Customary Laws in Dusun Baru Murmas Bentek Village, Gangga, North Lombok
Long before the Dutch came to Indonesia, Indonesians had their own laws, which were, and still are, called customary laws. Different from the current national laws and the laws that were used by the Dutch, these laws have never beenwritten. No one knows for sure who created these laws, and today they’re known as folk laws or customary laws. According to Widodo Dwiputro, Law Professor at Mataram University, customary laws are taken from customs of the community. These customs become stronger as time goes by, and then turninto laws that are remembered and agreed upon by society. To validate them and make them official, these customary laws are religiously or magically made sacred. Budi Hartono, Customary Laws leader of Bentek Village, Lombok, explains that customary laws existed long before the modern day widespread religions in Indonesia, such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Because customary laws are born out of traditions insociety, people do not feel burd