Sociologus: Sociologus, N.F. 45.1995

Anthropos, 106.2011,2

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Zeitschrift

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschrift

Werks-URN (URL):: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714820

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714820

Persistenter Identifier:: BV043334262

Titel:: Anthropos

Untertitel:: internationale Zeitschrift für Völker- u. Sprachenkunde

Erscheinungsort:: Fribourg

Verlag:: Ed. St. Paul

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1906

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Wissensgebiet:: Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie > Allgemeines

Zeitschriftenband

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenband

Werks-URN (URL):: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-711875

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-711875

Persistenter Identifier:: 1513669072122

Titel:: Anthropos, 82.1987,1/6

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1987

Signatur:: LA 1118

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Titelseite

Strukturtyp:: Titelseite

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Anthropos 106.2011 380 R. H. Bames was being rebuilt for the first time in over a century. The occasion for rebuilding it was that the clan which regarded itself as responsible for building the temple had suffered too many deaths, a sign that the ancestors were dissatisfied. However, the motiva tion for constructing it can hardly be explained by these rather contingent circumstances alone. Preliminary Considerations Government attitudes toward local practices have been shifting and complex since the achievement of independence in 1949. Anything that smacked of “feudalism” was offense to the nationalist politi cians of the young republic, who quickly took steps to remove hereditary rulers where they could. Lat er the development ideology of the Suharto regime emphasized national unity and discounted local par ticularisms (Schefold 1998: 276). From the foun dations of the Republic, Sukarno’s pancasila doc trine required belief in one God. In his discussion of “public religion,” Intan (2006: 19) observes that, “The Pancasila-based state thus is a ‘religious state’ though it is not theocratic, or linked to a particular belief.” To the surprise of some Muslim national ist leaders, the explicit requirement of belief in one God caused no trouble for Christians, Hindus, or Buddhists. However, ritual practices derived from what might be called “traditional religion” were viewed by many as subservient to polytheism. Another dimension of concern is the relation of religion, agama, to custom, adat. The Arabic word adat is ubiquitous in Indonesia for the local arrangements which define proper communal rela tionships and identity. What is demanded by adat and permitted by religion is often a matter of con troversy and contention. Similarly what qualifies as adat and what changes in adat may be adopted may also occasion debate. Ritual practices handed down from the past are definitely regarded as adat and are commonly about communicating with the an cestors, but also with God. The ancestors are in termediate between living men and gods. The line between religion and custom is therefore ambigu ous and shifting. It was once remarked to me that adat is first and religion second in Witihama. This person continued by observing that there is a lot of adat on Adonara, and adat is strong there. Religion and adat, he continued, are not the same. Religion without adat is not enough. Adat without religion is also not enough. I think that almost all Indone- speakers of the Lamaholot and Kedang languages numbered only 266,405. sians would agree with at least the last of these ob servations. Having once observed to my host that blood sac rifice was not practiced in Lamalera, Lembata where it had been suppressed by the resident missionaries and where he and I shared experience as he was stationed there during a period of my own research, he replied that yes, adat is weak in Lamalera. The missionary H. van der Hulst tried to suppress sacri fice in Witihama too, but people refused to go along. I might remark in passing that my host is a (lay) pil lar of the local Catholic Church and once studied to become a priest; yet he too commissioned a sacrifice during my stay. 3 Finally during a conversation in Ja karta between people derived from Adonara on one side and others from Kedang the point was made that adat is stronger than agama, because the sanc tions for infractions are immediate. There was great pressure from the mission in the 1960s and later, so it was said, to get rid of adat, but there is now a re surgence. These comments should not be understood to mean, on the other hand, that formal religion is undergoing a decline. Services in the church and mosque are well attended. In fact, attendance is re garded by most as an obligation. In addition there are numerous individual masses, retreats, and prayer sessions throughout the year. The conclusion may be justified that for the moment religion and adat have adjusted to each other. As far as Catholicism is concerned this reconciliation might be attributed in part to the fact that many priests now derive from lo cal communities. To some extent also the movement within Catholicism toward what has been called “in- culturation,” the incorporation of aspects (such as dress occasionally) of local culture into religious ac tivities, has had an influence. 4 Comparative Context It should be said that rebuilding the temple in Witi hama does not represent a sudden innovation with in the region. Leuwayang, Kedang, built its long lapsed temple again in 1998. The village temple of Lewotala, Flores, was intact in the 1970s (see Fig. 1 and 2). It was subsequently burned down under mys terious circumstances, but eventually built again. In 2006 it was again renovated and attendant ceremo nies celebrated. In 1970, the temple was adjacent 3 During my field research in Lamalera he was running the lo cal polyclinic. By 2000 he had returned to his own village and was in charge of the polyclinic in nearby Honi Hama. 4 Luzbetak (1989); Shorter (1988); Bames (1992).

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Objekt: Anthropos, 106.2011,2

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