Disaster risk, disaster resilience and traditional cultures as collective memory in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of disaster resilience and mitigation in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The province is frequently hit by earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and liquefactions due to its location along the Palu-Koro fault line within the Asia-Pacific Ring of Fire region. Amidst these challenging geographic conditions, the predecessors of local communities in Central Sulawesi have developed a unique system of collective memory to deal with disasters through centuries of life experience. This article examines how local communities in Central Sulawesi preserve and transmit disaster-related memories across generations as disaster resilience and mitigation strategies. It mainly aims to investigate the community’s collective memory regarding disaster mitigation through the traditional cultures of the local communities in Indonesia. A particular focus has been on the province of Central Sulawesi. The research findings indicate that collective memory in the province should have played a crucial role in community preparedness and adaptation, particularly for contemporary disaster risk and disaster resilience strategies. The local toponymy can warn people to avoid geographically and environmentally dangerous areas. Crucially, traditional stilt houses, adapted from past disasters, are believed to be able to survive disasters such as floods, earthquakes and tsunamis. Moreover, oral narratives such as folklore and Kayori (poetry) may serve as an early warning system for the dangers of engaging in activities that go against nature.
Contribution: The collected memories, unfortunately, have not been well acknowledged and regenerated. Evidence from the field research revealed that many of the disaster-related traditional cultures have been forgotten and neglected. This phenomenon is caused by modernisation, urbanisation and degradation of local language skills.