Local knowledge of wanga (Pigafetta elata) as materials of traditional house at South Sulawesi, Indonesia

The objective of this research is to know the local knowledge of the community in exploiting the wanga plant as the material of traditional house making in South Sulawesi, especially in Tana Toraja and Enrekang Regency. The type of research is descriptive by using survey method. Data collection by observation, in-depth interviews and documentation. Determination technique of informants in snowball sampling method, with key informant is traditional chairman. The number of informants are 11 people consisting of traditional chairman, apparatus of village/sub-district, and user community. Data analysis was done by qualitative descriptive. The results revealed that local communities in Tana Toraja Regency used wanga stems for the traditional rice house poles known as Alang Sura, while local communities in Enrekang Regency utilized wanga for the traditional rice house poles known as Landak, and their utilization was more extends again as it is used for village border poles, gates, and bridges.