BANDUNG, unpas.ac.id – Gedong Cai Cibadak is one of the most water springs which are currently left in Bandung. The water spring is located in Jalan Cidadap Girang, RT 03/RW 05, Ledeng Village, Cidadap District, Bandung.
Gedong Cai Tjibadak whose building-walls is written ‘Tjibadak-1921’ apparently is not without threats. The preservation of Gedong Cai Cibadak is increasingly vulnerable along with the narrowing of the ecosystem which is surrounded by elite housing, condotel, and various other luxury residences.
Previously, Gedong Cai Cibadak had 7 natural springs. However, now only three springs are left. The spring discharge which at that time reached 50 litres per second, is now only 19 litres per second. The indication of the threat of Gedong Cai Cibadak is reinforced by the establishment of a condotel that controls one hectare of land near the location of the spring.
In order to protect and preserve Gedong Cai Cibadak, Sundanese humanist and teacher at the Faculty of Arts and Literature (FISS) Universitas Pasundan, Hawe Setiawan initiated the online petition ‘Keep Gedong Cai Tjibadak for the Good of the World’ (lit. Jaga Gedong Cai Tjibadak Demi Kemaslahatan Dunia’ via Change.org.
The petition itself was addressed to Bandung City Government and Mayor of Bandung. Through the petition, Hawe and Bandung residents always want Gedong Cai Cibadak to be a cultural heritage and have protection assurance towards its environmental ecosystem.
“Apart from being waters springs, here live various flora and fauna; lasun, caeruh, peusing, meong congkok, hahayaman, landak, heulang, beo, manuk haur, cangkurileung, jogjog, cikblek, kacamata, saeran gunting, cikakeh, manuk madu, tikukur, puter, kalajengking hejo, sero, bayawak, beunteur, lauk sapu, udang walungan, torop, long-tailed monkey, as well as bajing kelemes,” he said. (lit. all words in italic mean names of animals in Sundanese).
The area of Gedong Cai Cibadak is also a place for various plant vegetation grow, such as 32 kinds of bamboo, dadap (3), asret (4), somsi (5), jati bodas, mahoni (7), loa (8), cangkring (9), caringin (10), patrakomala (11), tarum (12), katapang (13), kopi (14), rambutan (15), lengkeng (16), peuteuy/petai (17), jengkol (18), huni (19) cereme (20), sawo (21), dan harendong. (lit. all words in italic mean names of plantations in Sundanese).
“In the past, springs were treated with respect. For the Sundanese, water is the source of life. Therefore, many places in Bandung start with ‘Ci’, which means water springs,” he continued.
He thought that getting to a modern era, there are a lot of lost water springs in the middle of building/residence construction or recreational facility. Around Gedong Cai Cibadak, Hawe observed that there are dozens of water springs, including various floras and faunas.
“The problem is, the land is already occupied by private corporates. Until now, I keep on listing the types of animals and plants which still exist around Gedong Cai Cibadak. This is to make people more aware about the existence of city forest which are full of biodiversity,” he said.
In addition, Gedong Cai Cibadak has already been permanently set as Structure of Cultural Heritage in Perda on Cultural Heritage Maintenance No. 07/2018 (Struktur Cagar Budaya dalam Perda Pengelolaan Cagar Budaya Nomor 07 Tahun 2018).
“For me, what is less important is the ecosystem around Gedong Cai Cibadak. There are 48 types of bamboo found. Therefore, other than cultural heritage, although it has its land owner, I wish it could be functioned fully for people’s benefit, especially for those who are in north Bandung’s green-belt,” he concluded. (Reta*)
