Local Wisdom and Traditional Knowledge for Tsunami Disaster Resilience in the Coastal Areas of North Bengkulu and Mukomuko, Indonesia

Indonesia is highly susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis because it lies near the active convergence of the Australian, Eurasian, and Pacific plates. The northward subduction of the Australian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate forms a major seismic belt along Sumatra, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, the Maluku Islands, and Sulawesi. This tectonic setting makes many Indonesian coastal regions, including Bengkulu Province, vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami hazards [1-3].

Tsunamis can cause severe loss of life, infrastructure damage, and long-term social disruption. Because the arrival time of a locally generated tsunami may be short, preparedness measures must combine scientific warning systems with knowledge that can be recognized and acted upon immediately by coastal communities [4, 5]. Historical records describe destructive earthquakes and tsunamis affecting Bengkulu in 1818 and 1833. The 1833 earthquake was estimated at magnitude 8.8 Mw and caused extensive damage across the region [6]. More recently, the 2007 Bengkulu earthquake, centered near Mukomuko Regency, caused fatalities, damaged public facilities, and generated a tsunami of approximately 40-100 cm along parts of the Mukomuko coast.

Local wisdom refers to values, knowledge, and practices developed through the long term experience of a community [7, 8]. Coastal communities may preserve environmental signs, oral narratives, land use practices, social rituals, and evacuation memories that support disaster preparedness. The well-known “smong” tradition of Simeulue, Aceh, shows how oral knowledge about strong earthquakes and receding seawater can encourage immediate evacuation to higher ground [9, 10]. Territorial knowledge and community memory can therefore complement scientific risk reduction measures [11].

Research increasingly emphasizes the integration of local and scientific knowledge in disaster risk reduction [12-15]. Such integration can make preparedness programmes more culturally meaningful and easier for communities to accept. However, local knowledge should not be romanticized or treated as a substitute for hazard assessment. Its meaning, transmission, current public understanding, and practical limitations must be examined transparently.

This study focuses specifically on 15 coastal villages in North Bengkulu and Mukomuko Regencies, rather than the entire coastline of Bengkulu Province. It has two objectives: (1) to identify forms of local wisdom and traditional knowledge associated with tsunami preparedness; and (2) to document community-identified evacuation points and reported routes through exploratory Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping and a WebGIS research prototype. The spatial work is intended to organize and visualize field information. It is not presented as a fully optimized or operational evacuation route model.

This focus clarifies the contribution of the study: it documents how local cultural practices, oral terminology, environmental stewardship, and spatial memory may support disaster-risk communication, while also identifying the scientific and participatory validation required before operational use.

The 15 villages contain diverse traditions, ecological practices, oral histories, and evacuation memories. These forms of knowledge are not identical across locations, but they share an emphasis on social solidarity, environmental awareness, collective prayer, recognition of unusual marine conditions, and movement toward locally recognized safe places.

The villages included in the study are presented in Table 1. The historical impact field now refers only to the documented 2007 event; unsupported references to a separate 2000 tsunami have been removed.

3.1 Local wisdom and traditional knowledge of coastal communities

3.1.1 Tolak Bala and related coastal prayer traditions

Tolak Bala, Doa Pantai, Doa Muaro, and Tolak Bumi are locally used names for communal rituals intended to request protection, express gratitude, restore harmony, and strengthen social ties. Residents prepare the ritual site, organize offerings or communal meals, and conduct collective prayers. The process reinforces gotong royong, intergenerational participation, and awareness of the relationship between people and the coastal environment.

Table 1. Coastal villages included in the study

In Serangai Village, the ritual is conducted on the first day of Muharram and supported by the village budget and community contributions. In Pasar Bantal, Doa Muaro was historically associated with a three-day customary prohibition on fishing and maritime activity. In Bandar Ratu, Doa Pantai is conducted after a disaster and functions partly as psychological and spiritual recovery. Air Rami, Teramang Jaya, and Koto Jaya maintain related practices under locally specific names.

These gatherings can provide culturally accepted opportunities for preparedness education, including recognition of natural warning signs, the location of assembly points, and immediate self-evacuation. However, ritual participation alone should not be interpreted as evidence of technical preparedness.

3.1.2 Kenduri Pantai tradition

Kenduri Pantai, also known as Kenduri Nelayan, is conducted as an expression of gratitude for marine livelihoods and safety. The practice involves communal prayer, food preparation, beach activities, and participation across social groups. It strengthens solidarity and can support environmental awareness through collective beach cleaning and the protection of coastal vegetation [16].

Air Buluh and Pasar Ipuh in Mukomuko, and Air Padang and Bintunan in North Bengkulu, maintain forms of this tradition. The Head of Bintunan Village, Amiril Mukminin (70), explained that the event is generally held annually in July and includes communal prayer, the sacrifice of three chickens, and a shared meal. Preparedness messages may be incorporated into such established gatherings without replacing their cultural and religious meaning. Field photos taken by the author, documenting research interviews, are presented in Figures 6 and 7 below.

3.1.3 Local tsunami terminology (“Beno”)

“Beno” emerged as a locally meaningful but variably understood term associated with unusual marine conditions and large waves. The evidence comes mainly from village leaders and older community figures; the study did not measure how widely the term is understood among younger residents or across all households. It should therefore be treated as an important emerging finding rather than a uniform community-wide warning system. Nurdin, Head of Teramang Jaya Village, explained:

“Beno itu cerito dari jaman dulu. Kalau dulu itu, dak diandalkan dari gempo ajo, dari air pasang jugo. Itulah pasang beno. Kalau itu ado, itulah tando-tando pasang lebih besak dari sebelumnyo. Biasonyo ombak 2 meter kini 4 meter, itulah beno suaronyo bedengung.”

Translation: “Beno is a story from the past. Previously, people did not rely only on an earthquake but also on an unusual tide called pasang beno. It indicates a tide larger than usual. Waves that are normally about two meters may reach four meters, accompanied by a distinctive humming sound.”

Munzilin, Head of Pasar Bantal Village, emphasized the sudden and unusual rise in sea level:

“Beno tuh air laut mendadak naik, dulu tuh ado cerito berkembang terkait beno. Air lautnyo naik tapi dakdo ganas, cumo air pasang tuh mendadak naik ajo.”

Translation: “Beno is a sudden rise in seawater. Stories about beno have circulated for a long time. The water rises, although it is not always violent; the important feature is that the rise occurs suddenly.”

Putra Andeka, Head of Retak Hilir Village, stated that “Beno” or “Geno” may also be used for a tsunami following a major earthquake. Across the three villages, the term is distinguished from an ordinary high tide by its sudden onset, abnormal magnitude, unusual sound, and, in some accounts, association with a strong earthquake. Ordinary tides are understood as regular and expected coastal fluctuations, whereas beno is described as exceptional and potentially dangerous.

Oral narratives from Teramang Jaya link the origin of beno knowledge to stories transmitted since the 1883 Krakatau eruption. This historical association was not independently verified through archival evidence and is therefore reported as community oral history. The comparison with “smong” in Simeulue is useful because both terms transform disaster memory into communicable warnings, but their specific signs, social transmission, and current levels of understanding differ [10]. Intergenerational interviews are required to determine how widely beno is understood today.

The findings indicate that local wisdom in North Bengkulu and Mukomuko is expressed through ritual, oral terminology, environmental stewardship, social organization, and spatial memory. Data regarding the types of local wisdom in the 15 research villages are presented in Table 2. These forms of knowledge vary among villages and should be interpreted as context-specific resources rather than as uniform warning systems.

3.2 Community-identified evacuation points and exploratory route mapping

Residents and village officials identified locations regarded as safer during strong earthquakes, high waves, or tsunami warnings. These locations include fields, plantations, schools, public offices, cemeteries, hills, and road junctions. Some points have also been recognized or adapted by government agencies. Their value lies in familiarity and community acceptance, but their safety cannot be confirmed from local knowledge alone.

Table 3 records coordinates, place names, and route distances collected during the field inventory. Distances are descriptive values reported in the original manuscript and are not walking-time estimates. The mapped lines show observed or described paths; they do not represent optimal routes generated from a road network, digital elevation model, inundation surface, or least-cost algorithm.

The coordinate and distance inventory is useful for documenting community knowledge and identifying locations for further assessment. Before any point is formally designated as safe, it should be evaluated against authoritative inundation maps, elevation and slope data, route condition, accessibility for children, older adults and persons with disabilities, travel time, expected population demand, and the capacity of the destination. This need for route-specific spatial assessment is consistent with previous tsunami evacuation-route research [17-20].

3.3 WebGIS research prototype