Name :Keisha Mesmeralda Louis Silalahi

School :SMAN 2 Palangka Raya

The Benefits of Local Culture For Young Generation in

Central Kalimantan

Good morning.
Ladies and gentlemen, I respect

Before, let us pray praise and gratitude to The One True God, because of His blessing we can
gather in this place. I would also like to thank the audience who have allowed me to stand in this
place, to deliver my speech with the theme "The Benefits of Local Culture For Young
Generation in Central Kalimantan".

Indonesia's geographical area stretches from Sabang at the west end, Merauke at the eastern end,
Miangas at the northern end, and Rote at the southern end. Indonesia also has thousands of
islands ranging from Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, and thousands of other
islands.

One of the islands in Indonesia is the island of Kalimantan, which has an area of 743,330 km 2.
Kalimantan Island is the second largest island in Indonesia.The area of Kalimantan island almost
six times the size of Java Island.Kalimantan consists of 5 provinces, West Kalimantan, South
Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, East Kalimantan,and Central Kalimantan.And today we will
discuss the culture of being in Central Kalimantan.

Central Kalimantan was established on May 23, 1957.Kalimantan is dominated by Dayak tribes
such as Dayak Ngaju, Bakumpai, Ma'anyan, Ot Danum, Siang, Murung, Taboyan, Lawangan
and Dusun. As for the culture in Central Kalimantan such as the traditional house that is Huma
Betang (dayak traditional house), traditional weapons namely Mando, traditional dances such as
balean dadas dance, giring-giring dance, kayau dance and so on, traditional ceremonies for
example mamapas lewu,manetek kayu,tiwah and so on.

One of the cultures of Central Kalimantan island that we have mentioned above is Huma Betang.
Philosophy of Huma (huma which means house in Dayak Ngaju language) Betang is to promote
consensus, equality, honesty and loyalty. Huma Betang has a uniqueness. Huma Betang has a
stage shape but has a house structure. Below it is attached a sturdy wooden pole original from
Kalimantan that is ulin wood with an average wood height of 5 meters.

There are three objectives of dayak tribes to build the shape of Huma Betang with different
architecture from the usual residence. First; to avoid flood losses. In general, dayak people live in
the upper reaches of the river which at any time can be at risk of flooding if the tide is high. Then
second, seek the safety of wild animals that still roam the forests of Kalimantan. And finally, to
be safe from the bad guys want to disturb because the shape of Huma Betang is so big and
magnificent. The system of cultural value resulting from the process of home life betang,
concerning the meaning of human life; the meaning of the work; works and deeds; perception of
time; human relationship with the environment; about relationships with each other.Huma
Betang in addition to being a place of residence is also the center of all traditional activities of
the community. When observed more carefully, activities in the long house resemble a
traditional educational process that is non-formal.Huma Betang becomes a place and at the same
time becomes an effective means for dayak people to build familiarity with each other. It was
here that they began to chat to exchange ideas about each other's experiences, knowledge and
skills. Amazingly, many Huma Betang buildings from ancient times are still sturdy until now.
This is very impressive considering that the ancestors used ancient building materials and also
the technology used is not as advanced as it is now. Even ancestors without special education
such as architects today can build houses without the use of cement, and the house is very sturdy.

The benefits explained one of the cultures in Central Kalimantan “Huma Betang”. We as a
young generation should be motivated to learn about the local culture.We can also learn from
the philosophy of Huma Betang,as a young generation when doing or making something we
have to consider all aspects. We must also be able to think critically and creatively. We are
taught if making or doing something must have clear benefits and purposes. Considering
that our era has been more advanced than the era of our ancestors, we can learn to be more
creative, such as how the ancestors can be very creative to build Huma Betang with only wood
without cement, so we as a young generation must be more creative than our ancestors. We can
also learn about other local cultures that exist to increase the wealth of knowledge available.
When the younger generation, studying culture and even mastering the culture, that means we as
a young generation have managed to save the heritage of ancestors who could not be bought with
money.

Given how important local culture is to us, the younger generation, therefore let us the younger
generation move together to maintain and develop our local culture, especially in Central
Kalimantan.

That's the speech I gave. I hope the speech I gave can motivate the younger generation as the
heirs of local culture of Central Kalimantan.I apologize if there is a mistake and thank you for
your attention.