17.5.3 Role of traditional institutions
Restructuring of local government through Law No. 5, 1979 is expected to have caused
confusion in the village. In fact, in the perception of ordinary villagers, it had no dramatic
and immediate impact. The fact that the traditional village structure was no longer
acknowledged posed the village government with a dilemma as to how to meet the demands
from Jakarta without violating the traditional social structure. Apparently, the requirements
of the law, i.e., replacement of the traditional government structure by a formal one, were
often implemented at a pace and in a manner suited to the local situation. In most cases, the
local government basically incorporated the traditional structure into the formal one, and
thus change was not clearly visible.
Some villages have been rather successful in melding the formal and traditional government
structures. In Nolloth, for example, the LMD is nearly fully overlapping with the traditional
saniri negeri. The village head is also elected according to traditional guidelines. In other
villages, the introduction was less smooth and was a cause for conflicts. Traditional authorities
became marginalized in Tuhaha. Where newcomers entered the village government through
elections, villages became politically unstable. In all villages, there is some degree of overlap
between formal and traditional authorities, but the way in which the traditional authorities
are represented varies.
Our study shows that the degree of overlap is decisive for the continuation and stability of
sasi. In Nolloth, where the traditional authorities function within the new system, the sasi
institution is strong. The villages where sasi ceased to function had problems with village
leaders who did not successfully collaborate with traditional authorities. In Tuhaha, where
the traditional authorities were not acknowledged but had to modify their role according to
the new structure, sasi has disappeared. Now the new village leader has to honor the traditional
authorities and enable them to take a place in the village government before sasi can be
revitalized. In Hulaliu, the village government neglected the kewang’s rights and caused sasi
to decline, and now has to reconcile their differences in order to reintroduce sasi. Haruku is a
different case. The introduction of the new government structure took place in a period when
sasi were just about to be re-institutionalized. The revival and reconstruction of sasi was an
initiative of the kewang, with support from the village head at the time, Om Bertie Ririmasse,
who was also a raja.
Knowledge of sasi, or rather the body of knowledge, is passed on from father to son within
certain lineages and persons, i.e., kepala kewang, kepala adat. The rituals and knowledge are
secret and involve an almost extinct indigenous language (bahasa tana). In order to preserve
traditional sasi, the process of passing down of knowledge must be perpetuated. However,
as the younger generations leave to study in the city of Ambon where adat is regarded as a
superstitious belief, many youngsters lose interest in sasi. This is true even in villages where
sasi is strong (i.e., Nolloth). There is a risk that when the older generation or “the keepers of
sasi knowledge” die, they will take their knowledge with them.
The support and participation of the younger generation is, however, necessary for the success
of sasi as a viable management institution (Figure 17.1). Especially in the villages where sasi is
weak or has ceased to function, the inability to preserve the knowledge of sasi is a threat to its
continuation. Of all the case study villages, Haruku is the only one where knowledge of sasi
is actively communicated to the new generation through the mini-kewang where they learn
about sasi and the role of sasi in resource management.
250 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia