Barang Siapa Menjaga Tanah, Sesungguhnya Ia Menjaga Sejarah (2024)
Who Preserves The Land, Preserves History
A collaborative work by
Lembâna Artgroecosystem
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Fikril Akbar
Ma'rifatul Latifah
M. Shodiq
Ragil Cahya Maulana
Raymizard Alifian F.
Shohifur Ridho'i
Bagi orang-orang Lembana, tanah adalah tuah. Selain jadi tempat berpijak, tanah juga jadi tempat bersujud, tempat bermunajah kepada Allah. Di atas tanah lembah yang terhampar seperti sajadah, Dia menumbuhkan tembakau sebagai berkah, sebagai hajat yang makbul sepanjang hayat. Daun-daun emas itu menyimpan napas, keringat, doa-doa, suka-duka, tawa dan air mata banyak orang. Ikatan sosial dan ritus-ritus komunal di sekitar tembakau pun menyambung riwayat dari generasi ke generasi, sekaligus menyumbang khazanah pengetahuan yang meresap ke tubuh-tubuh petani. Bila tiba waktunya, riwayat tubuh-tubuh itu pun ditanam dalam tanah. Mereka lalu tumbuh sebagai sejarah yang khusyuk kami daras sepanjang ziarah.
For the people of Lembâna, the land is a blessing. Beyond being a ground to stand upon, it is also a place of prostration, a place to supplicate before Allah. Upon the valley soil, spread wide like a prayer rug, He causes tobacco to grow as grace, as a livelihood made manifest throughout a lifetime. Those golden leaves carry within them the breath, sweat, prayers, joys and sorrows, laughter and tears of many lives. The social bonds and communal rituals surrounding tobacco extend the lineage from generation to generation, while also contributing to a body of knowledge absorbed into the farmers’ very beings. And when the time comes, those bodies themselves are laid into the soil. They then grow into history, a solemn scripture we recite throughout our pilgrimage.
This work was exhibited at Cemeti Institute for Art and Society (2024).
Photos by Shohifur Ridho'i
