An institutional analysis of sasi laut in Maluku, Indonesia



Table 17.8. Factors related to activity of marine sasi in central Maluku. Homogeneity status: 1: 95-
100% is of dominant religion; 2: 60-80% is of dominant religion. Size Class 1=population
1,000;
Class 2=1,001-2,000; Class 3=2,001-3,000; Class 4=>3,000. For an explanation of the activity scores
see Chapter 2. * Sasi moved to church in 1992; ** Sasi moved to church in 1995.

Village

Dominant
religion

Homo-
geneity

Administrative

Status

Size Class

Activity score for sasi

Land

Marine

Nolloth

Christian

1

Desa

3

12

12

Haruku

Christian

1

Desa

3

11

12

Pelau

Muslim

1

Desa

4

12

12

Siri Sori

Muslim

1

Desa

3

n.a.

12

Morela

Muslim

1

Desa

3

11

12

Itawaka

Christian

1

Desa

3

11

10

Amahai

Christian

1

Desa

3

12

10

Kabau

Muslim

1

Desa

3

n.a.

9

Ihamahu

Christian

1

Desa

2

12

9

Tengah-Tengah

Muslim

1

Desa

3

12

9

Hatusua

Christian

2

Desa

2

9

9

Porto

Christian

1

Desa

4

10

7

Paperu

Christian

1

Desa

3

9

6

Ulath

Christian

1

Desa

2

6*

6*

Makariki

Christian

2

Desa

2

12

3

Rohua

Christian

1

Dusun in a
Muslim
desa

3

12

3

Haria

Christian

1

Desa

4

8**

3**

Table 17.9. Type of sasi in villages that have or had or never had, marine sasi.

Current status
of village

Adat sasi village
(n=15)

Church sasi village
with no
adat sasi
(n=21)

Muslim sasi village
(n=6)

Has marine sasi to date

10 (67%)

4 (19%)

3 (50%)

Lost marine sasi in living memory

2 (13%)

7 (33%)

0 (0%)

Historical occurrence of
marine
sasi (had existed)

12 (80%)

11 (52%)

3 (50%)

Never had marine sasi

3 (20%)

10 (48%)

3 (50%)

Percentage of loss in relation to
occurrence

17%

64%

0%

17.4 Reasons for Loss of Sasi Between 1940 and 1997

During the inventory, we asked whether our informants could remember when some aspect of sasi
changed or was lost, and why this had happened. Explanations were often quite explicit and included
contextual information pertaining to the evolution of socio-political systems in Maluku (see Appendix
4 for details). The comments (Table 17.10) came from villages where
sasi was actually lost or
transformed. The numbers represent the number of comments, not the number of villages.

Weak leadership and conflicts are key elements in the erosion of sasi. In the opinion of villagers,
conflicts within the village government, between the village chief and
adat authorities, among
churches, and over land, all resulted in partial or complete loss of the institution. Conflict
between
adat leaders and village government leading to the erosion of sasi was reported only
in Christian villages and never on Nusa Laut.

246 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia



More intriguing information

1. Plasmid-Encoded Multidrug Resistance of Salmonella typhi and some Enteric Bacteria in and around Kolkata, India: A Preliminary Study
2. The name is absent
3. The effect of classroom diversity on tolerance and participation in England, Sweden and Germany
4. An Empirical Analysis of the Curvature Factor of the Term Structure of Interest Rates
5. The name is absent
6. FUTURE TRADE RESEARCH AREAS THAT MATTER TO DEVELOPING COUNTRY POLICYMAKERS
7. Learning-by-Exporting? Firm-Level Evidence for UK Manufacturing and Services Sectors
8. The name is absent
9. The name is absent
10. The purpose of this paper is to report on the 2008 inaugural Equal Opportunities Conference held at the University of East Anglia, Norwich