UNAIR NEWS “A lecturer of Indonesian Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities, 51¶¯Âþ, Dr.Sri Wiryanti Budi Utami, M.Si., has her own point of view on Bawean Island.For her, the island located in the region of Gresik Regency has a variety of uniqueness that is not found on another island.
“Bawean is a unique area,” said Wiryanti in her office room at the end of October.
Bawean uniqueness, according to Wiryanti, can be seen from many things. From a diverse society, a culture of assimilation that is recognized as a culture of its own, to the recognition of the locals as Bawean ethnicity.The local community is a fusion of several ethnic groups such as Madura, Java, Bugis, Palembang, and even Malay.
“They always call it a miniature of Indonesia.Although they leave their hometown, they are still in love with their homeland, ” she added.
Asked about the attention and focus on Bawean, Wiryanti admitted that besides being unique, Bawean nature is very beautiful.She did not hesitate to call Bawean a small Bali in Java Sea.However, Wiryanti regretted the poor management of tourism.
“There are many things there that have not been properly managed.Nature, culinary, culture, and much more, ” she said.
Develop the Culture
As a person in the field of lingustics and culture, Wiryanti stated that language uniqueness is also found in Bawean.One of them, local recognition of Bawean language.Although the way of speaking tends to lead to Madurese, according to her, local people admitted Bawean has its own language.
“Although lexicostatistially can not be said as a language of its own, but Bawean people strengthen the language with the culture.Because, language is not only related to the basic vocabulary, but also their attitude in addressing the language, ” she explained.
Not only that, as an individual who also focuses on local wisdom, Wiryanti tried to document a local community legend into a book.For her, it is very important because the legend and local wisdom that is only spoken without being written may be lost.
“In fact, all local wisdom are in the story, for example, the origin of the ancestors.Many of the characters coming from other places became the first milestone of the Bawean population, from Java, India, Madura, and Campa.All these legends show that Bawean community is multi-ethnic and very diverse.Now we are compiling them in a book, ” she said.
In the end, Wiryanti hoped that various parties such as the local government and UNAIR could focus more on the potential of Bawean.Therefore, the potential can be a laboratory for UNAIR which has a diverse knowledge from public health, veterinary medicine, marine fishery, economics, social, until the science of culture.
“If UNAIR excellence can be put together to manage Bawean,it would be more catchy and effective,” she said.
Author: Nuri Hermawan
Editor: Feri Fenoria
