The Baduy, who refer to themselves as Kanekes, are an indigenous community living in the mountains of western Java. They secluded themselves in the 16th century, rejecting increasing foreign influences in order to preserve their view of traditional Sundanese society and values. This includes Sunda Wiwitan, a belief system that emphasizes veneration of ancestors and preserving harmony and balance with nature. They strive to preserve life in the manner in which they believe their forebears intended. There are two overriding principles which guide the Baduy. The first is a belief in a single god, Batara Tunggal, who lives in the Kendeng Mountains, at the Arca Domas, believed to be point of contact between the one god and the Earth. The second is to protect the relationship between humans and the natural environment, in order to show reverence for nature and preserve a sustainable society.
The Baduy are divided into two principal groups: the Baduy Dalam ‘Inner Baduy’ and the Baduy Luar ‘Outer Baduy’. The Baduy Dalam number a little over a thousand people and live in three isolated villages. They adhere strictly to the restrictions of their traditional way of life and have historically had very little contact with outsiders. The Baduy Luar live in some 48 surrounding villages and have historically provided a buffer, protecting the sanctity of the Baduy Dalam from the influences of the outside world. In recent years, the Baduy have had increasing contact with the outside world, largely through ecotourism and the growing integration of the Buduy Luar with wider contemporary Indonesian society. These rapidly evolving social and economic circumstances mean that the Baduy language and culture are currently changing more quickly than at any time in the past.
In response to the rapid transformations occurring among the Baduy, researchers from the Indonesian Education University (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia or UPI) in Bandung teamed up with Iowa-based linguist Bill Davies to initiate a Baduy language documentation project, funded by the US National Science Foundation. Unfortunately, Bill passed away soon after the project got going, but the UPI research team continued their work in collaboration with researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi and the University of Melbourne. Some of the work from this project is presented on this website as a digital resource for the Baduy community and in order to provided information about the heritage of Baduy to the wider world.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant BCS-1562130 to the University of Iowa. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.