'Sasi', Haruku's style of conservation management<\/p>\n
By Binny Buchori<\/p>\n
HARUKU, Ambon (JP): Three arumbai, the traditional boats of
\nMaluku, decorated in coconut leaves, suddenly appear from afar
\nand, as if on command, swivel and start circling three
\napproaching yellow speedboats.<\/p>\n
Aboard the arumbai are men and boys, all in white T-shirts,
\nrowing the boats vigorously, some singing a traditional song
\n\".... mae opo ina ...\", \"welcome to our village.\"<\/p>\n
Thus started the ceremony of buka sasi in Haruku -- a small
\nisland in the eastern part of Ambon -- an event that most local
\ncommunities look forward to, since on that day, people are
\nallowed to harvest as many lompa fish, a type of anchovy, as they
\nlike.<\/p>\n
Buka sasi can be translated as open season, or harvest time.
\nThe latest harvest time in Haruku, on Nov. 13 last year, was
\nspecial.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't been able to carry out buka sasi for three years,\"
\nexplained Eliza Kissya, the head of the traditional council,
\nKewang.<\/p>\n
That the event was special was obvious to the passengers of
\nthe speedboats on entering the village. Women in their
\ntraditional dresses, red check sarongs and long kebayas and red
\nscarfs stood along the village roads and joined the local big
\nband who played a number of traditional Maluku songs. They walked
\nthe guests -- researchers from various environmental study
\ncenters from universities across Indonesia -- to the village
\nhall.<\/p>\n
Sasi is a traditional system to manage the use of natural
\nresources and to ensure its equal distribution amongst the
\ncommunities. Under this system, people are prohibited from taking
\ncertain types of natural riches during a certain period of time
\nfrom a certain area (closed season -- tutup sasi) and are allowed
\nto harvest only when the time is right (open season -- buka
\nsasi).<\/p>\n
Sasi used to be widely practiced in Maluku province. It is
\nbelieved that in Haruku sasi started in 1600. According to Eliza
\nKissya, in his book entitled Sasi Aman Haru-Ukui (Jakarta:
\nYayasan Sejati, 1993), sasi is an effort to conserve and preserve
\nthe population and quality of the natural resources.<\/p>\n
\"Because the regulations in sasi also concern the relations
\nbetween human beings and nature, and between members of the
\ncommunity, sasi is basically an effort to order relations between
\ncommunity members, including an effort to distribute natural
\nresources or income from natural resources to all community
\nmembers,\" Eliza wrote.<\/p>\n
Based on the principle, Haruku recognizes a number of sasi,
\ni.e. marine sasi, river sasi, forest sasi, and village sasi.
\nEach sasi regulates human relations with nature, and includes
\nsanctions against transgressors. In marine sasi, for example, it
\nis forbidden to fish in the sasi area with any type of fishing
\ngears, except with nets. The river sasi includes rules against
\ncollecting the anchovy species during closed season, washing fish
\non the river banks, washing cutlery and dishes in the river,
\nbathing jointly with the opposite sex in the river. Regulations
\nin village sasi include rules against being noisy on Saturday
\nnights, against fishing on Sundays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. local
\ntime, against drying clothes on fences, and throwing grass in the
\nriver.<\/p>\n
\"We prohibit people from making noisy parties on Saturday
\nnight because Sunday is a praying day for us, we go to church
\nevery Sunday, so on Saturday nights we contemplate and
\nconcentrate,\" Oom Elli explained.<\/p>\n
Violators of the sasi regulations are punished. Anyone washing
\ndishes or disturbing lompa in the river, for example, will be
\nfined Rp 2,500. The fine may not be substantial, but the shame
\nthe violators suffer is the essence of these sanctions.<\/p>\n
'Kewang'<\/p>\n
The implementation of sasi is controlled by the Kewang, a
\ntraditional institution authorized by the Dewan Adat (Customary
\nCouncil). The Kewang has existed ever since sasi was practiced.
\nThe tasks of the Kewang are to control the implementation of sasi
\nand impose punishments on violators. Every Friday evening the
\nKewang meets and discusses cases that have arisen in the village.<\/p>\n
In Haruku, the Kewang consists of Land Kewang, Marine Kewang,
\nassistants of Land and Marine Kewang, a secretary, a treasurer
\nand members. Kewang members are elected from each family (soa),
\nwhile head of the Kewang (land and marine) is a hereditary title.<\/p>\n
Eliza Kissya, better-known as Oom (Uncle) Elli, is Kewang head
\nwho has held the position since 1979. It was Oom Elli and the
\nformer Raja (village head) of Haruku, Berthy Ririmase, who
\nrevived the Kewang system. For their effort, in 1985 they were
\nawarded the prestigious Kalpataru award -- the award for
\ncommunities\/individuals who initiate environment conservation and
\npreservation.<\/p>\n
When Oom Elli became the Kewang head, the institution was not
\nfunctioning. Moreover, only a few members of the community were
\naware of the sasi system. Many studies and researchers suggest
\nthat this is due to the implementation of the Environmental Law
\nNo. 5\/1979, which reorganized and restructured the village-level
\ngovernment system. The law imposed a national system, where
\ntraditional institutions such as the Customary Council and Kewang
\ndo not have the authority to regulate and govern the villages any
\nmore.<\/p>\n
Haruku is known for its sasi lompa. According to researches,
\nit is only in Haruku that people implement sasi for lompa, the
\nanchovy species.<\/p>\n
\"Economically, it is not very useful,\" said a researcher of
\nthe Environmental Study Center, Pattimura University of Ambon.
\n\"Thus people do not preserve it because of its economic value,
\nbut more for its social and traditional value.\"<\/p>\n
The sasi lompa tradition is closely related to the legend
\nwidely believed in Haruku. As recalled by Oom Elli in his book,
\nthe legend says that lompa came to the village as a present from
\nthe Seram crocodiles to the Haruku crocodiles who helped them
\nfight their enemy, a big snake.<\/p>\n
In reality, the lompa fish helps the Haruku community survive
\nthe difficult time. \"During the western monsoon, when we cannot
\nfish, we depend on the lompa. Lompa, mixed with spices, garlic,
\nnutmeg and clove can last for a year,\" Oom Elli explained to his
\nguests, the researchers from numerous environmental study
\ncenters, who visited Haruku last November, as part of their
\ntraining in coastal zone management organized by the
\nEnvironmental Study Centre.<\/p>\n
In addition to making lompa a survival food, the community
\nalso makes lompa into various dishes and sends them to their
\nrelatives who live outside Haruku.<\/p>\n
On the eve of Nov. 12, around 8 p.m., the Kewang of Haruku
\ngathered in Oom Elli's house. Dressed in Kewang clothes -- long-
\nsleeved black shirts with red scarfs around their neck -- they
\nlooked very dignified. They were ready to start panas sasi, the
\nfirst program of open sasi, which is preceded by dinner in the
\nhouse of the Kepala Kewang, and continued with a prayer asking
\nfor God's blessing for the success of the open sasi.<\/p>\n
The bright house of Oom Elli suddenly became brighter when the
\nKewang lit their torches, made of dry coconut leaves. In the
\ndrizzle, Oom Elli led the Kewang, all clutching the burning
\ntorches, to the village to declare the opening of the sasi.<\/p>\n
The procession stopped when they reached Batu Kewang, the
\ncenter of sasi in the village where they made the bonfire. One
\nKewang started hitting the tifa (traditional drum) and another
\nblew into a big shell, making the atmosphere more solemn. Oom
\nElli, full of rigor, waved his hand and declared in local
\nlanguage that the buka sasi had started.<\/p>\n
Amidst the wavy flames from the bonfire and torches, another
\nKewang member read the types of sasi, the regulations and the
\nsanctions in ancestral local language, which was then repeated in
\nBahasa Indonesia.<\/p>\n
This ceremony was repeated in every crossroad of the village
\nand ended at past midnight in front of the village hall. The
\nKewang then went home to prepare for the next program, bakar lobe
\n(burning the torches). Around 3 a.m. the following morning, the
\nKewang gathered again in the Kewang's house located at the river
\nestuary to have breakfast. With the burning torches, they went to
\nthe river estuary to make the bonfire. The blazing light from
\ntheir torches and the bonfire would attract the lompa to enter
\nthe river and into the area where they had put the net barrier so
\nthat the lompa would not return to the sea.<\/p>\n
Oom Elli solemnly led the ceremony, the burning torch in his
\nright hand, while his eyes kept watching the water, waiting for
\nthe first group of lompa to approach the light. Just at the break
\nof dawn the color of the river suddenly became black, indicating
\nthat thousands of lompa had entered the area,<\/p>\n
\"It is such an amazing view,\" commented an onlooker and Oom
\nElli looked relieved.<\/p>\n
Harvest time<\/p>\n
When the lompa entered the area, the Kewang shifted their
\nattention to the preparations for the big event. They ensured
\nthat the net which functioned as a barrier was securely locked in
\nits place and checked everything was in order.<\/p>\n
At around 8 a.m. people started flocking the river, waiting
\nanxiously for the Kewang's sign to start collecting the lompa. No
\none was allowed to take anything until the Kewang gave the sign.<\/p>\n
Under the bright weather, people could clearly see the lompa
\nswimming to and fro, eager to get away, and as the tide was
\ngetting low, the lompa started jumping around, creating an
\namazing view, like a fountain made of anchovy fish. And suddenly
\nthe first net was thrown, followed by other hundreds of pairs of
\nhands, using nets, bowls, anything that they could use to gather
\nthe fish. Men, women, children, teen-agers, young and old, all
\njumped into the river and had a feast, taking the fish to their
\nhearts' content.<\/p>\n
Those who caught the fish threw them on the river banks and
\nanyone could collect them.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, they are not allowed to take the fish prior to the
\nsign from Kewang, the ceremony and prayer, but after three years
\nof absence, the excitement is understandable,\" Oom Elli
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
The situation was, indeed, beyond control, as those who joined
\nthe harvest were not only people from Haruku but from Ambon and
\nother islands, and even Haruku people who live in other islands
\noutside Maluku.<\/p>\n
Thus, as the young researcher from the Environmental Study
\nCentre put it, \"It is tradition that draw people to catch the
\nlompa. The ritual value is stronger than the economic value.\"<\/p>\n
The buka sasi lompa usually lasts for one to two days, during
\nwhich people move from one spot to another, chasing for the spot
\nthat has the lowest tide to harvest the lompa.<\/p>\n
Even though the lompa may not have a very high economic value,
\nit does make an appreciable contribution to the community's
\nincome. In 1991, the total amount of lompa harvested reached 20
\ntons and in 1985 it reached 35 tons.<\/p>\n
The success of the sasi lompa of course depends on whether the
\nKewang and sasi will sustain amongst the rapid changes that are
\ntaking place in the Haruku communities.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sasi-harukus-style-of-conservation-management-1447893297",
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