SOUTH PAPUA – For the Marind people, the forest is a “sentient ecology” whose existence includes plants and animals as living beings.
This is reflected when many Marind villagers describe the forest as their “family,” the choice of Marind clan names represents the deep connection between the forest plants and animals and the human community who are descended from the same ancestral spirit or dema and for example, the Mahuze clan means “children of dogs, “mahu” means dog and “ze” is “child” in Marind and the Balagaize clan means “children of crocodiles.”
Marind consider all plants and animals living in the forest to be living beings endowed with their own will and actions, each Marind clan or bawan, has a relationship with another species whom they address as another grandparent (amai) or sibling (namek), sharing a physical body (duba duba) and skin (igid).
Marind consider all creatures with skin and bodies to have personhood, manifested in the form of sweat, tears, sap, mud, water, oil and more. Humans and amai (forest organisms) maintain their co-existence by taking care of each other through daily behaviors.
For example, amai grow to provide food and other resources for humans. In return, Marind people honor and ritualize when they interact with amai (plants and animals) in the forest, remembering stories, hunting, gathering, and consuming these resources. These exchanges and rituals of care and respect allow humans and non-humans to live harmoniously in the forest.
Around 2008, large-scale deforestation and oil palm expansion was undertaken by the Indonesian government in the name of national economic development and food sovereignty, undermining the relationship between the Marind people and their non-human kin.
The design and implementation of such large projects has been done without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Marind people, with many communities reporting being forced to give up their land in exchange for inadequate compensation, with one family, for example, reporting being paid only IDR 350,000 per hectare of land or less than 35 Australian dollars over 25 years.
Other grievances include unfulfilled Corporate Social Responsibility schemes, increased local food insecurity, water pollution crises, loss of endemic biodiversity, and widespread deforestation, including through illegal burning.
Marind people see themselves as one with nature, so forest destruction is more than just an “environmental” issue for Marind people. This destruction undermines the historical relationship of Marind men, women and children with the plants and animals of the forest, where they live together.
The destruction of the forest has erased past events, memories and stories from the trees, organisms, rivers and valleys. The Marind people have also lost the nutritious food provided by the forest due to deforestation.