Reconciliation and Revitalization: The Resurgence of Tradition in Postconflict Tobelo, North Maluku, Eastern Indonesia

Abstract

This article looks at efforts to revitalize "tradition" (in Indonesian, adat) among the Tobelo people in the eastern Indonesian province of North Maluku in the aftermath of the ethnic and religious violence that swept the region in 1999-2001. It examines how some groups in Tobelo society are attempting to revive previously marginalized adat practices as a way to facilitate reconciliation between Muslim and Christian communities. Those involved in these efforts believe that a revitalization of adat will shift people's focus of identity from their religion-the focus of the recent conflict-to their ethnicity. They hope this shift in focus will transcend religious differences. The paper explores these attempts to articulate Tobelo tradition and Tobelo identity in order to prevent future violence. It also discusses the rationales and historical justifications for seeing adat as a mechanism for reconciliation and conflict prevention.

Reconciliation: A comprehensive framework for empirical analysis

“…Meanwhile, psychological perspectives typically link reconciliation to processes of attitudinal and/or emotional change (Bar-Tal and Bennink, 2004;Brounéus, 2009;Bruneau and Saxe, 2012;Kaufman, 2006;Long and Brecke, 2003;Mukashema and Mullet, 2010;Nadler et al, 2008;Poitras, 2010); as well as personal healing (Abu-Nimer, 2001;Brounéus, 2010;Duncan, 2009;Hirsch, 2012), that should ideally affect postconflict behavior and personality traits and conditions.…”

“…This is a 30-category scale that reflects the varying answers to the question 'What needs to happen in order to achieve reconciliation?' Some literature reflects notions according to which restoration of a relationship based on a cessation of violence amounts to a minimal form of reconciliation (Bouandel, 2004;Duncan, 2009;Gellman, 2008;Rushton, 2006). At the other extreme, reconciliation is conceived of as a concept that falls just short of peace.…”

Democratization and Ethnic Politics in Indonesia: Nine Theses

“…https://doi.org/10.1017/S1598240800007190 Revival or reinvention oftraditional ethnic political institutions and mobilization ofethnic discourse in contests for political power. Throughout Indonesia there has been a notable "revival of tradition" (Henley and Davidson 2007) involving varied attempts to resuscitate customary institutions and law (adat) in ways that are invariably-but not always straightforwardly-associated with particular ethnic identities (e.g., Avonius 2003;Duncan 2009;Henley and Davidson 2007;Li 2007). This revival of the local has permeated political life as, for example, when local elites evoke adat and ethnicity to demonstrate "their fitness to rule" (Li 2007, 359) when competing in electoral contests.…”

“…Due to a proliferation of case studies of pilkada, we now have much evidence that the mobilization of ethnic symbols and appeals is pervasive in elections for local political office. Throughout the country, pilkada candidates routinely include adat performances and ceremonies in their campaigns, make speeches in local languages, wear traditional costumes, and otherwise invoke local traditions and cultures to increase their electability (see Duncan 2009, 1092, on elections in Tobelo, North Maluku; Vel 2005 on East Sumba; Buehler 2009 on Pangkep and Soppeng in South Sulawesi). To the extent that such cultural symbols and appeals are associated with particular ethnic identities, it is possible to see ethnicity as virtually everywhere, as pervading Indonesian politics thoroughly.…”

Framing, friction, and the continuity of social movements : the case of the ambonese peace movement in Indonesia

“…In the face of the pervasive segregation, movements to bridge the relationship of the two communities sprang up. Traditional values such as pela and gandong were revitalised to weave back the torn social fabric (Brauchler, 2015;Duncan, 2009). Pela referred to unwritten pacts the ancestor ratified for providing mutual help and avoiding harming each other during the tribal wars.…”