Dimensions of Religious Practice the Ammatoans of Sulawesi
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ASU Digital Repository Dimensions of Religious Practice The Ammatoans of Sulawesi, Indonesia by Samsul Maarif A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved March 2012 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Christopher Duncan, Chair Abdullahi Gallab Mark Woodward ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 ABSTRACT This thesis is an ethnographic account of the religious practices of the Ammatoa, a Konjo-speaking community of approximately 4600 people living in the southeast uplands of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It examines aspects of Ammatoan rituals, cosmology, culture, economy, and politics that, from their point of view, are also considered religious. For the purpose of this dissertation, I understand religion to be ways of relationship between human beings and their fellow humans: the living and the dead, other beings, such as animals, plants, forests, mountains, rivers, and invisible entities such as gods and spirits. This conception of religion provides a better framework for understanding Ammatoan religion because for them religion includes many aspects of everyday life. The Ammatoans divide their land into an inner and an outer territory. The former is the constrained domains for their indigenous religion and the latter is more open to interaction with the outside world. The politics of territorial division has enabled Ammatoans to preserve their indigenous religion and navigate pressures from outside powers (i.e., Islam and modernity). The politics is, in part, a religious manifestation of Ammatoan oral tradition, the Pasang ri Kajang, which is the authoritative reference for all elements of everyday life. By following the tenets of the Pasang, Ammatoans seek to lead a life of kamase-masea, a life of simplicity. I explore how Ammatoans apply, challenge, and manipulate their understandings of the Pasang. Ammatoans demonstrate their religiosity and commitment to the Pasang through participation in rituals. This dissertation explores the diversity of Ammatoan rituals, and examines the i connections between these rituals and the values of the Pasang through an extended analysis of one particular large-scale ritual, akkatterek (haircut). This ritual serves to incorporate a child into the wider Ammatoan cosmos. I also explore the encounters between Ammatoan indigenous religion, Islam, and modernity. I argue that the local manifestation of the concepts of Islam and modernity have both influenced and been influenced by Ammatoan indigenous religion. I conclude that despite their conversion to Islam and the intrusion of modernity, Ammatoan indigenous religion persists, albeit as an element of a hybrid cultural complex. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would have never been completed without support from a number of individuals. I thank first and foremost my committee members, Dr. Christopher Duncan, Dr. Mark Woodward, and Dr. Abdullahi Gallab. Their tireless patience of advising, encouragement, and insights were invaluable. Three of them have guided me not only on my dissertation, but from the beginning of my study at the program. I give special thanks to Dr. Duncan who has been always encouraging, suggestive, critical to, and so significantly contributive to thought and work. Another special thanks goes to Dr. Woodward, who has been very helpful especially during the time of my writing. Teaching with him at the Center for Religious and Cross Cultural Studies (CRCS), University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, I had the chance to discuss my dissertation with him extensively. I am indebted to his insight and kindness for enriching my understanding on the subject I am writing. I would like to also thank the chair of the department, Dr. Joel Gereboff who has given me great help and support for my study at the department. I am also thankful to all professors at the department of religious studies whose supports and inspiration will be always in my mind. The late Dr. Kenneth Morrison deserves special credit from me for his invaluable time in teaching me how to read, write, think critically, and teach effectively. His insight significantly shaped my understanding especially on the study of indigenous religions. My colleagues of graduate students at the department have been also insightful and iii inspiring. Bret Lewis has been my special friend who reviewed and edited parts of my writing. I am also indebted to people outside ASU. Ammatoans whom I have worked with are also my teachers. They not only provided me information, but also taught me to rethink theories that I had learned in schools. My hosts and many of my informants have been my “family.” My colleagues at LAPAR in Makassar and at CRCS, UGM have been also inspiring and helpful. My professor at Florida International University (FIU), Dr. Christine E. Gudorf is the one who deserves my thanks the most. She has been my “angel” from the moment I knew her. Even though I am no longer officially under her advisory, her support on my academic work never ends. Together with Dr. Eric Larson, the current chair of Religious Studies Department, FIU, she has even helped me with financial problems. Their financial supports have been significant resources for me to carry out both my fieldwork and writing. I am incapable to reciprocate what she has done to me. Sydney Snyder and Kate Wright have been my English teachers who are willing to continually maintain their professorship and friendship with me. I am specially indebt to them because of their times in reviewing and editing parts of my dissertation. I would never have enough words to express my thanks to my family: Rizki Farani (my wife) and Nadeisha Rizki Maarif (my daughter). This work is part of their struggle. It is then dedicated to them. I also dedicate this work to all my brothers and sisters. Their praying has been meaningful in my life including iv especially on this work. I finally dedicate this work to my parents, whose spirits are always in my thoughts and imagination. I hope this work contributes to their lives in the hereafter. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. i AKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................... iii CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x NOTES ON TRANSLATIONS ................................................................................ xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 Background ......................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ............................................................................... 9 Projected Contributions .................................................................... 18 Methods ............................................................................................. 20 The Structure of Thesis ..................................................................... 25 2 THE ETHNOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF THE AMMATOAN COMMUNITY .............................................................................. 28 The People, the Language, and Land ............................................... 28 Politics ............................................................................................... 42 Education .......................................................................................... 46 Healthcare ......................................................................................... 50 Religion ............................................................................................. 54 Economy ........................................................................................... 62 vi CHAPTER Page 3 THE POLITICS OF TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS ............................ 69 The History of the Territorial Divisions ........................................... 71 The Political Structure of the Ammatoa .......................................... 90 The Notion of Kamase-masea (modesty) vs. Kalumanynyang (superfluous) ................................................................................... 116 4 PASANG RI KAJANG AND EVERYDAY PRACTICES ............. 125 Defining the Pasang ri Kajang ........................................................ 125 The Content of the Pasang .............................................................. 137 The Nature of the Pasang......................................................... 137 The Divine and Man ................................................................ 145 Pasang as a Legal Corpus ........................................................ 167 5 RITUALS OF THE AMMATOANS ................................................ 176 Categorizing Ammatoan Ritual Practices ...................................... 176 Akkatterek: Interpreting the Ammatoan rituals .............................. 181 6 THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN AMMATOANS AND OTHER POWERS ...................................................................................... 240 Dialectical