BANGKA – Preserving the customs and culture in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province is PT Timah's commitment to becoming the cultural heritage of the Serumpun Sebalai country.
One of PT Timah's efforts to support the preservation of community customs and culture is supporting the Nuju Jerami activities of the Mapur indigenous community in Air Abik Hamlet, Gunung Muda Village, Belinyu District, Bangka Regency.
The Nuju Jerami tradition is centered in the Gebong Memarong Traditional Village and will be held on Sunday (21/4/2024). Gebong Memarong Traditional Village is an area where there are traditional houses of the Mapur indigenous community which were built by PT Timah together with the Mapur Indigenous community some time ago.
Nuju Jerami is one of the traditional rituals of the Mapur indigenous people to express gratitude for the harvest they have obtained. This activity is routinely carried out on the 13th day of the third month based on the Chinese calendar.
"The meaning of Nuju Straw is a form of gratitude for our harvest to the Creator, that we have been given health and abundant sustenance at harvest time. "Apart from that, it is also a form of our gratitude to the universe, such as the sky, sun, water, and so on, where we have been given the ease to live side by side with nature," said the Head of the Mapor Traditional Institute, Asih Harmoko.
He said, that since the establishment of the Gebong Memarong Traditional Village, PT Timah has never failed to support the preservation of the Nuju Jerami tradition. According to Asih, PT Timah's support helps them in holding traditional activities.
"The support from PT Timah is very helpful and makes it easier for us to carry out our activities. "If we reflect on the previous times when there was no support from PT Timah, we had to think hard and also work extra hard to find donors," he said.
With support from PT Timah, it becomes easier and more focused for them to carry out traditional rituals. He appreciated PT Timah's commitment to supporting the preservation of community traditions.
"Hopefully PT Timah will be more successful and continue to support programs to preserve the cultural traditions of the people not only in Mapur but also support other traditions so that the traditions of the Babylonian people continue to be maintained," he hoped.
Meanwhile, Acting Assistant 1 for Bangka Regency, Toni Marza, said that preserving customs and culture requires support from various parties, including corporations.
"To preserve culture, of course, it is not only the responsibility of the Government, but of all stakeholders involved there, including business entities. "Because no matter how small, this role will be very useful in the context of preserving our cultural traditions," he said.
Moreover, nowadays, globalization, it requires all parties to be actively involved in maintaining and preserving the customs and culture of society so that they are not eroded by the times.
"Customs like this must be preserved, amid globalization, cultural traditions, and languages ??can become extinct. We as a society must preserve this intangible cultural heritage, lest we carry out the activities from generation to generation, instead, people will recognize it as custom. them," he said.
He appreciated PT Timah for being actively involved in supporting the preservation of community customs and culture in Bangka Regency.
"This is a concrete form of PT Timah's role in supporting the preservation of customs and culture and this is our pride too. This activity also encourages regional tourism. (*)
