17.3 Patterns of Loss of Sasi since the 1940s
17.3.1 Loss of the entire sasi institution
Of the 63 villages studied, in 19 villages the entire sasi institution was lost (see Table 17.1).
Most losses occurred in the 1990s and on Ambon and Saparua. On Haruku Island, by contrast,
some form of sasi has survived in every village.
Table 17.1. Attrition of sasi institution (i.e., total loss of all forms) on each island. Note one village in
Ambon never had sasi.
|
Sasi |
Seram |
Ambon |
Haruku |
Saparua |
Nusa Laut |
Total |
|
Lost in 1990s |
5% |
16% |
0% |
16% |
5% |
42% |
|
Lost in 1980s |
0% |
11% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
11% |
|
Lost in 1970s |
0% |
16% |
0% |
5% |
0% |
21% |
|
Lost earlier |
0% |
16% |
0% |
10% |
0% |
26% |
|
Total lost |
5% |
58% |
0% |
32% |
5% |
100% |
Table 17.2 . Attrition of entire sasi institution in villages of various sizes and religion. Note the village
that never had sasi is a village of Butonese immigrants, sizes Class 4.
|
Sasi |
Class1 |
Class2 |
Class3 |
Class4 |
Muslim |
Christian |
|
Lost in 1990s |
11% |
16% |
5% |
11% |
21% |
21% |
|
Lost in 1980s |
5% |
5% |
0% |
0% |
5% |
5% |
|
Lost in 1970s |
5% |
0% |
0% |
16% |
5% |
16% |
|
Lost earlier |
5% |
5% |
0% |
16% |
16% |
11% |
|
Total |
26% |
26% |
5% |
43% |
47% |
53% |
Losses have been steady in both Muslim and Christian villages (Table 17.2), but there is a
distinct difference when village population is considered (Class 1=≤1,000; Class 2=1,001-2,000;
Class 3=2,001-3,000; and Class 4=>3,000 people). As can be read in the table, losses have been
greatest in the Class 4 size and much less in the Class 3 size. Apparently, there is an optimum
size for villages with regard to sasi.
17.3.2 Loss of adat sasi
Where some form of sasi persists, there has often been a partial loss or a change in the type of
institution. For instance, sasi dominated by adat leaders (adat sasi) may be transformed into a
church-dominated institution, or even privatized. Out of 48 recorded losses of adat sasi, over
half occurred before the 1960s (Table 17.3). Losses were moderate in the 1970s and 1980s but
have become more severe in the 1990s. The differences among islands are not significant.
Recent losses, i.e., in the 1990s, of adat sasi have occurred in both Muslim and Christian villages
(Table 17.4), but concentrated in villages of Class 2 sizes (1,000-2,000) on Saparua and Haruku.
Since Law No. 5, 1979 was passed to restructure the village level administration, small villages
were given the status of a dusun (sub-village) without an independent village government to
execute sasi. This played a role in the loss of adat sasi, for instance, in Seri and Airlow.
Institutional Resilience : Loss and Revival of Sasi 243