Ritual Communication in Preservation of Local Wisdom of Medicinal Plants Utilization in Waesano Village, Sanonggoang, West Manggarai Regency

ABSTRACT: Deforestation in Indonesia tends to increase from time to time. In 1970s it had reached 300.000 hectares that increased to 600.000 hectares (1981); and one million hectares in 1990. Since1996, the deforestation rate climbed to an average of two million hectares per year.The destruction of the tropical forest is due to the loss of local communities around the forest that have traditional ecological knowledge such as the utilization of medicinal plants and spring source. In addition, they also have socio-economic dependence on the forest in fulfilling their needs including food and health. The utilization of medicinal plants and spring source is the local wisdom of the people of Waesano Village, Sanonggoang, West Manggarai Regency. Local wisdom is a form of culture that can be defined as the whole system of ideas, action, and results of human’s work in social life that is possessed through learning. Humans create culture as an adaptation to the physical and biological environment. This qualitative research that was carried out in Waesano Village, Sanonggang, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, uses communication ethnographic method to explain the connection between categories in the research. Ethnography of communication seeks to portray human ways of life. Thus, ethnography refers to the social scientific description of humanity and the foundation of its human culture, and a study of life and culture of a society. Traditional wisdom is one of cultural heritages in a society. It generally contains guidelines to preserve and utilize natural resources in sustainable ways. Therefore, local wisdom requires enculturation process or the process of forwarding culture to an individual that begins immediately after birth.A matter of fact, culture is communication and communication is culture. A local wisdom in form of the utilization of medicinal plants consists of identifying the variant of a medicinal plant, how to pick, how to process, and consumption dose. Inheritance or enculturation of a local wisdom in form of medicinal plant utilization is through ritual communication such as between father and child, parents-in-law and children-in-law, and also mbekoor herbalist and the patient. Another form of communication which plays a role in the enculturation process takes place in groups of medicinal plant producers and students that receive medicinal plant lesson from teacher who teaches Local Content subject of Environmental Education and Conservation. A ritual called taing hang empothat is employed to treat certain chronic disease also takes part in the enculturation. Various patterns of communication are also used in the enculturation of local wisdom in form of spring source utilization. They consist of interpersonal communication between the father and children, group communication during nempung cama riang puaror nacaripu andlaat puarprogram, and communication in form of wau wae andnareng waerituals. Having the variety of communication processes, the two local wisdoms are expected to be able to survive in Waesano Village.
KEYWORDS: communication,enculturation, local wisdom