Taman Burung Cemara Asri Build Cultural of Tourism:

The Anthropology of Landscape Approach

Achdial Farhan Abus

, Robert Sibarani

Officials of Langsa City, Aceh, Indonesia

Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: The anthropology of landscape, outdoor recreation, cultural of tourism, Taman Burung Cemara Asri

Abstract: Taman Burung Cemara Asri is an outdoor recreation. It deals with using heron wildlife habitat which is

proposed by Haji Anif Shah. Formerly, there was no cultural of tourism, but recently, this site were visited

by people. It means, tourism activities in Taman Burung Cemara Asri is already occurred. The objective of

the study focused on the concept of landscape and value meaning from this site. The data were collected by

doing depth-interview, observation and documentation. They were analyzed in narrative descriptive through

descriptive question matrix. The anthropology of landscape approach was implied in this study to review the

definition of spatial concept in outdoor recreation toward building cultural of tourism.

1 INTRODUCTION

The people who live in urban need outdoor

recreation more to keep balancing with their

activities. The structure of urban living is different

with urban living. Even urban provide their need to

refresh such as mall, club and so forth, but, they still

miss the natural living like in pedestrian, so

generally, they go out to visit outdoor recreation to

fulfil their “empty”. It can be seen there are many

people in outdoor recreation to spent their weekend.

Landscape gives a representation for ideas, and

values that rely on natural concept through view,

monument building, artificial lake, and farm. These

landscape is a sign a process namely natural

colonize with landscape. (Olwig, 1993: 332).

Landscape consist of physic elements, human

and interaction between them. Therefore, a model of

landscape must be refer to the owner or the designer.

In this case, both concept and model of a outdoor

recreation deals with the ideas of the owner. Among

the aim of landscape model, there are two important

thing that should be require with the environment

and the model structure, they are (1) to meet

conclusion (inferent) about how and why sometimes

there is a change of landscape such as there is less

income, and (2) to predict the site and pattern of

landscape in the future (Brown et.al: 2006).

The existence of outdoor recreation in urban is

really has strong relationship with indigenous

culture hence it can be survive. Louis Khan in

Wurman (1986) stated that a city is a place where a

child in that place know what he really want to be

based on the statement, if a city has a landscape

model and use it to be a good outdoor recreation,

human able to keep his balancing to fulfil his needs

and will maintain it as his culture.

People in Medan consist of multi ethinic such as

Bataknese, Acehnese, Javanese, Indian, Malaynese,

Chinese, and others. The expansion of Medan city

impacted to the changes toward the settlement of

ethnics group. Malaynese is a native people in

Medan, but most of them lives at the suburb.

Menawhile 75% of Chinese and Minang live at the

city because their normal job are traders, so they live

around shopping center.

Taman Burung Cemara Asri is a residence

located at Desa Sampali, Kecamatan Percut Sei

Tuan, Kabupaten Deli Serdang. Thousand colonies

of bird fly freely to looking for their food in the

middle of Medan city. This residence is popular in

Medan and often become a choice by people in

Medan to visit this place because this is the only one

the captive breeding of bird. It is also supported by

Vihara (Budhist temple) and culinary.

The existence of Taman Burung Cemara Asri has

a good impression for people in Medan. It is proved

by a lot of visitors coming there with different

Farhan Abus, A. and Sibarani, R.

Taman Burung Cemara Asri Build Cultural of Tourism: The Anthropology of Landscape Approach.

DOI: 10.5220/0009896700002480

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (ICNRSD 2018), pages 10-14

ISBN: 978-989-758-543-2

reasons. The objective of the study is to find out the

landscape model based on the owner view and the

using space for visitors. One of the approach to

equate landscape with the environment where people

live freely inside is a definition in common. Physic

environment explain about its landscape

characteristic such as climate, geography where still

not real change by human effect (Crystal 1990: 412).

Cultural approach goal is to understand human

behaviour as something meaningful. The external

element from explained about human good

behaviour in their environment and social through

ecology approach. It deals with how external object

is described. Cultural approach assume landscape as

expression and idea with the analysis that should be

understand how far it can be transfer into discourse

(Hirsch & O'Hanlon, 1995: 4). It can be said that

where is a space, there is human with their culture

represented by the message that they want to deliver.

To find this, the anthropology of landscape approach

would use by review the definition of outdoor

recreation concept that describe physically and

partially each space related to culture. Every space

in Taman Burung Cemara Asri is able to describe

based on its model and pattern of variant scale. It

begin from landscape element to social culture.

2 RESEARCH METHOD

This is qualitative research. The anthropology of

landscape approach was used in this study. This

approach seeks to illustrate the model of landscape

and space utilization from the viewpoint from the

subject of the study is Haji Anif Shah. Denzin and

Lincoln (2011), states that qualitative research is a

study that uses a natural background with the intent

to interpret the phenomenon that occurs and is done

by involving various methods.

Ethnography method was used to conduct in-

depth interview and participant observation. It is

also completed with literature study. Ethnographic

research is a study that describes a culture. The goal

is to understand the perspective of the person being

studied (Spradley, 1980). In this study, every use of

tourist spaces is taken to be described to obtain

information about the interaction between humans

and the physical elements of the Taman Burung

Cemara Asri.

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Haji Anif Shah and Natural

Landscape

“The goodness of nature feels so close, when man is

present as a friend". The sentence is in Haji Anif

Shah’s book entitled Amazing Wings. This book

provides the data needed to find out the ideas and

thoughts of Haji Anif Shah based on his idea about

Taman Burung Cemara Asri. The anthropology of

landscape approach considers history to reveal

information toward the background of landscape

formation. The role of ethnographers has been

realized from experience in the field of how

perceptions and values are embedded in the meaning

of landscapes and improving memories to the places

that become historical identity sites (Stewart and

Strathern, 2003). Perceptions such as shifts, either

gradually or dramatically, over time, so the

landscape becomes a form of historical codification

itself. It can be seen from the point of view of

personal expression and experience.

Haji Anif Shah is a businessman from Medan,

North Sumatra. His real name is Musannif. He was

born on March 23, 1939 in Perlanaan, Limapuluh

City, Kabupaten Batubara. His real name is

Musannif. It derived from the Arabic word means

'author'. It was given by his father. His father is

Hafiz H Gulrang Shah and his mother is Indonesian

Hj Syarifah, from Perupuk, a village on the coast of

Batubara, North Sumatra. Everything related to flora

and fauna is his hobby. He also ever won MURI

(World Record-Indonesia Museum) record for being

the only person who grew bangkai flower

(Amorphophallus titanum) outside its natural habitat.

Haji Anif Shah also provides about 6 hectares more

land to be the habitat of thousands of wild birds in

the middle of the Cemara Asri Residential. It is a

wise decision because he choose to give a place for

wildlife bird instead of money that he could earned.

He believes that there are certain things that we

cannot value with money. “Seeing thousands of

birds feeling so free live in this garden, has always

been an incredible inner experience for me.

Moreover, if many people can also participate in

enjoying it. It is amazing to make us more aware for

the greatness of Allah SWT. What an earth we are

in, very beautiful with many wonders and riches of

life in it” he said. This is similar as Finlayson's

(2009) opinion about the way of man to structure

space and acts upon how he accepts it and through

his experience. It is also related to Batak’s local

wisdom about conservation nature. Thus is local

Taman Burung Cemara Asri Build Cultural of Tourism: The Anthropology of Landscape Approach

wisdom is the indigenous wisdom or knowledge of a

society derived from the noble value of cultural

traditions to govern the life order of society

(Sibarani, 2014: 113).

Haji Anif Shah home yard was large enough in

the area of Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta. It was also

becomes so cool and humid. There was a mango tree

with many fruit and bushy. But he forbade anyone to

pick them, because according to him it is a ration of

bats and wild birds that often perch, just looking for

oasis in the middle of the arid metropolitan capital of

the capital. "Those who fall to the ground, it can

only be taken", said Haji Anif Shah every time

anyone wants to take the Mango. In the past, Haji

Anif Shah's house was planted with shady mango

trees and invited species of birds and bats. Due to

the longer the more birds come, their need for

mangoes is not sufficient so that Haji Anif has the

idea to give them additional food such as bananas

and papayas. He always give time to do his hobby to

keep plant and animal.

He has been very familiar with the existence of

animals that currently live in the location of Taman

Burung Cemara Asri. As Munarriz (2011) stated that

wherever they live, humans will take a natural

position based on their culture. It will form a

landscape that coincides with the growing culture

that he has. By realizing the landscape that he has,

Haji Anif Shah hope the existence of fish ponds and

birds can contribute in education besides

entertainment for the community. Especially for

people who have a longing like him. When people

miss the beauty of nature, this place able to give

their needs of nature scape. When a concept of the

green earth is still shaped rhetoric, Haji Anif has

made it happen.

Kroeber & Kluckhohn (1952) defines value as a

conception, explicitly or implicitly, a special feature

of a person or group of people, about the things

desired which influence the selection of the various

means, tools, purposes of deed available. The

orientation of cultural values is an organized general

conception, which affects behaviour related to

nature, human positions in nature, people's

relationships with people and about desirable and

undesirable things that may be related to

relationships between people and the environment

and fellow human beings.

3.2 The Landscape of Taman Burung

Cemara Asri

In his book, Haji Anif told the formation process of

Taman Burung Cemara Asri. The story began when

he was with his friend Mujianto. They initiated to

build a pond in the housing Cemara Asri, Medan. So

both of them realize the idea directly. In the same

year, a plot of land in the middle of the housing was

formed a step by step. It needed long time to meet

the finish. Of course this is not a small pond, Haji

Anif Shah and Mujianto prepare a land of

approximately 6.8 hectares.

At that time, these two entrepreneurs,

presumably ignoring the cost of such a vast value. If

you think short, according to Haji Anif Shah land

this area if sold will certainly generate a lot of

money. As entrepreneurs who essentially love the

green, flora and fauna, of course Haji Anif Shah has

consideration of love that is not measured by

numbers. Especially at that time, Haji Anif Shah

hope this pond can be a balancer green environment

in the housing. In addition, it can also be a stretch of

scenic scenery.

Hope is not in vain. Currently the pond has

become the habitat of thousands of birds and several

other species of animals. The birds in the Taman

Burung Cemara Asri are the birds that settle and

breed in the location. The total number of birds is

estimated to reach more than 12,000 birds. There are

at least 12 species of birds that are commonly

encountered in this location, such as Cangak Merah

(Ardea purpurea), Cangak Abu (Ardea cinerea),

Kuntul Kerbau (Bulbucus ibis), Kuntul Kecil

(Egretta garzetta), Kuntul Besar (Casmerodius

albus), Kowak Malam Abu (Nycticorax nycticorax),

Raja-Udang Erasia (Alcedo atthis), Belibis Batu

(Dendrocygna javanica), Kerak Ungu (Acridotheres

tristis), Kareo Padi/Ruak-ruak (Amauromis

phoenicurus), Mandar Batu (Gallinula chloropus)

and Manda Besar (Porphyrio porphyrio).

Some of the other animals that occupy the pool

are snakes and Biawak. There was a two meter long

python found in this pond. Both types of reptiles,

often disturbing the presence of birds. Biawak and

snakes often prey eggs and birds so pool managers

thought that they needed to control the food chains

in the habitat of this pond. Snakes and Biawak are

hunted and some species of fish are sown for the

feeding of birds. This step is an effort to maintain

the balance of bird populations.

Finally, visitors not only enjoy the natural

scenery and birds only, but also fish that were

originally as a bird food. They also become special

entertain for visitors. The different types of fish such

as goldfish, tilapia, catfish and Gurame, are an

additional attraction and add the natural nuances of

fun and entertaining visitors for them who come to

this place. From some informants, the authors also

ICNRSD 2018 - International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

get information that they are very happy to come to

see various types of fish in the pond and enjoy while

feeding the fish in the pond.

In addition to the existence of various species of

birds as mentioned earlier, the presence of pigeons

also add interest visitors to the beauty of nature at

the Taman Burung Cemara Asri. Hundreds of

pigeons and dove flies over the trees and ponds has

become another attraction. They play a role in

increasing the interest of visitors and become

comfortable to participate in feeding or just pay

attention to the behaviour of these animals in the

park.

The presence of the bird park as a counterweight

has brought other nuances in terms of physical and

non-physical conditions. From a physical point of

view can be seen from two different nuances in one

location, namely urban nuances and rural feel.

Thomas (1984) in Hirsch and O'Hanlon (1995) states

that Ebenezer Howard had long proclaimed the

meaning of the landscape in 1890 through the

assertion that cities and villages must be "wedded".

This is because humans need balance in their lives.

The visitors come and go of the complex with a

convenient to get their goal of visiting Taman

Burung Cemara Asri. In fact, at the location where

the food vendors around the fish pond, there are also

some ethnic Chinese sellers along with the

indigenous sellers. The existence of the Taman

Burung Cemara Asri tourist site not only shows a

harmonious life between natural and modern life in

terms of landscape, but also harmony in social life

between visitors and residents of the complex. The

majority of Moslem visitors can still enjoy the

scenery at the bird park for long time without having

to lose or be late performing the prayer, because

next to the complex there is a magnificent mosque

for them to take a pray. On the other hand, Budhist

also visit their temple namely Maha Vihara Maitreya

Cemara Asri Medan besides fish ponds. Buddhist

temple located adjacent to the location of the fish

pond shows that the existence of a natural landscape,

although artificial, can affect the harmony between

religious communities.

Understanding of the landscape is an important

thing as one of the strongest context in covering the

relationship between social and its territory which is

determined in two ways: on the one hand, the

landscape is a complex, dynamic, change the

interaction between a social environment with its

territory where social process and its economy forms

the region (O'Hanlon: 1995). Racial, religious

differences often lead to conflict. However, through

the space of Taman Burung Cemara Asri, the sense

of appreciation and trust between residents and

visitors can be maintained. This is marked by the

mutual respect and trust between fellow residents

who also consists of Muslim and non-Muslim

community and visitors. Harmony reflects a

reciprocal relationship characterized by mutual

acceptance, mutual trust, mutual respect and respect,

and mutual understanding of togetherness (Lubis,

2004: 24-26).

3.3 Taman Burung Cemara Asri as

Tourism Space

The classification of the use of tourist spaces of

Taman Burung Cemara Asri consists of 3 parts; they

are (1) for the visitors, (2) the resident and the sellers

around the bird park, and (3) as a subject interacting

with the space/land at Taman Burung Cemara Asri.

Utilization of space that is so optimally used by

visitors in enjoying the beautiful and natural

atmosphere as the habitat of animals and fish in the

pond in their spare time there.

When entering the landscape of Taman Burung

Cemara Asri, there is a significant difference in the

number of visitors present associated with time and

day. If the early morning of the afternoon, the

number of visitors look less crowded in the

afternoon, except on Sundays and holidays. On

Sundays and public holidays, visitors can enjoy the

natural attractions by packing the available spaces to

enjoy the landscapes of Taman Burung Cemara Asri.

The most visited number of visitors in the afternoon

and on Sundays and holidays with the purpose of

filling leisure time for a tour to enjoy the beauty and

uniqueness of this park.

The queue did not discourage the intention of

visitors to keep seeing and enjoying this place.

Though sometimes time they use to enjoy the

landscapes of Taman Burung Cemara Asri only 30

minutes to 2 hours with activity around. There are

also visitors who park the vehicle for a while before

leaving this park. For the visitors who spent only

two hours, usually do activities of feeding the fish in

the artificial pond. In addition to these activities,

there are also visitors who buy snacks/food to be

consumed while enjoying the scenery.

Visitors who come from outside the complex like

to sit under the large trees around artificial pond for

shelter while looking at thousands of birds. This

activity is so dominant that the space used by

visitors is passive. Taman Burung Cemara Asri

landscape has taken a role to influence visitors and

focus by observing the movement of the crane while

looking at the fish in the pond. This is in accordance

Taman Burung Cemara Asri Build Cultural of Tourism: The Anthropology of Landscape Approach

with the opinion of Heidegger (1972) that space can

set the scene of place.

The physical body of human provides a role to

the shape of schemes in space that may be

experienced and understood. The shady vegetation

creates a safe and comfortable space for visitors

during their activities in the landscape of Taman

Burung Cemara Asri. Some visitors feel like home

and enjoy the beautiful and natural atmosphere. It

takes the longest time under shade trees. The

selection of space that most used by visitors is at the

fish feeding place by the pool. The selection of this

place allows visitors to throw pellets (fish food). In

addition, this location is safer due to the fence

between the pool and the visitors considering the

number of visitors who bring their children to see

and feed the fish in the pond. While for the visitors

who come just to fill the spare time, explained that

they came because Taman Burung Cemara Asri is

free from charged.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Haji Anif Shah as the initiator in building Taman

Burung Cemara Asri reflect his memory and live

experience about birds living in wildlife together

with the landscape. In addition, the values consist of

education, social, and natural balance. The process

of formation Taman Burung Cemara Asri landscape

started from the availability of open land which then

used to be the natural tourist sites of heron with its

ecosystem.

Taman Burung Cemara Asri builds a tourism

culture as a means to train the longing for memory

and history of the heron's ecosystem. In addition, it

also as a vehicle for tourists to do their activities in

giving pleasure and as a means to refresh their mind

mental position.

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ICNRSD 2018 - International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development