Cultural sustainability crisis of the Taikat people of Papua

Abstract The Taikat people of Keerom, Papua, are experiencing a growing cultural sustainability crisis driven by the interaction between modernization, social transformation, and the weakening of intergenerational cultural transmission. This study examines how ecological relationships, customary land tenure, kinship systems, Indigenous language, traditional knowledge, and customary institutions contribute to the continuity of Taikat cultural identity and how these elements are increasingly challenged by external change. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach within the framework of applied anthropology, data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, informal conversations, and documentation involving customary leaders, elders, women, youth, and community members. The findings reveal that Taikat culture is fundamentally biocultural, with forests, rivers, sago groves, and customary territories serving as the ecological foundations of livelihood, spirituality, social organization, and collective identity. Customary land and the keret kinship system remain central mechanisms for regulating resource access, inheritance, social obligations, and conflict prevention. However, modernization, formal education, religious transformation, market integration, migration, and administrative expansion have altered traditional learning environments and reduced opportunities for transmitting Indigenous language, ecological knowledge, and customary practices. The study argues that cultural sustainability among the Taikat people depends on strengthening language revitalization, protecting customary territories, reinforcing Indigenous education, and recognizing traditional governance institutions. Cultural preservation should therefore be understood not merely as safeguarding traditions but as maintaining the interconnected social and ecological systems that sustain Indigenous identity and resilience in contemporary Papua.