Table 17.5. Attrition and persistence of marine sasi in relation to village size and religion.
|
Marine Sasi lost |
Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class3 |
Class4 |
Muslim |
Christian |
Total |
|
1990s |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
1980s |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
|
1970s |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
|
Lost earlier |
2 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
|
Sub Total: lost |
7 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
14 |
18 |
|
Number still |
0 |
4 |
10 |
3 |
5 |
12 |
17 |
|
Never had marine |
6 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
11 |
17 |
28 |
|
Total |
13 |
16 |
17 |
17 |
20 |
43 |
63 |
Table 17.6. Attrition of marine sasi per island.
|
Marine Sasi |
Seram |
Ambon |
Haruku (n=2) |
Saparua (n=4) |
Nusa Laut (n=5) |
Total |
|
1990s |
0% |
6% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
6% |
|
1980s |
0% |
11% |
0% |
0% |
6% |
17% |
|
1970s |
0% |
5% |
0% |
11% |
6% |
21% |
|
Earlier |
6% |
11% |
11% |
11% |
17% |
56% |
|
Total lost |
6% |
33% |
11% |
22% |
28% |
100% |
The persistence of marine sasi is linked to the fate of land sasi, in that villages with marine sasi
usually have relatively active land sasi. Land sasi is significantly more active in Class 3 villages
(ANOVA, p=0.01), which helps explain the resilience of marine sasi in this size class. Where
marine sasi has been lost for some reason, the land sasi institution that is left behind is also
weak (Table 17.7).
Table 17.7. Relation between marine sasi status and activity of land sasi. Land sasi score (average ± S.E.).
|
Village status |
Average land sasi score |
|
Village with marine sasi |
12.2 ± 1.02 |
|
Village that never had marine sasi |
10.8 ± 0.73 |
|
Village where marine sasi has been lost |
8.3 ± 0.87 |
In Maluku, fishing villages are most often overwhelmingly Christian or Muslim. The seven
villages where marine sasi was most active (score 10-12, see Table 17.8) were all homogeneous
i.e., with at least 95% of the population being of the dominant religion. Out of 17 cases of
marine sasi, three were effectively dormant (score=3) and another three were weak (score 6-
7). One of the cases of dormant marine sasi occurred in a relatively non-homogeneous village
and a second case was in a Christian dusun attached to a predominantly Muslim village.
Cultural homogeneity can thus be important to the resilience of this traditional institution.
Resilience of marine sasi is also linked to the interplay among governing authorities. Sasi has
been stable in the Muslim villages where the institution is neither adat nor church (Table
17.9). In a number of cases, sasi on marine resources was abandoned (e.g., Akoon, Ameth,
Leinitu) or weakened (e.g., Haria, Ulath) when adat sasi was taken over by the church.
Compared to marine sasi that is of the adat or “other” type, marine sasi in villages with church
sasi is significantly less active (p<0.05). Where adat sasi has survived, losses of marine sasi are
fewer compared to losses in villages where only church sasi remains (Table 17.9).
Institutional Resilience : Loss and Revival of Sasi 245