Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025
P-ISSN: 1693-0762
E-ISSN: 2599-3518
BETTANG PANJANG LOCAL WISDOM AS SELF-IDENTITY
(Ethnographic Study in Betang Panjang.
Ensaid Panjang Village.
Kelam Permai District.
Sintang Regenc.
Pether Sobian1*.
Agus Sanjaya2*.
Karnodin3* 1* Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik.
Universitas Kapuas Sintang.
Jl.
Oevang Oeray No.
Sintang.
Indonesia.
Email pethersobian@gmail.
2 * Prodi Pendidikan Agama Kristen.
Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Pelita Dunia.
Jl.
Imam Bonjol.
Blok No.
8-9 Tangerang Banten.
Email agussanjaya_pdt@yahoo.
3* Prodi Teologi.
Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Khatulistiwa.
Jl.
Sintang Pontianak Km.
Dusun Sungai Sawak.
Desa Sungai Ukoi.
Kecamatan Sungai Tebelian.
Kabupaten Sintang.
Email karnodin80@gmail.
Abstract: Local wisdom is a self-identity that should be maintained, protected and passed down to the next generation, because local wisdom is the identity of a community.
There are quite a lot of Dayak communities that have lost their local wisdom, so the author feels the need to conduct research on the sustainability of local wisdom in Bettang Panjang.
Ensaid Panjang Village, a longhouse inhabited by a small part of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe.
Local wisdom is an identity that must be maintained and passed down to the next generation, that is the self-identity believed by the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe community who live in Bettang Panjang in Ensaid Panjang Village.
Kelam Permai District.
Sintang Regency.
Local wisdom is the values of personal life, communal life and the environment, norms, traditions, and spiritual practices maintained in the community that inhabits Bettang Panjang.
This local wisdom becomes the identity or distinguishes the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe community from other communities, this is because the residents of Bettang still maintain and practice most of the local wisdom of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe from generation to generation.
This local wisdom is what becomes the identity of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe community who inhabit Bettang Panjang.
This local wisdom is a characteristic that distinguishes the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe from other Dayak sub-tribes in the surrounding area.
Keywords: Bettang Pannjang.
Local Wisdom
INTRODUCTION
Ensaid Panjang is known by several meanings, two of which are: A settlement of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe community which also blends with the transmigration community and has the status of a village known as Ensaid Panjang Village.
The second meaning is a longhouse building known as Bettang Panjang.
Bettang Panjang is a traditional house of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe which until now is still a residence or inhabited by the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe community who still maintain the customs and traditions of the Bettang Panjang So Bettang Panjang is a longhouse consisting of many rooms or chambers, where one room is usually occupied by one or more heads of families.
The community who live and have rights to the rooms in Bettang Panjang are the people of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe.
The Dayak sub-tribe still living in Bettang Panjang is small, as many have moved out of Bettang Panjang, building FOKUS: Publikasi Ilmiah untuk Mahasiswa.
Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 their own homes in other locations nearby or in locations designated by the government for transmigration within Ensaid Panjang Village.
This is according to a Bettang Panjang community leader:
AuAnyau mayoh tiq nadai baka niyaq ee ditoq entoq debanding ke sepuluh taun niyaq ee.
Tiq niyaq ee kampung-kampung damping toq betang semua, entoq nyau nadai agiq.
Entoq kitai ditoq nama betang kitai toq entog ee nyau bukai ensaid panjai giq, dah nyau rentap selatan nama ee.
Dah yah sidaq tiq nadai nugau de bettangtuq, nyau ndai ngau atur bettang agiq, nyau mayoh tiq ngai ngau kebaq adat basa ngau penemu tuai kitai keliaq ee agiq.
De tambah agiq bala mensia entoq ee nyau mayoh ngai nugau de rumah bettang, nyau temeli mindah kebukai mullah rumah kediriq, nadai bekambuh ngau bala de betang toq.
Bayah kami tiq nugau de bettang tuq me tiq agiq ngintu penemu tuai, tiq kami de bettang tuq nadai ngintu penemu tuai kitai, dah lamaq nyau adat tuai kita Dessa.
awancara, 15 Mei 2.
It means.
a lot has changed now compared to ten years ago.
Ten years ago, the villages around Ensaid Panjang village also used to have Bettang Panjang.
Now the name of our Bettang is no longer Ensaid Panjang, the name has changed to Rentap Selatan.
Apart from that, many members of our community here have left Bettang Panjang and chosen to build their own houses outside Bettang Panjang.
Only the people who live in Bettang are still faithful in maintaining the knowledge of our ancestors, the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe, if there were no Bettang people, our cultural traditions and ancestral knowledge would have long been lost.
Ay The daily life of the Bettang Panjang traditional, although not primitive.
The P-ISSN: 1693-0762
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community lives together in a longhouse known as the Bettang Panjang, which contains 27 rooms, or doors.
Each door is occupied by at least one family, and some rooms are even occupied by more than one head of family.
Formally.
Bettang Panjang is led by the hamlet head.
Non-formal administrators and elders of the Bettang Panjang .
People often relax, unwind, and share stories in the ruai .
in the afternoon and evening.
The ruai also serves as a living room and a place for guests to stay on certain occasions.
Furthermore, the ruai serves as a venue for ritual activities, weddings, and other major events.
The Dayak Dessa sub-tribe, who inhabit Bettang Panjang, are hardworking, mostly farmers and plantation workers, leaving for work at dawn and returning late in the afternoon, evening, or even night.
Some work in the forest, the river, the gardens, and so on.
The road to Bettang Panjang in Ensaid Panjang Village is categorized as damaged, like most other village access roads in the interior of West Kalimantan.
This is despite Ensaid Panjang's status as a tourist village.
The lifeblood of a tourist village is access, at least good road access, which facilitates the development of the tourist village and the ease of tourist visits.
Visitors are greeted by a sign at the entrance gate of Ensaid Panjang Village in the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe language:
"Tindduq Bebantall ke Ukumm.
Bejallai Betungkatt Keadat Bassa," which means "sleep with a pillow of law, walk with a stick of custom, and adhere to ethical " This is not merely a proverb, but FOKUS: Publikasi Ilmiah untuk Mahasiswa.
Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 rather the identity and commitment of the people living in Bettang Panjang.
This community adheres to traditional rules and etiquette, known as the etiquette and morality of the Bettang Panjang Anyone is welcome to visit as long as they do not violate the moral, ethical, or polite principles upheld by the Bettang Panjang community.
This is what the author calls the local wisdom of Bettang Pannjang.
Local wisdom is the knowledge, values, and practices that have been developed by a local community over centuries, rooted in their interactions with their surroundings and life experiences.
This local wisdom guides their actions, decision-making, and preservation of their environment and culture.
It is a defining characteristic of the Bettang Panjang community and distinguishes them from those living outside Bettang Panjang.
One reason the Dayak Dessa subtribe still lives faithfully in Bettang Panjang is their desire to preserve and maintain their local wisdom using their own skills and For the Dayak people, local wisdom is a source of identity and selfrespect.
Ironically, the Dayak Dessa subtribe's local wisdom is now on the verge of extinction, even though it is this local wisdom that constitutes their identity and The Dayak Dessa subtribe, who do not live in Bettang Panjang, are not bound by the local wisdom preserved there.
Although they share the same ethnicity and language, they maintain a distinct identity from those living in Bettang Panjang.
This means that the Dayak Dessa subtribe, who live outside Bettang Panjang, are free to P-ISSN: 1693-0762
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determine their own identity and are not bound by the Bettang Panjang identity, nor are they bound by the local wisdom preserved by the Bettang Panjang community, without any social or legal The local wisdom of the Dayak community in Ensaid Panjang can still be seen in various community behaviors and rituals, but slowly but surely, this local wisdom is being gradually abandoned.
reality, many community members are separating themselves from the betang house and establishing their own homes outside the betang.
Separating from Bettang means breaking away from the customs and traditions of the betang house.
Dayak people who leave Bettang Panjang are no longer bound by local wisdom, rules, and customs in Bettang Panjang.
They are free to choose to follow the rules, customs, and local wisdom in Bettang Panjang or freely choose to ignore them.
Bettang Panjang for the Dayak people is not just a place to live, but a center of local wisdom, a center of rituals, a center of beliefs, a center of unique traditional customs, and a bond of RESEARCH METHODS The research method used in this study is (Moleong, 2.
, qualitative which is descriptive.
This type of understand the essence of a culture and its unique complexity to paint a picture of the group, its interactions and settings, (Emzir 2.
This type of research aims to describe the unique identity of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe FOKUS: Publikasi Ilmiah untuk Mahasiswa.
Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 community who inhabit Bettang Panjang in Ensaid Panjang Village.
Or the purpose of this research is to achieve a specific goal (Arikunto, 2.
, namely to describe local wisdom, as the existing identity of the Bettang Panjang The subjects of this study were traditional figures living in the Ensaid Panjang longhouse, the Village Head of Ensaid Panjang, and community leaders who clearly and comprehensively understand the reality (Sugiyono, 2.
of the Ensaid Panjang longhouse.
They have lived it their entire lives, passed it down from their ancestors and will be passed on to their children and Data collection was conducted using in-depth interviews .
r unlimited dept.
techniques (Bungin, 2.
, observation, and documentation studies.
According to Miles.
Huberman, and Sadana .
, data analysis techniques have three streams: Auanalysis as three concurrent flows of activity: .
data condensation, .
data display, and .
conclusion drawing/verificationAy.
Therefore, the data collection, or data obtained through data collection tools, was followed by qualitative data The research location was Bettang Panjang.
Ensaid Panjang Village.
Kelam Permai District.
Sintang Regency.
West Kalimantan.
Indonesia.
P-ISSN: 1693-0762
E-ISSN: 2599-3518
RESEACRH RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
Bettang Panjang is the center of Dayak community life, where all activities and aspects of life are For the Dayak.
Bettang Panjang is not merely a place for shelter, cooking, eating, and drinking.
The existence of Bettang Panjang and the social interactions within it extend far beyond mere routine activities.
It is a place where identity is passed down, cultivated, and nurtured.
Bettang Panjang is truly the center of Dayak community life, encompassing all aspects of life.
Interviews revealed that Bettang Panjang not only represents the residential identity of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe, distinct from that of other tribes, but also encompasses other identities passed down and championed by the Bettang Panjang community, including:
First: Preservation of culture and local wisdom.
There are two important concepts to understand in this section: cultural practices and cultural knowledge and local wisdom.
There is a significant difference between cultural practices and cultural knowledge.
According to Prasettya et al.
, cultural .
he encompasses the disciplines of art and This expertise can be further subdivided into other areas, such as literature, dance, music, fine arts, and other arts.
This refers to those who understand these areas.
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Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 This contrasts with cultural practices within the Bettang community, particularly in Bettang Panjang.
Ensaid Panjang Village.
Their understanding does not extend to the philosophical level understood by most people.
daily behavior is carried out in accordance with the customs that bind them in Bettang Panjang.
Their understanding is not as profound as that of cultural and philosophical experts, but their behavior speaks more powerfully than their knowledge.
This is an undeniable identity.
Today, the construction of longhouses, or Bettang Panjang, is quite common among various Dayak subtribes in Kalimantan, particularly in West Kalimantan.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the construction of these longhouses.
However, upon closer inspection, the Bettang Panjangs built today are not the Bettang Panjangs that are inhabited by the community.
The Bettang Panjangs built by many people today are not used for specific occasions or activities.
Their ritual values, community interactions, and sense of community differ from those of Bettang Panjangs inhabited by the The Bettang Panjangs inhabited by various Dayak sub-tribes are places where local culture and wisdom are passed down, taught, and practiced.
They are devoid of political elements or individual interests for group, family, or personal ends.
The Bettang Panjang traditional customs, such as engagement, marriage, death, and belief in ancestors.
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are still maintained according to This contrasts with Bettang Panjangs built and not inhabited by the community, where these values are less This identity is what is fought for and maintained, because this culture is not found outside Bettang Panjang, even in the Dayak community who live near Bettang Panjang.
Ensaid Panjang Village.
With the Dayak community still living in Bettang Panjang, the Dayak This is possible because the Dayak people living in Bettang Pannjang understand that life in Bettang Panjang is how it was, inherited from their parents, grandparents, and ancestors.
The Bettang Panjang cultural environment "requires" them to do so.
This is the conscious or unconscious force that maintains the culture and local wisdom of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe in Bettang Panjang.
Second:
Moral Bettang Panjang is not simply a place of residence, but a place where moral education, ethics, and manners are instilled and critiqued.
Bettang Panjang is a "schoolhouse" where moral education is taught informally, where experiences, knowledge, and skills in speech and behavior are passed down orally from generation to generation.
Moral and ethical education in Bettang Panjang is closely linked to local wisdom values that are passed down and taught informally in daily life.
These values include mutual cooperation, deliberation and consensus, respect for ancestors, and living in harmony with FOKUS: Publikasi Ilmiah untuk Mahasiswa.
Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 nature and spiritual values.
Bettang Panjang itself serves as a symbol of harmony and togetherness, as well as a place for character development for its In the context of mutual cooperation, for example, the Bettang Panjang community worked together to build the Bettang Panjang without pay and without any ulterior motives.
In the context of Bettang House maintenance, this is also done together with good schedules or instructions.
Mutual cooperation or togetherness is not only seen in cases such as deaths, births, engagements, or marriages, but also in everyday contexts, such as when a door or staircase used to climb the Bettang Panjang is damaged.
When asked and encouraged, the work is automatically repaired together.
Based on interviews with traditional leaders, it was discovered that the Bettang Panjang community, who live there, is their soul and blood.
Damage to other family rooms feels like damage to a shared This local wisdom, unique to Bettang Panjang, is less felt by people outside Bettang Panjang.
This local wisdom is a self-identity that is directly or indirectly taught from generation to The spirit of togetherness and concern for others is practiced in the daily life of the Bettang Panjang In the context of this "Bettang Panjang education," the Dayak people should also hope for the preservation of the traditional educational patterns and methods of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe.
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which have been proven to produce a society with morals and character, fear of crime and dishonesty.
No institution or community within the Dayak Dessa subtribe has been proven to be able to replace the "education" of morals, ethics, and character as well as the Bettang Panjang community.
Third: Tolerance and sharing love.
We live in an individualistic world, where tolerance and sharing love are rarely seen.
Members of one community, even though they live next door to another, do not care, let alone share love.
In addition, now the concept of profit and loss has become the 'education' of today's society, (Sobian, 2.
Society is shown with hedonistic behavior for those who are rich, greed for those in power and stinginess for those who have.
Giving, sharing love and tolerance to others can be considered as a loss, whether loss of time, loss of material or loss of opportunity and so on.
This is the identity of our society so now which is the basis of the classification of society, (Pujileksono, 2.
In contrast to the reality or conditions of the Bettang Pannjang community, interviews with community members and observations reveal that sharing is a part of daily life.
For the Bettang Panjang community, sharing doesn't have to involve large-scale activities, although they do.
Sharing begins with small things.
For example, if a family is short of rice, the family members in the adjacent room or cubicle will help provide the rice.
This doesn't necessarily mean that those receiving FOKUS: Publikasi Ilmiah untuk Mahasiswa.
Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 assistance will live lazily, relying on assistance from relatives and neighbors.
Sharing is a lost identity in today's communities (Sobian, 2.
Sharing is still evident in religious communities, but in the Bettang community, it predates the arrival of religions and is widely believed in.
The term "sharing and loving" is not used in Dayak society, but the essence of sharing within the Bettang Panjang community is based on compassion, pity, a sense of belonging, a sense of having been in the same position, and so on.
This understanding forms the basis of sharing behavior.
Compassion understood by the Bettang community, unwillingness to see neighbors living in the same house experience hardship and While other community members can act to alleviate the burdens or difficulties of others (Sobian, 2.
In the context of tolerance.
Bettang Panjang serves not only as a center of local life and wisdom, but also as a hub for all government activities.
This is due to its status as a tourist village, the uniqueness of its buildings, and the fact that it is the only Bettang Panjang still inhabited near Sintang City.
Activities include visits from outside .
or official government visits or non-official visits, politicians on their political visits or political safaris, and religious leaders on other religious visits.
Visits to Bettang Panjang are often made, because in Bettang Panjang there are still living traditional figures who have knowledge about customs, customary P-ISSN: 1693-0762
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law, influence and charisma of altruistic leadership (Sobian, 2.
The government's designation of Betang as a tourist destination has increased the number of visits by both local and international tourists to the Interactions between outsiders and the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe living in Bettang Panjang have created social The Bettang community is unconsciously but inevitably influenced by the behavior, goals, finances, and influence of visiting officials and Furthermore, the visitors' differing appearances, languages, and behaviors also contribute to the area's unique character.
This has led to a growing tolerance and a loosening of regulations, even eliminating some local wisdom, aimed at protecting the feelings and opinions of visiting tourists.
This is also done to allow visitors more space to more easily access Bettang Panjang.
The goal is clearly not simply to welcome visitors, but also to foster adaptation and tolerance toward the behavior of tourists and other visitors.
Fourth: Togetherness and mutual In the Bettang community, togetherness and mutual cooperation are values passed down through generations and constitute an undeniable identity within the Bettang community.
This behavior has long been deeply rooted in Indonesian particularly in Bettang Panjang.
Ensaid Panjang Village.
The practice of mutual cooperation, which means working together, is a way of life that reflects a spirit of kinship, unity, solidarity, and mutual respect.
This is included in FOKUS: Publikasi Ilmiah untuk Mahasiswa.
Staf Pengajar dan Alumni Universitas Kapuas Sintang Volume: 23 Nomor 2.
September 2025 cultural anthropology (Gardner & Lewis, 2.
, where people's behavior is influenced by their environment.
Traditional communities often rely on mutual cooperation in various activities, such as building houses, traditional events like weddings and Mutual cooperation fosters a sense of caring for others.
Each member of the community learns to help and cooperate in facing various challenges.
Work done together becomes easier and more quickly completed than if done This understanding is maintained in the spirit of togetherness and mutual cooperation.
The togetherness fostered through mutual cooperation fosters unity and This unity strengthens the community and enables it to face Community members become preoccupied with how to best serve others, rather than conversely, focusing on how to denigrate and bring them down.
Fifth: Leadership and ritualism.
Leaders often play a central role in traditional rituals and ceremonies.
Rituals, an integral part of a community's social, cultural, and religious life, are often led or facilitated by traditional leaders or those who are recognized for their power in a particular context.
Their role extends beyond ceremonial aspects, but also involves interpreting, maintaining, and embodied in the rituals.
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While in other Indonesian tribes, leaders are drawn from specific lineages, in the Bettang Panjang community, leaders are not chosen from specific rather, they are chosen for their charisma, altruism, and ability to understand and resolve problems.
In the context of customary leadership, or house 'punn', a person trusted to lead is one who is unanimously elected by the According to the traditional leader of Ensaid Panjang Village, he had never heard of a customary leader, or 'punn', of the Bettang house, being elected by vote during his time or before his leadership.
The criteria for a leader in the Bettang Panjang community cannot be Besides community living in a single house, a person's behavior, speech, morality, ethics, manners, and abilities are readily observable to anyone.
More importantly, a traditional leader is chosen based on customary criteria.
He or she possesses a sound knowledge of the customs and is well-versed in various matters related to customary law.
Leaders in Bettang Panjang are typically also responsible for performing rituals, upholding traditions, and resolving disputes between fellow Bettang members and between Bettang Bettang Panjang community, the rituals performed by leaders encompass a wide range of aspects, such as births, weddings, deaths, and other important stages in the Bettang Panjang life cycle.
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September 2025 Furthermore, there are rituals performed at the turn of the year or season, for example, those related to the agricultural cycle, the changing of the seasons, or other significant events in the traditional calendar.
There are also healing and protection rituals, according to the traditional leader, used to address illness, plague, or health Bettang Panjang These rituals are intended to seek protection from supernatural forces, natural disasters, or enemies.
Furthermore, there are cleansing rituals performed to cleanse oneself, the community, or the environment from negative influences that might affect the entire Bettang community.
Such care, understanding, and competence are hallmarks of a chosen This does not mean that the Bettang Panjang community distrusts modern medicine, such as nurses, midwives, or The Bettang Panjang community places greater trust in leaders who understand the spiritual world.
Therefore, when the community elects a leader by acclamation, they entrust the existence of Bettang Panjang and their spiritual lives to their leader.
This is why Bettang Panjang leaders must possess good character, be generous, work selflessly, be moral, and be CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS The local wisdom of the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe living in Bettang Panjang is reflected in cultural preservation, tolerance, sharing, togetherness, and mutual cooperation.
It also serves as a non-formal educational institution that fosters morals, ethics, and behavior in accordance with the customs accepted by the Bettang Panjang community.
The P-ISSN: 1693-0762
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Bettang house is not only a residence but also the center of the social, cultural, and spiritual life of the Dayak Dessa subtribe.
The results of this study are still very limited in portraying the reality of the Bettang Panjang community in Enaid Panjang Village.
There are many realities that cannot be addressed in this research.
Therefore, further research is needed to uncover or capture the reality of local wisdom in Bettang Panjang as a selfidentity for the Dayak Dessa sub-tribe living in Bettang Panjang.
Furthermore, as a researcher, what is described in this study also needs to be validated against This is important because although data can change, data or information must be gathered from various sources to ensure its validity.
DAFTAR PUSTAKA