Ulrich Löffler, (1996):
Land Tenure Developments in Indonesia

5. Identification of the institutional structure related to land tenure

5.1 Analysis of socio-cultural values and norms

The presentation of traditional values and norms must be restricted to only a few chosen elements because of the diversity of the various ethnic groups. Thus in the following analysis, a few characteristics of Javanese values which are certainly dominant in many regions will be analyzed, but the moral concepts of the adat communities will regard to land matters will also be conveyed.

Javanese moral concepts are based on the assumption that harmony should rule the three basic human relationships, namely the relationships to nature, the spirit world and to ones fellow man. These concepts are also based on the assumption that the "Javanese", because of the three relationships mentioned above, "have to do harmony justice". The principle of the avoidance of conflict and in particular the principle of respect (as a hierarchical structure) are important for interpersonal harmony. "If there is a conflict of interests, it should not be resolved by each side insisting that it is right, but rather by using the common consultation of the group (musyawarah). In so doing, all sides of the problem as well as the interest of the other members of the group are discussed until a unanimous conclusion is possible (mufakat)."[FN 175]

These principles of respect and conflict solution are also applied to the implementation of development plans which in reality take the following course: "If the objectives and tasks of a national plan are passed on to the village level through each level of responsibility of the hierarchy, this is often done without reference to local conditions and needs. Although some people know that the plan cannot be realized without resistance, local leaders agree to it. When the government official has returned to his office, the villagers merely "realize" the symbolic elements of the plan combined with their own (current) needs."[FN 176]

In recent decades in many regions, values have changed with increasing economic development. In virtually all regions, the modern mass media is prevalent, and the transition from traditional life and work structures to "modern" structures is visible everywhere with varying intensity: "With these linkages to outside sources of political and economic power, traditional ties of reciprocity and exchange between the local elite and their followers are being replaced by a more entrepreneurial market-oriented approach in the valuations applied to land, labor and capital."[FN 177]

In the growth regions of Indonesia, land is becoming more and more strongly a commercial commodity. Today, land sales of individual property are spread out almost everywhere on Java. Nonetheless, every private owner tries to hang onto his property, and sales are frequently a result of emergencies.

Traditional moral concepts are more strongly anchored in the rural areas, in particular in the so-called "outer islands". Customary rights (adat) are of great importance in many areas of interpersonal life. They are not only effective for land rights, water rights and inheritance rights, they are also influence other laws as marriage law and criminal law.[FN 178] At the same time, adat not only preserves ethnic identity, it is also important for upholding a moral and cultural legitimacy in the face of a dominant external state and culture.[FN 179] Rural clans and tribes believe that "land is God-given and unalienable; the community gives much higher importance to its responsibility towards the land than to its loyalty towards the government. Even the concept of a ‘right’ to the land is often not understood: the availability of land and resources is a simple ‘reality’ and has little to do with ‘rights’"[FN 180].

At the same time, land serves many factors which are virtually inseparable from one another. Land is not only a basis for production; it is also a form of worship to ancestors and a connection to the spirit world. Many rituals and festivals are enshrined in the cultivation of land and the cultivation cycle. "In the Dani view, land and its use are closely tied to the spirit world, the clan’s ancestors, and the identity of the clan. Opening, planting, and harvesting of lands require the intercession of the spirit world, elicited through a complex cycle or rituals and ceremonies."[FN 181]

In spite of this close bond to "their" land, these people are perfectly open to change if "whatever is done by the outsider will be done in respect, and obedience of the traditional laws and norms."[FN 182]