Religion and Land Rights in Indonesian Indigenous – State Relations (Case Study of Orang Rimba in Jambi)

Abstract

This paper will examine the contestation between religion and land rights in state and indigenous people’s relations in Indonesia from the perspective of national and International Laws. This paper will depart from the recent development of state recognition of customary law based on the Constitutional Court (MK) decision No. 35/2012 that state customary forest is not under the state forest. This paper will explain the significance of advocating Freedom of Religion or Belief for forest conflict and resonsidering to encompassing the land rights as part of Religious Rights for Indigenous People in Indonesia. To build the argument, this paper initially discuss on the discourse on the land rights in Indonesia, which is divided into two main sub topic, namely, a brief discussion on human rights for indigenous peoples from the perspective of national and international law. Furthermore, this paper will describe case studies of Orang Rimba in Jambi that will be consist of the belief of their indigenous religion and the particular problem of conflict of land and forest. The paper argues that land and religion constitute a unity for indigenous peoples who adhere to belief. This means that if buildings and lands as spiritual and worship place disappear then indigenous peoples will lose the right to worship according to the beliefs they believe. In fact, worship is a right attached to every citizen who cannot be reduced (non derogable rights) and should be protected and respected by the state. In conclusion, this paper will offers customary management in Indonesia through advocacy of freedom of religion or belief (FORB).

Human (Relational) Dignity: Perspectives of Followers of Indigenous Religions of Indonesia

“…They expect to be treated equally to Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and other religious followers who are granted freedom to build places of worship, practice their religions, and propagate their religions. Followers of Indigenous Religions demand to enjoy the right to practice rituals of reverence, respect, and recontextualization of relational interdependence with, lands, forests, mountains, and other natural places (Bagir 2019;Hakim 2022;Tuhri 2020). From the perspective of relational dignity, the claim that adat lands and forests belong to Indigenous Peoples is not to mean that they alone may benefit from their conservation and preservation, but rather to call for joint protection of the dignity of all living organisms in ecosystems and care and respect for their aspirations and proportional functions.…”

From Religious Hybridity to Indigenous Religion: Perubahan Paradigma dan Praktik Ritual Penghayat di Minahasa, Sulawesi Utara

“…Advokasi untuk mencapai perubahan sosial hanya dilihat dari segi peran gerakan sipil secara kolektif dan kurang melihat peran agen (Mubarok 2019). Tulisan-tulisan yang lain tentang agama lokal, hanya melihat bentuk-bentuk diskriminasi terhadap penghayat (Manese 2021;Anggreani et al, 2022) dan persoalan hak asasi mereka (Tuhri 2020;Colbran 2010;Bagir and Arianingtyas 2020). Padahal, peran agen lokal dengan otoritas religius juga memiliki dimensi penting dalam pembebasan komunitasnya, di tengah penetrasi agama-agama dunia dan legitimasi negara.…”

Mapping Is Caring: Fostering Forest Preservation through Young Orang Rimba Initiatives

“…They live in the lowland rainforest in Jambi, Indonesia [50]. Orang Rimba communities live between the Batanghari River and the lower part of Bukit Barisan [51,52]. According to a BDNP census in 2018, there were 718 families, or 2960 Orang Rimba, living in the national park [53].…”