NAME: Elvina Arapah

MAILING ADDRESS: Jl. Cempaka Putih Gang IX NO. 19 RT 007 RW 001 Kelurahan
Kebun Bunga Kecamatan Banjarmasin Timur
E-MAIL ADDRESS: elvteen1327@gmail.com
AFFILIATION: Universitas Lambung Mangkurat
POSITION: Lecturer at the English Department
THE CONTRIBUTION: This writing contributes the sub-theme 2 on how the role of water
has been part of the peoples lives. It describes how unique the
economy of the Nagara People is determined by their skills and
depend a lot on the wetland and river water.
THE ESSAY:
Nagara Peoples Sources of Income and the Economic Advantage that Water of Wetlands
and Rivers Brings
Nagara Village encompasses three sub-districts -Daha Utara, Daha Selatan and Daha
Barat- in Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency on South Borneo Province, Indonesia. It is a lowland
area which is 1.260 km2 or approximately 126.000 hectares and are mostly wetlands or rivers.
The people from each sub-district have unique ways of earning a living. In terms of the work
that the people do, the livelihood is divided into works that need skills and jobs that depend
on the seasons. The skill-oriented job is usually done for the whole years and the seasonal job
is carried out depending on the level and character of water on the wetlands and rivers. It is
argued that in spite of various environmental based sources of income that Nagara People do,
water of wetlands and rivers can also be an alternative way of earning a living.
The revenue sources that need special skills for the Nagara people are in the areas of
the pottery making, blacksmith expertise, wood processing, jewelry craft and shepherding.
The potters are from Bayanan Village which is nicknamed for Village of Padapuran. Its
featured product is cooking ware which is made of pottery. Besides, other products are jar,
piggybank with various design such as fruits and dolls, and miniatures. In addition to the
pottery product is Panai which is used as the lid to bake cakes like Lapis Legit, Roti Manis,
and Paranggi on a Dapur (a grill that functions as a stove). It is believed that the cake can be
more delicious if it is baked this way. The blacksmiths from Tumbukan Banyu, Sungai
Pinang and Habirau must be proud because their handmade product has been exported
abroad. The finished products are such as Parang or knife in various sizes, Mandau (a special
sword from Borneo) pisau, mandau (pedang khas Kalimantan), Pahat or chisel for rubber
tapping. Baruh Kambang Village is famous for its wood processing which turns the woods
into pieces of lumber which is ready as one of the materials to build a house. Habirau Tengah
and Parigi Village are known for their jewelry craft. They are called as Village of
Paamasan. The finished and handmade products are usually necklace, bracelet, ring; the raw
materials can be gold, silver and copper. The quality of the products is determined by the
genuineness of the material and the design of the jewelries.
There are also work that needs skills and depends on the water in Nagara. The typical
swamp buffalo from Nagara called Hadangan is shepherded every day on the swamps and
rivers. It really need some skills to herd those buffalos since the herdsmen must also be on or
in the water. For some tourist, this Hadangan shepherding is an interesting tourist attraction.
Kelotok (small boat) Driver is a job that was favourable in Nagara. Although now kelotok is

rarely used by the people, the kelotok is a useful means of transportation especially for people
who live in a more remote area in which the roads are not eligible for land transportations.
Moreover, kelotok is actually potential for developing river tourism such as Gondola rides in
Venetia.
The jobs that depend on the water level of the wetlands and rivers during the dry and
rainy season, done by the Nagara people are vegetables farmers and fish farmers. The
vegetables are usually planted and harvested in the dry season when the water level is in its
lowest one or when the swamps turn into a football field. The produce of this seasonal
agriculture are watermelon, pumpkin, peanut, Nagara sweet potatoes, cucumber, cantaloupelike cucumber, and other plants that match with the wetlands. Besides the vegetables, Nagara
is also the producers of wetland fish such as Haruan (Snakehead Murrel), Papuyu (Climbing
Perch), Sepat (Three Spot Gourami), Sepat Siam (Snakeskin Gourami), Nila Fish, Baung Fish
and other wetland fish. The activity of catching fish usually works out in the planting season
when the water on the wetland and river almost disappear.
In conclusion, Nagara People are spoiled by the nature. For living, they just take from
the nature and process the materials with the skills that they have. In fact, most of them are
not really concerned with higher education. If the members of the society are encouraged to
continue their study after high school, the will choose Islamic major as the field of study.
This might be the results of their way of earning a living which is already covered by their
existing occupations and having less interest to have a more educated profession