We, of the Banyan tree : traditions of origin of the Alune of West Seram

Several small communities of Alune and Wemale shifting cultivators are established in the upland region of 'Wele Telu, the 'Three Large Rivers' of West Seram in eastern Indonesia. Although the centralised state regards these peripheral desa as marginal, this is not the view of the people themselves. Comparatively more isolated than the coastal communities, the mountain 'domains' (hena, inama, anakota) claim to have preserved a traditional relationship to their land and their ancient mode of affiliation and marriage alliances. Each domain forms a social, territorial, religious and political unit which is still relatively autonomous. In the past, mountain and coastal domains participated in a larger federative ceremonial order which did not bar them from also competing for hegemony and taking part in conflicting alliances, warfare, or head-hunting raids against one another. In the middle of the 17th century, to secure total control of the clove growing industry, the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) dismantled the ruling system of Luhu, the largest political ally of Temate on west Seram, and entirely depopulated the peninsula. For two centuries thereafter inland Seram did not attract much foreign attention. When outsiders began recording the history of 'Wele Telu a century ago, the region had already changed drastically. Colonial policies, whose aims were full administrative control and subordination of the population, were forcefully implemented. The ceremonial and political federative orders of the Kakehan and the Saniri were banned and mountain settlements subjected to a complete re-configuration. Focusing on the Alune mountain domain of Manusa Manuwey (Hena Ma'saman.uey), this thesis explores how contemporary highland communities have preserved their traditional knowledge and adapted their socio-cultural practices to successive tumultuous historical change. The history of groups and domains is recounted in topogenies. The social knowledge embedded in these ordered sequences of sacred places/events is the warrant of the origin of these groups and the chronicle of all matters of renown in which they take pride. Topogenies also establish peoples' codes of social behaviour and their relation to the environment. They are the records of groups' rights, precedence and duties and a living register of the intricate network of relations between them. The origin structures of Manusa Manuwey examined in this thesis, situate the domain in an inner and central position in its region. It is a female centre, the 'source'/'core' (uwei) which 'distributed' (sama) the heirlooms generating wealth and fecundity, to the coastal groups as they 'departed' or came to settle at the domain's periphery. Non-localised named origin groups among both Alune and Wemale are called nuru. Alune nuru perpetuate themselves by reference to a genitor line of derivation, Wemale by reference to a genitrix one. Large nuru set forth 'branches' (sanai) over the whole region, establishing 'Houses' (luma) in the domains of both territories. Residency determines the linguistic affiliation and mode of derivation of these units. In Alune the notion of origin is encapsulated in the term uwei, (wei or wey) which conflates the ideas of 'origin', 'base', 'cause', 'centre' and 'source of continuity'. Notions of relative precedence within and between groups are expressed in metaphorical idioms. Within large nuru, 'branches' arrange themselves in a variable order of precedence linguistically constructed by using complementary categories such as 'ahead/behind' ('older'/'younger') or male/female. This is a loose and changeable precedence subjected to social competition. In Alune domains, earlier settlers take precedence over those who came afterward; they usually control larger sections of land and most positions of authority. However, prior establishment is insufficient to maintain these positions. Since large groups of settlers are better fitted to increase their status. a group of newcomers may gain renown for itself, expand in number, enter in strategic alliances and enhance its prestige, hence becoming an 'elder' nuru in that domain. Alune nuru are strictly exogamous. As they enter in relationships of exchange and alliances, Houses give precedence to bride-giving progenitors over their progeny, a relationship described in Alune terms as that of 'granary mother' to 'female child'. This relationship may be repeated, reversed or severed and new alliances initiated, challenging the previous order of precedence at each generation. Progenitors 'feed' and 'fecundate' their progeny. a ritual duty that parallels that of the ancestors. Social reproduction of groups was formerly secured by 'fecundating rituals' that are now prohibited. According to Alune elders. the present celebrations and exchanges of prestations are a mere token of the large celebrations of the past. Yet these ritual celebrations of food still keep the blessings flowing from the world of the Sky to the world of the Earth