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Gotong Royong: An Indigenous Institution of Communality and Mutual Assistance in Indonesia

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Integrated Community-Managed Development

Part of the book series: Cooperative Management ((COMA))

Abstract

This Chapter addresses a widely spread traditional institution in Indonesia known as Gotong Royong in which the active involvement of the indigenous communities has also contributed to the successful implementation of the ‘bottom-up’ approach of Integrated Community-Managed Development (ICMD). Since such local institutions are part of a wider system of indigenous knowledge, practices and beliefs based on the traditional cosmologies, they are crucial for the integration of global systems from outside and local systems from inside the communities. The active involvement of these indigenous institutions—so far largely ignored in development policies and programmes—have shown to enhance local participation in development-oriented intervening activities from outside. Embarking on the dual spirit of the communal service and mutual assistance of Gotong Royong, which has survived for many generations to provide a strong identity to Indonesia’s village culture, the Chapter also underscores that since independence it has become a pan-Indonesian institution providing a binding force among the various sub-cultures of Indonesia with important cultural and socio-political significance for the unity of the nation. Furthermore, the debate on communalism versus individualism is described in relation to the dimension of the collectivism of Gotong Royong. The Chapter concludes that the (re-)integration of these indigenous institutions into development policies and programmes can indeed contribute to increased local involvement and participation of all community members, and as such pertains to the realisation of poverty reduction and sustainable development throughout Indonesia.

Indonesia has a challenge to develop the character of the youth through the awareness of local wisdom….one of which is ‘Gotong Royong’, the cultural heritage from the Indonesian ancestors. ‘Gotong Royong’ can be applied in facing the era of globalisation, where the youth have an important role to play as agents of change and the next generation of the nation.

Ayu Solicha Nur Kusumaningrum et al. (2015)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    As Yumarma (1996) documents, the Serat Wédhatama is a classical Javanese text which represents a didactic moralistic work which is slightly influenced by Islam. Although it is formally ascribed to Mangkunegara IV, there are indications that there seem to be more authors involved. The script describes the existence of three kinds of worlds using the term triloka, which may probably originate from the Hindu terms denoting a division into three worlds. The Javanese conception encompasses the human world, the underworld and the upper world which are interconnected through direct relationships in which humans have to maintain a harmonious balance in order to safeguard harmony in human life.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LEAD, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    L. Jan Slikkerveer

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  1. L. Jan Slikkerveer
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Correspondence to L. Jan Slikkerveer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Leiden Ethnosystems and Development Programme (LEAD), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands

    L. Jan Slikkerveer

  2. Department of Business Economics and Management, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Chania, Greece

    George Baourakis

  3. Faculty of Economics and Business, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia

    Kurniawan Saefullah

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Slikkerveer, L.J. (2019). Gotong Royong: An Indigenous Institution of Communality and Mutual Assistance in Indonesia. In: Slikkerveer, L., Baourakis, G., Saefullah, K. (eds) Integrated Community-Managed Development. Cooperative Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05423-6_14

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