Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
Astronomer Bandung Institute of Technology (ITBJudge Lutfi Malasan said that the discussion of extracting astronomical wealth in Indonesian culture was only conducted about 12 years ago. He said the exploration was organized by Kala Sunda and Bosscha Observatory ITB.
“Actually, our starting point is systematically trying to inventory and disseminate, as well as trying to exchange cultures related to astronomy, maybe only 12 years ago,” said Hakim in a virtual discussion, Saturday (7/11).
The judge said that Kala Sunda dared to do this because he had enough ammunition, namely the Sundanese calendar and the Sundanese practice brought from Tatar Parahyangan. Held in Bosscha in 2008, he said, most of the discussion participants came from West Java and DKI Jakarta.
The results of the discussion are then published in the Proceedings. Even though it is still a forerunner, he made quite a lot of contributions which in the end helped researchers form a classification of various kinds of folklore or a series of practices that became a means of spreading various cultural traditions.
For example, folk tales from the Sundanese calendar, Betara Kala, the Milky Way, Batak mythology, to monolithic monuments that have astronomical principles, but are widely used for religious purposes.
“Our homeland which is very large like this hides cultural wealth which must be explored at any time,” he said.
The judge further said that astronomy must still be popularized in Indonesia. Because, he said, there were still many parties who did not know astronomy in depth.
In the science Olympiad, for example, he said, less than 5 percent of students could answer questions related to the seven star cluster used by farmers in Java in the 17th century to determine when to plant rice.
“Modern science shows a synchronization between what is done quantitatively with what our ancestors practiced in the past,” said Hakim.
In the 17th century, he said, farmers on the island of Java had the habit of using the cluster of seven stars (Pleiades) to determine when to plant rice. They made observations using bamboo shells filled with water, then directed it to the seven star cluster in the east.
“The spilled water content will indicate the position of the seven star cluster is high enough to mark the start of the rice planting season that year,” he said.
The bamboo shells used are 100 cm long and 10 cm in diameter. When the bamboo sleeve was pointed at the seven star cluster, it turned out that 0.785 liters of water spilled.
Scientifically the result is 0.785 liters. The astronomers question instinctively, when did that happen? There is a mathematical manipulation that says it happens every December 5, “said Hakim.
More than that, he claims that something learned in a modern way, has practically been done by our ancestors long ago.
(flag / agt)
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