their feet and head into the forest carrying an
offering of rattan baskets full of rice, bananas and lighted candles.
“The Earth is angry with us,” said Budi, a barefoot boy crouching on the hut’s
edge. “That is why the weather is getting worse. There are more rains and
floods. It is getting hotter. It is because we have sinned.”
This ritual is known as the Andingingi, held once a year by the Kajang, a tribe
from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Like many parts of the world, their
land has been hit by more extreme weather because of climate change. But as
satellite imagery shows, the Kajang’s dense primary forest is free from roads
and development, soaking up violent rains that devastate other parts of the
island.
As global deforestation continues at alarming rates, the empowerment of
Indigenous peoples such as the Kajang is emerging as a key way to protect the
world’s rainforests. A spate of recent research suggests that when armed with
land rights, these communities, whose members manage half the world’s land and
80 percent of its biodiversity, are remarkably effective custodians."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-poverty-indonesia-press-freedom-fiji-shade-america/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
