Table 13.3. Sasi rules in Hulaliu.
|
Land sasi |
1. Coconuts are under sasi and there is a prohibition to cut young 2. There is a restriction on the harvest of young fruits of the durian, |
|
Marine sasi and |
1. There is a seasonal prohibition on collecting top shells and gastropods. |
|
pelabuhan (harbor) |
2. There is a seasonal prohibition on collecting sea cucumbers. 3. There is a ban on fishing with vegetable poisons, e.g., akar tuba, 4. There is a ban on fishing with bombs, chemicals and other poisons. 5. There is a ban on harvesting stones, sand and corals in front of the village. |
Benefits
The village government decided to auction the rights to harvest in the lelang area, but only to
Hulaliu inhabitants. The revenues from the auction are used to provide the village with an
income and pay the kewang. The benefits will be split equally between the kewang and the
village government. The villagers, however, prefer a public harvest from which they would
derive direct benefits. It also would prevent the village head from confiscating the access
fees. Having learned from the past, the villagers’ trust in the village government is limited.
The players
Acknowledgment of the local regulations by the sub-district government is necessary to make
them operational. Formally of course, the sasi regulations will at all times be subject to higher
government laws, i.e., they may not contradict the national fisheries laws and/or
environmental regulations. The advice of the higher government officials is, according to the
village head, “to take sasi as adat and do it traditionally”, which is what he will do.
The tasks with regard to sasi are divided as follows: the government office organizes and
monitors sasi, while the kewang and church secure enforcement and compliance. The role of
the church is very important because the people will have to commit themselves to the sasi
regulations through a communal prayer. The practical enforcement is in hands of the kewang.
The police will not be actively involved. The village head felt he did not actually need them:
“Sasi is a traditional adat thing.”
Participation in the decision-making process has been limited to the village government, the
kewang and some active villagers. A meeting was organized to discuss the scope of sasi.
Lahesina, one of the new kewang members who attended the meeting, explained that the
meeting was not attended by common fishers: “It is for the government and the people who
work in the sea (read: lift net owners).” Later, the plan was presented in the Baileo (traditional
community house) where people could make suggestions. However, not the whole village
was present, and only three women turned up. The audience suggested an increase in the
penalty for offences that affect people’s livelihood and this idea was accepted.
A centralized procedure, such as the one described above, is perfectly acceptable to the villagers and
many people stated that they did not expect to be included. Others were not even aware of the fact
that sasi was being re-installed, but they felt that it was a decision of the government and the church,
and that they would hear the message about sasi over the megaphone once it was implemented.
172 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia