Nusa Penida in the Past and Present: a Study of the Pattern of Socio-Cultural Life from Agriculture to Tourism

Nusa Penida in The Past and Present: A Study of The Pattern of Socio-Cultural Life From Agriculture to Tourism Ni Made Suwendri 1*, I Made Mardika 2 and Ida Bagus Astika Pidada 3 Universitas Warmadewa, Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia {[email protected] 1, [email protected] 2, [email protected] 3} Abstract. Nusa Penida refers to a small island located across the mainland of Bali Island. Geographical condition of the island is made of a hilly limestone area which is often considered as an isolated area with a stagnant pattern of its inhabiting community life. In reality, however, Nusa Penida features a dynamically developing phenomenon of change. In respect of this condition, this study aims to reveal the pattern of the people’s socio- cultural life of Nusa Penida during traditional agriculture to tourism industry. The problem in this study were examined using three theories: Theory of Cultural Ecology, Structural-Functional Theory and Theory of Sociology of Tourism. The study was conducted using a qualitative research method with a historical approach. The research data were collected through an in-depth interview and literature study. Data were analysed using a qualitative descriptive method. The results showed that the pattern of the people’s socio-cultural life of Nusa Penida from agriculture to tourism, respectively, had its own characteristics, that is to say, traditional-agrarian, commercial-oriented traditional life patterns, and the tourism period led to the prominence of tourism services. Keywords: community pattern of life; traditional agriculture; tourism 1 Introduction As part of the District of Klungkung area, Nusa Penida which is located across the island of Bali, has attracted the attention of researchers. Several studies having been conducted concentrated more on the anthropological dimension of culture and tourism. Studies on the utilization of the Nusa Penida coastal area in the seaweed sector were conducted by Sudana Astika (1998), Buda (2005), and Suwendri (2005, 2018). Studies on tourism sector focusing on mapping the potential of tourism objects and management strategies were conducted by Damayanti, et al. (2015), Budi Shantika, et al. (2018), and Ariasa, et al. (2018). Unfortunately, of the studies conducted there is not a single study that has precisely highlighted the patterns of changes in the life of the community of Nusa Penida which are essentially developing dynamically. In fact, from a historical perspective, trends in the socio-cultural life of the people of the island designate a development that is undeniably interesting to be analysed through scientific studies. A head of the development of seaweed cultivation, most of the people of Nusa Penida had been farming by cultivating unirrigated fields as their main livelihood sources; meanwhile, livestock and fisheries were only a leisure pursuit. At that point, the community was still classified merely as a resident with traditional village agriculture (Giddens, 1991). WARDS 2020, December 21, Indonesia Copyright © 2021 EAI DOI 10.4108/eai.21-12-2020.2305837 Agricultural production was solely to meet household needs because there was no market orientation. In the 1990s, the time when seaweed began to be widely cultivated by local residents, the coastal area became densely populated with seaweed cultivation. Cultivation of the plant turned into a business for the community and grew rapidly in Nusa Penida until 2013. At the same time, the scope of community life began to lead to advanced agricultural villages (Kistanto, 2018: 172). Subsequently, the agricultural system became commercially oriented. In 2015, a new trend emerged in Nusa Penida. The island developed into a tourist destination. The presence of this sector, in turn, shifted the seaweed farming. Tourism activities began to spread to villages around the tourist object. Various tourism support facilities were established. Ultimately, the island grew to serve as one of the main tourist attractions in Bali. Taking into account the stages of the development of the life of the people of Nusa Penida during these three periods, it appears that a distinctive pattern in each period has been formed. Scientifically, this phenomenon has properties that are really interesting to be explored. Established on the fact, the question brought up with the present study is “What were the characteristics of the socio-cultural life patterns of the community of Nusa Penida during the agricultural period until the tourism industry period?” 2 Review of Literature In an effort to reveal the patterns of the life of the people of the village of Nusa Penida starting from the traditional agricultural era to the era of the tourism service industry, an analysis was carried out by making use of relevant concepts and theories, which include Theory of Cultural Ecology and Structural-Functional Theory. In their application, these theories were implemented out in an eclectical manner with the purpose that a deeper understanding would be obtained. The Theory of Cultural Ecology was used to reveal how the people of Nusa Penida village take advantage of the natural environment and how they adapt to their culture. This approach was first applied by Steward and then by Poerwanto in her analysis of the life of the people who lived around the slopes of Merapi, Central Java (2000: 68-71). Steward revealed that cultural ecology appears as a field of study that studies how humans as living things adapt to certain geographic environments. There is an interrelation between culture and its environment. Steward’s analysis emphasizes on the relationship between behaviour patterns in a community and the technology used, so that citizens of a culture are able to carry out their activities and ultimately be able to survive. Thus, there is an interplay between the natural environment and human culture. Culture is influenced by the environment and the environment can be changed by that culture. The analogy according to the standpoint represents that adherents of environmental determinism view that environmental conditions play a major role in shaping culture. On the other hand, adherents of possibelism assume that basically geographical factors cannot fully form a human culture. The effect is only up to a certain level of culture. Kaplan and Manners (1999: 101-107) articulated that there are two central concepts in cultural ecology, that is to say, environment and adaptation. The environment in the perspective of cultural ecology can be interpreted as the reciprocal influence of the natural environment that has been changed by human culture on human life and behaviour at a certain location on earth. It can be said that culture transforms in the process of human adaptation in interacting with their environment. Likewise, on the contrary, the existence of an environment has the capability of encouraging humans to create culture. Cohen (1971: 41-44) verbalizes that adaptation transforms into a technology as well as a social process. As a technology, adaptation signifies that humans adapt their technology to face nature. Conversely, as a social process, adaptation means that when people face challenges, they try to improve their social institutions or structures. Soemarwoto (2001: 48) also argued about the closeness of the approach between human adaptations to the environment. Soemarwanto voiced that changes in the environment taking place both rapidly and slowly trigger people to try to adapt themselves to the changes so as to produce traits or behaviors in accordance with their environment. Adaptation occurs when the environment (habitat) changes. Directly or indirectly these changes can have impacts on the inhabitants of the environment, both humans and animals. In the analysing the society as a system, social system theory known as structural functional theory is applied. The structural-functional approach, as developed by Parsons that the approach can be seen from a number of basic assumptions being put forward, comprises: (1) society must be seen as a system with parts that are interconnected with one another, (2) even if dysfunction of tension and irregularities always occur, in the long term the situation can eventually be resolved through adjustments and institutionalisation processes, (3) changes in the social system will occur gradually or evolution will not take place in a revolutionary manner, (4) changes take place through three kinds of possibilities, such as as adjustment to change that come from external sources, changes occurring through differentiation of functional structures, as well as novel discoveries by society, and (5) the most important factor that has an integrating power is the consensus among members of society regarding certain societal values (Nasikun, 1991). Structural-functional approach emphasizes the order and changes (dynamics) in society. In this theory, according to Ritser (1992), society is described as a system made up of elements that are interrelated in balance. Changes transpiring in one part bring changes to other parts. To reveal how the people of Nusa Penida make interaction with the tourism industry, an analysis was carried out using the approach of Sociology of Tourism (Pitana, 2005). 3 Results and Discussion 3.1. Pattern of Community Socio-Cultural Life during the Traditional Agriculture Period The pattern of socio-cultural life of the community of Nusa Penida during the traditional agricultural period (1980-1990) manifested in a time when seaweed cultivation was not introduced until the time it was cultivated extensively and intensively among the community. To reveal the life patterns of the people of the village of Nusa Penida in advance of the development of seaweed cultivation, an ethnographic framework approach was used (Koentjaraningrat, 1998), which concerned several cultural elements, such as livelihood system, system of knowledge and technology, custom, and religion. Agricultural culture. As is the case with Balinese people, the majority of villagers in Nusa Penida work in the sector of agriculture, especially those who live in the hilly areas. Besides, raising poultry is just the leusire pursuit. The farming system in dry or rainfed land (dry land) is still conventional.

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