Cultural Dynamics in a Globalized World – Budianta et al. (Eds) © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-62664-5 Management of cultural heritage sites: A case study of Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung F. Amril Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia ABSTRACT: Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung is a representation of the township and the matrilineal culture of Minangkabau society. Located in Sijunjung, which lies between two rivers, the Batang Sukam and the Batang Kulampi, in an area covered by forests, the village was designated as a Cultural Heritage Site by a decree of the Sijunjung Head District number 188.45/243/KPTS-BPT-2014. Therefore, anything related to the management of the settlement should conform to the cultural heritage preservation principles. In general, the principles can be effectively applied to a protected site, even though it was uninhabited or already in ruin when discovered. However, Nagari Sijunjung is an inhabited locale where people have been living there for generations. The issue focuses on how to manage a living cultural heritage site while at the same time allowing rooms for the community to grow and expand. This paper endeavours to provide a management model for a cultural heritage site that functions as a living monument. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung is one of the indigenous settlements in West Sumatra. Located between two rivers, the Batang Sukam and the Batang Kulampi, this village has fertile soil good for farming. The forest surrounding the village also adds to the beauty of the Nagari Sijunjung landscape. In 2014 this village was designated as a Cultural Heritage Site by a decree of the Sijunjung Head District number 188.45/243/KPTS-BPT-2014. The designa- tion of Nagari Sijunjung as a Cultural Heritage Site means that this site is now bound by the cultural heritage preservation principles. According to Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 11 of 2010 regarding Cultural Herit- age, a cultural heritage site is defined as “a unit of geographic space that has two or more cultural heritage sites, which are adjacent and/or exhibit distinctive spatial characteristics”. If we take the wording of the law above, then the Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung can be categorized as a Cultural Heritage Site for its distinctive spatial characteristics. Nagari Sijunjung does not share the typical spatial characteristics, which are common with other villages in Minangkabau. In this village, the traditional Minangkabau large houses or rumah gadang are built to line up following the contour of the road as opposed to other villages that generally allow a more loose composition with regard to the layout of their houses. Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung, however, still retains common characteristics of traditional villages in Minangkabau, by having the following, basosok bajurami (village borders), balabuah batapian (a main road and a common bathing place), barumah batanggo (living quarters), basawah baladang (rice fields), babalai bamusajik (a meeting point and a place of worship), and bapandam bapakuburan (local cemetery). Besides those seven elements which are the manifestation of the culture’s tangible characteristics, it also has two jorongs (a smaller unit of a nagari), namely Jorong Koto Padang Ranah and Jorong Tanah Bato, whose inhabitants are still practicing a series of traditions, such as batoboh, bakaul, and 623 membantai adaik, among others. In addition, there are rules that people of Koto Padang Ranah and Tanah Bato should follow, including the one that prohibit them from building a new house parallel to the rumah gadang (Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of West Sumatra, 2015, p. 24). Unlike plants or animals, cultural resources, whether it is tangible or not, is not something renewable that can reproduce itself. This has become the main reason to issue the principles of the management of cultural heritage (Darvill, 1987, p. 4). Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung is an example of a cultural resource that possesses both tangible and intangible properties. It has the potential to develop, but there are threats coming from natural processes and destructive human activities, such as vandalism (Grant, 2008, pp. 341–344). Even though it has been declared as a Cultural Heritage by the Sijunjung government, the possible threats still exist since there is yet a system to manage the Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung. Byrne (2008, p. 155) argues that the preservation of cultural heritage that belongs to a minority group would require more efforts. Nevertheless, this does not presuppose that the preservation of a cultural heritage of the majority group will not face any problems. In this case, the Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung has issues related to its management system. Darvill (1987, p. 25) mentions that the management of a cultural heritage region in a rural area should include three main objectives, namely maintaining the diversity of archaeological resources in the original landscape where it is located, to make the archaeological resources meet the community’s needs in terms of its management, and to resolve the conflict and competition for the use of land which contains the archaeological resources. Based on these objectives, it is pivotal to conduct a study to determine a management model for the Perkam- pungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung that will meet those three categories. Cultural heritages can be classified into two categories. The first one is the dead monument, a cultural heritage that was already in ruin when it was discovered. The other type is known as the living monument and it refers to items or properties that continue to be of use to date (Explanation of the Law Number 11 of 2010, Point I General Provisions, Paragraphs 5–6). Obviously, there are distinct differences in terms of preservation as the dead monument has ceased to function, while the living one still serves a purpose. Dealing with a dead monument is relatively easy, especially in terms of its ownership. In contrast, the living monument still belongs to a group of people. Unfortunately, there are no explicit or clear guidelines regard- ing the management of living monuments in Indonesian laws and regulations. Hence, there is a need to carry out a study about the cultural heritages that fall under the category of living monuments, since it is still inhabited by the community, which still practices their tradition. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach. This approach allows an analysis of the qualitative data, which are obtained through observations in the field as well as through a review of available literatures on Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung. This study exam- ines the cultural resources found in Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung through the Cul- tural Resource Management study, i.e. a study by Pearson and Sullivan (1995, as cited in Saptaningrum, 2007, p.17), which is an integrated cross-sectoral work designed to accom- modate a variety of interests. 1.2 Issues Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung is one of the traditional villages whose landscape and culture are still intact and well preserved. The village maintains the traditional Minang- kabau village structures and its complements, such as the rumah gadang, rice fields, places of worship, and buildings for ceremonial activities. From the cultural perspective, the villagers still practice certain traditions, such as batagak gala, nikah kawin, basiriah tando, membantai adat, batobo kongsi, and many others. These traditions are some of the characteristics of Nagari Sijunjung, which runs on a matrilineal system adopted by most Minangkabau clans. This is an important aspect of the community that is still intact, although the site has long been designated as a cultural heritage area. Unfortunately, there is still no proper management system specifically set up to man- age the site. Granted, that there are several parties responsible for the preservation of this 624 village, such as the local government (local government in Sijunjung and the West Sumatra governments), the Central government represented by the Institute for Preservation of West Sumatra Cultural Heritage, and most importantly, the local supporters from the region, including the ninik mamak (the village elders) and their followers. Considering the diversity of the stakeholders involved, it is crucial that they share the same point of view with regard to the site management. Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung is a living cultural heritage due to the fact that the community is still residing on site and actively practicing their tradition. However, since the issue on cultural heritage site management has not been addressed properly, this site is urgently in need of its own management model. Based on the statement above, the researcher has prepared the following questions. 1. What is the significance of Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung? 2. What kind of management does a living cultural heritage need to preserve the site prop- erly and to provide economic benefits to the local community? 2 DISCUSSION 2.1 Perkampungan Adat Nagari Sijunjung Minangkabau culture is known for its traditional large-sized house called the rumah gadang, or sometimes rumah bagonjong. The name is derived from its spired, multi-tiered roof struc- ture called gonjong in the local Minang language. There are some opinions regarding the origin of this shape. One mentions that the roof is purposely crafted to resemble a buffalo’s horn; it is based on a mythical race between big buffalos from Majapahit and small buffalos of Minangkabau. Some even compare the roof with a stack of betel leaves. Betel leaves (daun sirih) are the common ingredients for chewing pan served at traditional ceremonies, and they are believed to prevent various diseases because of its antiseptic properties. Others claim that it resembles a boat shape, associating it with the tradition of merantau (a common practice among Minangkabau men to go to other region in search of a better life) in Minangkabau (Hasan, 2004, pp.