Festive 'Dero' no longer binds people in Poso

Festive 'Dero' no longer binds people in Poso

The Malino Meeting, held to bring leaders of the different
warring factions together during the festive atmosphere of Idul
Fitri, Christmas and the New Year, evoked sweet memories of the
district's peaceful past. When peace reigned in Poso, there were
good relationships and merriment among different religious and
ethnic groups during the annual holidays.

During important religious holidays, the regency capital of
Poso was the scene of great festivity. Idul Fitri was not only a
happy day for Muslims but also for Christians. Likewise, at
Christmas both Christians and Muslims had a good time. Poso
residents would visit their neighbors of different religious
persuasion. They would exchange presents and enjoy themselves.

"We used to live in one big melting pot," Benny, a resident of
Kayamanya subdistrict, now a refugee in the village of Sedoa,
Napu Valley, said, while reminiscing.

During the festive period of Idul Fitri, Christmas and New
Year, an event called Dero would be held by Poso townfolk. At
this art event, particular to Poso, a group of people - young and
old, male and female - formed a circle. With the accompaniment
of a local tune, these participants clasped one another's hands
and swung their legs twice to the right and then once to the
left, making the circle of people move around a central point.

If there were many participants, they would be divided into
several circles, each having the same central point. So, there
was a large circle and then several concentric circles with an
increasingly shorter diameter. The event usually took place at
night and ended at daybreak.

When you joined Dero, religious and ethnic boundaries, as well
as social status, disappeared in the melodies of the accompanying
music. What came to view was only the legs moving to the right
and to the left and hips swaying to the same rhythm, making a
circular movement within the same circle.

Philosophically, Dero manifests a popular saying of the Poso
people: Sintuvu Maroso, which means "united and strong". Sintuvu
means to be united in attitude, a reason why the people of Poso
resort to deliberation before making a decision. Sintuvu is a
principle applicable also to migrants, for example the Bugis
people, the Javanese and the Balinese. Thanks to the wise saying
of Sintuvu Maroso, during the Soeharto era, Poso was the pride of
the regional administration in terms of religious harmony.

When rioting broke out in this black-wood-producing region,
Poso was suddenly no longer the pride of the region.

Sintuvu Maroso seems to have been abandoned. The people of
Poso do not seem to have any more time for their Dero. They no
longer move in a circle following the tune. They just seem to
walk in one direction, heading for safer areas as refugees. There
is no longer any music. It has been replaced by the weeping of
children, the complaints of tired old people and the cry of women
in labor.

Husri Ahmad, chief editor of Poso Post, said there was
something missing this year in the festivities, which are usually
inherent during Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year. Idul Fitri
was celebrated by Muslims without the presence of their Christian
friends. "My Christian friends and neighbors used to visit us
earlier than other people to say 'Happy Idul Fitri' to us. This
year, however, there seemed to be a distance between us," he
said. He also said that he could no longer say "Merry Christmas"
directly to his Christians acquaintances. "I hope we can be
together again before long," he noted.

Lebron, secretary of the Calvary Church congregation in the
village of Sangginore, Poso Pesisir district, had much to say
about the sweet memories when peace reigned during religious
holidays like Idul Fitri, Christmas and the New Year in the past.
He said that at Idul Fitri he and his family and friends would go
to Poso to bring Nasi Jaha (glutinous rice cooked in young
bamboo) for their Muslim relatives and friends.

"I would stay in Poso for a week visiting my Muslim friends
during Idul Fitri," he said.

He added that at Christmas, his Muslim friends and relatives
would visit him. "They would come in groups and take with them
some rice. Then we cooked Nasi Jaha together," he said. While
waiting for Nasi Jaha to be served, they would usually perform
Dero.

Before the riots broke out, the people of Poso were united,
not only by the festive atmosphere of Idul Fitri, Christmas and
New Year, but also by the atmosphere of Padungku, a customary
rite usually performed after harvest time. "It is an expression
of gratitude to God for the annual harvest," said Risman, one of
the youth figures in Poso. Just like Dero, Padungku also involves
different religions and ethnic groups in Poso.

Following the deployment of five army battalions with Sintuvu
Maroso as their code of operation and the conclusion of the
Malino Meeting with a ten-point declaration toward the
restoration of peace, Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year, the
celebrations this year did not seem to lose any of their
merriment and festive spirit.

Dero was performed as usual but this time it was neither a
circle nor did it have several smaller concentric circles.

The Dero held by the Christian community was not attended by
Muslims and vice versa. One Dero circle was performed in the town
of Poso and the other in Tentena. These two circles were very
clearly separated, and there appeared little hope of them being
reconciled soon.