11.4 Sasi Institutional and Organizational Arrangements
Haruku has an active sasi system, which defines the use of terrestrial and marine resources as
well as social behavior. The collective and operational rules and regulations are embedded in
adat custom. Sasi was established before the Dutch colonial period and was the result of a
collectively-felt need to protect the village’s natural resources against theft and intrusion from
outsiders. Sasi has had periods of decline but has been fully active since the revitalization of
the kewang in 1979. The sasi rules and regulations are written down in a book composed by
the head of the kewang (Kissya 1995).
The marine resources of Haruku are open-access resources, but in designated parts, resource
use is restricted by sasi rules during certain periods of the year. During sasi, the resource
changes its status to that of a common pool resource to which access is limited and harvest
rights arranged, but where the benefits are for the whole community. The system includes the
principle of redistribution, which forms an important aspect of village life.
Table 11.2. Sasi regulations of the Haruku village.
|
Land sasi |
1. Seasonal prohibition on the harvest of fruits and trees. 2. No trees may be cut along the riverbank except for sago, and these have to be |
|
River sasi |
1. Seasonal prohibition on the harvest of lompa fish (Thryssa baelama). 2. Prohibition on running or cleaning boat engines in the river and on spilling oil. |
|
Marine sasi |
1. Seasonal prohibitions on catching sardinia, momar (Decapterus macrosoma), make (Clupea fimbricta/stereolepis; Lutjanus sanguinens), kawalinya (Selar 2. Seasonal prohibitions on use of boats and nets in the sasi area with the exception 3. Prohibition on harvest of top shells (Trochus shell) and sea cucumbers under sasi; 4. Prohibition on the use of lift nets. 5. Prohibition on karolo nets with extreme small meshes. 6. Stones, sand and corals are also under village regulations. For the harvest of corals, |
|
General |
7. There are no auctioned fishing rights (lelang labuan) in Haruku, but non-residents 8. There is a general prohibition on blast fishing and the use of cyanide. |
The rights of entry and withdrawal are defined under adat law as collective rules and, as
such, guarded by the kewang and the church. Local operational fisheries rules as described in
sasi can, in theory, be applied to any resource as long as they do not contradict national fisheries
law. In Haruku, formal fisheries regulations have been incorporated into the traditional sasi
regulations.
The sasi regulations have been adapted to modern times. New regulations, for example, concern
the use of lift nets, karolo and other fine mesh nets.
128 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia