Currently, many cultural communities exist and support various local wisdom from the cultural heritage of their ancestors. One of them is the H3 (Hurip, Hurup, Handarbeni) Cultural community in Mangliawan Village, Malang Regency. This community prefers to preserve its village culture closely related to water as a life source.
“This community started with our concern for the Wendit Lanang water source, which around 2015 was in very condition. In the center of this clean water source, there is a very high pile of garbage. This condition encourages us as villagers to do something as a form of concern. Unexpectedly, this enthusiasm then prompted us to not only stop at the context of cleaning the Wendit Lanang water source but also to several other activities related to water,” explained Orin, one of the originators of the establishment of the H3 Cultural Community.
According to him, the awareness and spirit of this community are getting stronger when they come to the reflection that water is the source of life. They believe that their village is a more blessed village than anywhere else. Other areas suffer from drought and water shortages, but in their villages, water is available in abundance.
“In fact, from this water source through PDAM management, all residents of Malang City and Regency get benefits for their daily lives. Then, we are increasingly aware of the meaning of the expression that water is the source of life,” said Orin.
This is emphasized by the head of the Community Service team from the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB), Dr. Hipolitus Kristoforus Kewuel who stated that this community lives from its community, and this is a model of a good community that will continue to live and be vibrant. The proof, according to Dr. Hipo, this community continues to grow not only in the context of water but also explores the preservation of nature and other cultures.
“This community also develops concern for the cultural heritage of the community as part of the gifts they receive as well as water as a life source. They live a culture of art, caring for monkeys in the Wendit bathing area, other cultural heritages such as Kris, dances, folk songs such as Mocopatan, and others. The presence of our team in this community is not to teach them, but to hear and see their cultural activities to help how these valuable activities need to be organized and developed in a more organized work system,” concluded Dr. Hipo. [DTS]
