European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science
ISSN: 2501 - 1235
ISSN-L: 2501 - 1235
Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu
Volume 3 │ Issue 3 │ 2017
doi: 10.5281/zenodo.437899
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY IN
JAMBI, INDONESIA
Anggi Aditiawani,
Sugiyanto, Siswandari
Study Program of Sport Science, Post-graduate Program,
Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia
Abstract:
This study aims to (1) reveal the phenomenon of physical activity of primitive society in
their daily life, (2) understand which physical activities have the element to improve
physical performance, (3) understand which physical activities have the element of
motor skills. The subject of the study is physical activity conducted by primitive society
of Suku Anak Dalam in Jambi, Sumatera, Indonesia. This study uses descriptive
qualitative method with phenomenology approach. Level of confidence is tested by
using data triangulation from the informants who are considered to understand the
primitive society Suku Anak Dalam’s life structure. The analysis in this study is
conducted within five stages, which are: (1) data reduction, (2) data display, (3)
conclusion drawing, (4) validity result improvement and (5) narrative analysis result.
The result of study shows that: (1) there is physical activity conducted by Suku Anak
Dalam people as part of survival activity in the jungle, (2) there is physical activity
which has the element of physical performance, (3) there is physical activity which has
the element of motor skills.
Keywords: physical activity, primitive society, Suku Anak Dalam, physical
performance, motor skills
1. Introduction
In this era, there are primitive societies which hunt and gather foods as a living. Usually
primitive societies still maintain their ancestral traditions, both in the activity of looking
for food or in customs. For primitive societies, maintaining and preserving the cultural
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Anggi Aditiawan, Sugiyanto, Siswandari
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY IN JAMBI, INDONESIA
tradition is an obligation that must be done, so that parents are obliged to teach the
gospel to children or descendants of their ancestors so preservation continues.
The categorization and classification of elements of cultuvitation according to
Alo Liliweri (2014: 432), type of society based on the viewpoint of ecologicalevolutionary theory states “one; hunter and food gatherers (12000-8000 SM), two;
horticultural society (8000-3000 SM), three; agricultural society (3000-1800 SM), four;
industrial society (1800-now)”. In the above explanation, it can be classified that primitive
tribe societies are included in the category of hunters and food gatherers that still
remain in indigenous group of Suku Anak Dalam in the Forest of Bukit Dua Belas
National Park, Jambi Indonesia.
On the physical activity of primitive societies, there is something unique to
reveal. It can be seen from the activities of physical activity of primitive society in the
process of gathering food to be able to live in the jungle, as well as physical activity
done at the time of hunters and gatherers who have an element in shaping the physical
abilities and skills of individual motion.
Based on Adi Prasetijo (2011: 192) "the life of Suku Anak Dalam people who live in the
forest meet the basic needs independently of the results of forest and forest activities. They can
meet the needs of staple foods such as cassava by searching the forest. For protein, they obtain
them from hunting and fishing. To meet needs such as cigarettes, clothing, and fabrics they
obtain them from selling the yield of forest resources". Hunting and gathering activities are
still taking place in public life of Suku Anak Dalam in Bukit Dua Belas National Park,
Jambi, Indonesia.
In general, the process of physical activity by individuals indirectly affects the
body condition of the doer. As in the ability of the immune system, which are increased
and better motor skills obtained from movements done repeatedly.
Endurance capacity is biomotor components that are needed in physical
activity. And one of the most important components of physical fitness. Endurance is
also understood as durability time which means the length of a person to be able to
keep on working or endure the intensity of fatigue. Endurance is the ability to do the
job in a relatively long time.
While the movement skill is the ability of motion that can be done by humans in
performing activities that require special skills which are trained or obtained from the
motion experience gained from physical activity. Movement skill is the ability to
perform a task motion optimally according to his ability. Skill motion on each person is
different, there are several factors that affect the skill such as levels of age and
experience of motion.
Based on the introduction which is stated previously, the aims of the study concluded
in this study are to: (1) reveal the phenomenon of physical activity of primitive society
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY IN JAMBI, INDONESIA
in daily life, (2) describe the kinds of physical activity that has an element of improving
physical ability, (3) describe the kinds of physical activity that has an element of
movement skills.
2. Research Method
This study used descriptive qualitative method with phenomenological hermeneutic
approach. The study contained three stages. The first stage was the collection of data
that collect the data on the location of the study through observation, interview, and
documentation. The second stage was the analysis of the implementation of data. The
early implementation of the initial data analysis, verification, enrichment and
deepening of the data and developed in the form of data presentation and followed by
formulating a conclusion. The third stage was the preparation of the study, in this stage
of the study; the report validity was tested and discuss the reports that have been
prepared by some experts and then revises the report and write the final report of the
study.
This research was conducted in Bukit Dua Belas National Park in Jambi Province,
Sumatra, Indonesia. Source of data in the early stages of entering the location of the
study, the writer chose informants who know and understand the living condition of
Suku Anak Dalam which is accompanied by a guide of Suku Anak Dalam from the
Ministry of Social Affairs. Research subject in this study is Suku Anak Dalam society.
The writer used some tools to help in data collection and data analysis which
were field notes, a voice recorder, a video recorder, and a camera. The technique of
collecting data tends to be participant observation, in depth interview and
documentation. While the analysis of the data used triangulation techniques including
data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing / verification.
Data collection techniques included observation, interviews, literature review,
and documentation. Meanwhile, in order to establish the validity of the data, it used
triangulation techniques. The data were then analyzed using three techniques, which
were: flow models, interactive models and analysis domain. Data were obtained from
various sources; interviews and field notes. Data analysis performed in this study was:
(1) data reduction, (2) data, (3) conclusion, (4) increase of the validity of the results, and
(5) narrative analysis.
3. Result and Discussion
This study uses interview and observation system which is obtained from the field, the
object of the study is Suku Anak Dalam society. In the early stages of research on
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY IN JAMBI, INDONESIA
November-December 2016, the initial observation on the subject that has been
determined, the observed physical activity conducted by Suku Anak Dalam people when
doing the hunting and gathering activities. In this chapter, the writer will present the
results that have been obtained from interviews with informants through direct
observation, the writer can analyze the physical activity of Suku Anak Dalam people, the
writer is able to analyze the physical activity which has an element of improving
physical ability and movement skills. With the process of interviews conducted by the
informant, the writer could analyze things which appear and disclosed by the
informant with descriptive procedures including written or oral based on physical
activity of Suku Anak Dalam society. The result of the analysis which is obtained by indepth interviews, observation and documentation are as follows:
3.1 Physical Activity Phenomenon in Suku Anak Dalam Society
The house type of Suku Anak Dalam society has the form of hut in order to enable them
to move, the government has built several houses for some groups of Suku Anak Dalam
although there are a few empty houses because many of those who do melangun (the
process of leaving the original settlement to eliminate the grief if there are relatives who
died) and the house is left empty.
The entire living source of Suku Anak Dalam people lies in the forest with two
activities; hunting and gathering. Hunting boars, deers, and elks are part of life for Suku
Anak Dalam people by using tools such as spears, snares and guns. Hunting is done
individually or in teams of two to five people. Usually they look for hiding places of the
animal shelter. If the hunting target appears, then they are for the next hunt.
Gathering foods is the activity of looking for extra foods and other vegetations.
In addition to searching for tubers and fruits, Suku Anak Dalam people are also looking
for some other forest materials, such as; honey, rattan, medicinal plants, and firewood.
They also look for fish in the river using fish spears, traps (bubu), shoot the fish, and
noodling (ngakop).
Physical activity is the lifestyle of the Suku Anak Dalam people as a form
of survival in order to survive in the jungle. The life pattern of Suku Anak Dalam people
cannot be separated from physical activity, because any activity undertaken is always in
direct contact with the body. This is due to physical activity in the daily life of Suku
Anak Dalam including; hunting, fishing and gathering is the way of gathering food.
Based on the above explanation, it can be seen that some physical activity
conducted by a group of primitive society in hunting, are: pike activity, fishing activity,
activity in gathering food and the activity of collecting some materials in the woods.
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY IN JAMBI, INDONESIA
3.2 Physical Activity which Has the Element of Increasing Physical Performance
Physical activity done by Suku Anak Dalam people give the effect for limb movement of
the doer that is formed from physical activity that they do everyday so that they are
unaware that these activities affect the ability of the immune system. The following is a
physical activity or physical activity that has elements in improving physical abilities in
Suku Anak Dalam people, which are: hunting with spears, hunting with rifle, gathering
food and collecting some materials from the woods.
3.2.1 Hunting Activity
These activities do not depend on time, instead it depends on the individual when the
hunting
activities would
be
done,
and
the
activity
can
be
done
in
the
morning, afternoon, during the day or night. In hunting activities usually the hunters
have to walk deep into the jungle, they have to run after prey animals, and sometimes
they
must swim when
the
target prey is
on
the
other
side of
the
river. It
is indirectly and unconsciously forming endurance and with erratic weather that boost
the immune system of the skin that hence will hold hot or cold weather.
Besides, the far trip of hunting also affects one's physical endurance; the road
taken by the time of hunting is sometimes up and down because of the geography of
where Suku Anak Dalam people live inside the Taman Nasional Dua Belas jungle which
has hilly ground contour. As stated by Ottawa (1998: 7) "Strength activities help your
muscles and bones stay strong, improve your posture and help to prevent diseases like
osteoporosis. Strength activities are those that make you work your muscles against some kind of
resistance, like when you push or pull hard to open a heavy door". As stated by Ottawa that
strenuous activity affects the formation of muscles and bones strong. We can know that
hunting activity is considered as heavy work, in the process of hunting the hunter must
do some settings in the process of hunting like; walking, running, swimming and
bringing the quarry.
3.2.2 Gathering Activity or Collecting Foods and Material in the Jungle
Gathering foods is the process of finding foods and forest types of material such as
firewood for cooking and rattan which is commonly used by Suku Anak Dalam people as
ambung or bags made from rattan to help them in carrying goods. These activities are
included into heavy work because a single person may carry 50 kg to 75 kg, the goods
carried are varied such as tubers, fruits, rattan and firewoods. Physical activity is
unwittingly forming muscle and bone strength so that it is rarely found a member of
Suku Anak Dalam who is obese and almost every individual in Suku Anak Dalam society
has the ideal muscular body shape.
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3.3 Physical Activity which Has the Element of Motor Skills
Physical activity that they do, there is a lot of activities that affect the ability of the
movement skills of Suku Anak Dalam people. From the movement skills that are subtle
and tough. This capability is owned by the people of Suku Anak Dalam as the cultural
traditions of physical activity they do every day and repeatedly so that this ability
continues to stick to each individual.
Good physical ability and movement skills make Suku Anak Dalam people able to
survive the tough life. With physical abilities and movement skills obtained since child,
Suku Anak Dalam people form a strong and skilled human from the compulsion to do to
be able to continue to live with the family.
With the diversed activities and tools used in Suku Anak Dalam daily activities,
there are some elements of physical activity that has an element of movement skills. The
following is a physical activity that has elements of motor skills:
3.3.1 Piking Activity
Piking activity is conducted during hunting period in the woods. To use the pike, it
requires good motor skills with the right technique so that the throw can hit the target.
Piking activity requires the combination of accuracy, speed, technique, and strength to
do the throw.
The limbs used in the process of piking are arms and legs including muscles like
hand muscles as the spring used to throw, finger muscles to clamp the pike, chest
muscles and arm muscles as the thrust to do the throw and leg muscles used as the
stance during the pike throw, with the help eyes coordination to see the target and the
hand as the tool when throwing.
Piking skill is taught by Suku Anak Dalam people when the children are able to
walk. This is done by the parents so that their children can look for their own food in
the future. The technique that is learned uses vision method, which is to ask their
children to go with the parents when hunting and see by themselves how their parents
use and throw the pike correctly to hit the target.
Motor skills in piking use hard motion which means the motion done using large
muscles. Regarding this, the learning process is done continuously and it keeps
developing until they master the piking activity.
3.3.2 Shooting Activity
Shooting using guns is one of the tools used by Suku Anak Dalam people to hunt. This
tool is used to hunt big animals such as deer and boar. Due to acculturation from
externals of Suku Anak Dalam people, they start using modern tools to hunt, using guns
not only help them to hunt easier, but also avoid the risks of using pike, because using
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pike has a lot of risks, such as getting rammed by boars even there are some people who
die because they get rammed by a big boar. Guns also help them avoid the risks
although it comes with its own risks like aiming the wrong target and other people may
get shot.
Teaching to shoot is similar to the method of teaching children to hunt using
vision method, which is seeing by their own eyes how the technique is conducted by
the parents. The muscle used to shoot is the small muscle that works when the finger
pull the trigger of the guns.
The skill used to shoot requires agility and skill to shoot. This skill needs to be
honed by keep doing the activity with the parents when hunting and sometimes the
parents ask their children to try to shoot the target animals. This activity is continuously
done so they grow the feeling when shooting the target and finally they can hit the
target.
It is common for parents ask their children to go hunting together using guns in
the age of 14 or older. It is based on the consideration of Suku Anak Dalam people that
using guns should require standard body height and strong arm to endure the impact
of gun shooting. The reason they have standard height is because the tip of the gun
should be pointed down to the ground to avoid shooting other people coincidentally.
3.3.3 Catching Fish Activity
Ngakop or noodling is the activity of fish catching done by Suku Anak Dalam people with
bare hands and this activity are done when the river is at ebb tide. This activity is done
by walking across the river and the fish caught with bare hands.
The fish catching activity requires good motor skills. Ngakop activity requires the
coordination of speed, strength, and good accuracy. If it is not done in high speed, the
target will run away and the grip should also be strong so that the fish does not get
away Ngakop activity requires hard motion which requires motion using large muscles
such as arm muscle and strong grip from finger muscle. Ngakop skill is obtained by the
children of Suku Anak Dalam through self-taught learning, which means they only see
other people do ngakop. This activity is done to help the parents gather foods.
3.3.4 Catching Snakes Activity
Snake catching activity is done by Suku Anak Dalam people using bare hands. This
activity requires good motor skills, first; speed is necessary when catching snakes,
second; accuracy is necessary to catch snake head because the snake moves aggressively
in dangerous situation, hence accuracy is needed to catch snake head, three; the hand
strength to grip is necessary to avoid snake attack in the catching process.
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Snake catching activity is done with appropriate measure of snake size, when
there is a big snake it requires two or three people to catch it to avoid the twist of the
snake. And the snake target is commonly python or snake in paddy field. They can sell
the snake skin and the snake meat can be used as food material for Suku Anak Dalam
people.
4. Conclusion
Based on the analysis of data from the previous discussion, it can be acquired some
conclusions as follow:
a) There is a phenomenon of physical activity in the life of Suku Anak Dalam
primitive society which still continues to happen until today as to survive in the
forest. The physical activities are; hunting using pike, guns, and bare hands. The
activity of catching fish, such as; ngakob or noodling (catching fish using bare
hands). The activity of gathering foods and material from the forest such as;
tubers, honey, fruits, rattan, and firewood.
b) In the series of activity that they do, there are several physical activities that has
an element of physical ability increase such as the activity of hunting and
gathering food and material in the forest. This can be seen from the heavy work
they do in their daily life in order to survive and almost all of Suku Anak Dalam
people have ideal muscular body.
c) The physical activity done by Suku Anak Dalam people has the element of motor
skills such as the hunting process as well as catching fish. In terms of motor skills
of Suku Anak Dalam people, it can be seen from the technique used to pike, shoot,
catch fish and snake using bare hands.
d) The activity of piking has similar motion with javelin throw. The javelin grip
technique generally uses American and Finland technique style. The way the
American grips is by holding the javelin behind the cord with the index finger
goes around behind the cord and the thumb push the other side, while the other
fingers also go around the body of the javelin loosely. Finland style is by holding
the javelin behind the cord with middle finger and thumb, while index finger
holds in the body and a little askew to an appropriate direction; the other fingers
also hold the body of the javelin loosely. The way Suku Anak Dalam people hold
the body of the pike by clamping using thumb and the distal phalanx to clamp
the pike.
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY IN JAMBI, INDONESIA
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