Mmmmmmmmm

What is it about serenity that kindles thought? Being in the forest now for five days, we keep returning to philosophical conversations about our individual roles from local to global perspectives, and it is always this relaxation that perpetuates it. While responsibility may be a conduct of human nature and an abstract divined out of superiority (thanks Pudge), I have such a hard time letting it go as mere metaphysical thought. There are so many times in life where I feel responsibility is this dense object that has definite mass and energy that places weight upon you in ways that pounds and gram can’t. So I keep mulling over what are we doing every second of every conscious thought, and why. I am writing this blog because I want to share my runoff thoughts and my mismanaged words with whatever sparse populations will read it. I am in the Wehea forest in order to gain perspective as to the physical boundaries and spacial relations to the villagers of Nehas Liah Bing in order to best gleam the importance of this intricate spot of land. I am in East Kalimantan so I can study the lives and culture of the Wehea Dayak of Nehas Liah Bing and understand the forces that disturb it, whether they be positive or negative. I am in Borneo because East Kalimantan is just a part of this enormous island. I am in Indonesia because of their rich culture and history and how – just like every country in the world – find themselves in a time of multi-faceted struggles, whether it be economic versus ecological conservation, cultural preservation versus globalization, etc. etc. but these minute duels exist whether or not their opponent steps into the ring, ecological conservation exists whether the Wehea forest remains standing. They always seem to work in opposition of one another, but in actuality must do so hand in hand. You can keep zooming out of the lens in which your location acts upon your individual actions, but the whole time our actions or inactions play a role in the relationships all around us. We were joking while sitting in the bed of a truck, tumbling through time and tired beaten, bushwacked dirt and pebble roads on the way to an all day hike when we came upon a tree that had fallen into the road. With a smirk written on my face I turn to Nate and mumble wondering if that tree had made a noise. As knee slapping silly that age-old is, its damn good. Does anything truly exist outside of perception? Yes, a tree falls and the sound reverberates as roots let loose their grip on the earth and make music out of snapped limbs and showering leaves as it finds both neighboring trees and the ground itself, but rather than the sound having existed or not, without the ability to perceive that it fell, did it really ever fall at all? If the Wehea Dayak continues to be displaced by disturbances to their land and their culture, how resilient is their culture in terms of springing back up for another go? If displacement and cultural disruption and degradation flows idly by with time, if we aren’t able to perceive that it is there, was it ever truly there? The Wehea Dayak I have lived with for over four weeks now have shown me a culture so rich and kind, a society so dense with community and family that it makes life taste hot-diggity-dawg-delicious, I can’t imagine how worse off the world would be without them. I don’t want them to become, “those people who danced with grass suits and masks,” or, “those people who used plants for itches or burns, and tea for malaria,” because being described through simple images in minute details doesn’t come close to encompassing the true spirit of the individuals that define it. While one day the human race may be uprooted to sway and timber down to earth floor, I want to make sure that the Wehea Dayak are perceived as a culture of strong and intelligent people who have multitudes of lessons to teach, and that they too do make a sound.
The time in the forest was wonderfully calm. The first night was spent taking trips to and from the restroom, due to a lovely stomach bug, and the whole next day in bed. The next several days was all casually reading and doing some organizational work for our projects. The drive was four and a half hours in, and when we finally reached the campsite, there is a river on each side. Got to bathe in the rivers, rinsing in waterfalls, ain’t no big thang. As you’d rinse your body, little fish would come and nibble the dead skin on your legs and feet, which was one thing impossible to not laugh at. Went on a morning hike to check out a saltlick where numerous animals visit to get their lovely minerals, and set up camera traps. Little did we know the trip which was suppose to be a lovely four hour hike, turned out to be a ten hour one. It was unbelievable. Treking deep into the Wehea forest with a PM/forest guardian from Nehas Liah Bing was an adventure in every sense of the word. It was really important to be able to situate ourselves with the forest, because the culture of Wehea Dayak has culturally had such a strong tie to the forest. The PM's had a going away bomfire for us, telling us how they consider us family and have enjoyed being able to share our experiences, and did some traditional dancing and then boogying down together. The PM's are some of the kindest and truly wonderful people I have ever met, I could write multiple blogs simply about them, which maybe a I will save for another day.
My policy brief and ethnoecologcial ethnography all have got decent work in, and videos edited, the next few days in the village are for celebrating the relationships we have built. We have a presentation to the community on the evening of the second, so a lot of work still to be done, and then two days later the governor. I am sleepy but good, and am at a loss of words at the moment, so I will share my experiences through following blogs. Thanks all, miss you.