Nia Sjarifudin: Defending local cultures and beliefs

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

“Sampur asun. Being Sundanese, I will use a Sundanese greeting,” Nia Sjarifudin said, in greeting participants at a recent workshop on tribal communities.

Nia, coordinator of the National Alliance of Unity in Diversity (ANBTI), said many Sundanese — the largest ethnic group in West Java — have begun replacing the Islamic greeting of Assalaimualaikum with their own local greeting, to fight against the rising tides of fundamentalism and puritanism. So have members of other ethnic groups, she added.

In the workshop, organized by the ANBTI, Nia urged participants to express their cultures through such greetings and traditional attire.