Performance and belief in spirits among indigenous people in moluccas :: A study of Bulu Gila performance in Negeri Suli, Ambon

SUITELA, Vanny, Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah

2010 | Tesis | S2 Agama dan Lintas Budaya

Bulu Gila performance is a kind of local traditional folk performance of the Moluccas people, which existed since many years ago. It is unique because involves trance phenomenon inside its practice. However, it is suspected by many persons either insiders, or outsiders as a kind of “devil performance” because they thought that it has involved all elements of blackness realm such as genies, Satan, and black magic in its practice. This research argues that Bulu Gila performance represents of a religious practice of Moluccas ethnic religion that was vanished by the colonizers many years ago. It contains a number of local religious meanings particularly about the divine, the spirits, the nature, human and its interrelationship. This research attempts to revise misunderstanding and suspecting of both the persons and formal religions on Bulu Gila performance in Moluccas. This research focuses on Bulu Gila performance in negeri Suli- Ambon city, Indonesia. This research constitutes a qualitative research, by using ethnographic as main approach with data collection technique done by: In-depth interview to the key informants, Observation of participants, Documentation study consists of pictures and video of the Bulu Gila performance in Suli. Analyzing data done by reducing, clarifying, description, concluding and interpreting all information selectively. Techniques of checking relevance data were dependability and conformability. Research result and discussion: 1)Bulu Gila performance can be concluded as a kind of trance performance because it contains a number of symbols and meanings of belief of an ethnic religious of Moluccas people in the beginning, core and the end of the performance. 2) Supporting elements of the performance consist of the performance equipments;the leader and performer; offbeat; clothing; stage; and requirement. 3) It contains some local meanings namely a) the local concept about the Transcendent– immanent divine(Upu, Upu Lanite and Upu Ume). Nitu, the spirits of the ancestors .b) The concept of the totality of good and evil, brightness and darkness. c) The concept of living together as the community: as a local identity confirmation symbol, as a social cohesion symbol, and as the medium to generate the value of Masohi (working together) among societies. c) The concept of relationship between human and the nature; the local concept about the nature as person-being, the local concept about the feminine of the nature, and the local concept about unification, equilibrium, and attitude of human to the nature. Conclusion: Bulu Gila performance showed that relationship of human is not only to metaphysical realm but also to the nature. Bulu Gila be an agent to be more to close to Supreme Being, the other, and the nature but in the local way. Belief and performance are not mutually exclusive but rather all – encompassing. Belief grows up and has sense in performance, and performance become the real medium expression of belief. Therefore, I proposed that Bulu Gila performance need to be preserved and to be generated for the next generations as the local wisdom of religious practices, and in order to avoid extinction.

Kata Kunci : Moluccas,Rites,Performance,Belief,Trance