Attitude of Elders, Youths, and Women of the Indigenous Communities on Water: The Case of Siberut, Mentawai, Indonesia
Elfiondri, Reni Desmiarti, Haryani

Abstract
Clean water was crucial in the life of the indigenous communities of Siberut, Mentawai Indonesia. The water in river, well, and water-containers was polluted. Local government of Mentawai was greatly concerned with the problem. There was no previous study on the communities’ attitude on water which could be useful for the government in developing water-management in Siberut. The paper examined the attitude of the indigenous communities on water. The result was that the indigenous attitude was derived from the traditional religion, Aratsabulungan. The communities’ attitude consisted of beliefs; water as god, earth-blood, earth-mother, and live being. The communities had different attitude on water. Old generation believed in water as god so much, but the youths did not do. The different attitude was due to education, outsiders, and the converting of traditional religion to Christianity and Islam. In gender, more males believed in water as god compared to females.

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