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There are approximately 2000 Nuaulu, a group of people who worship their ancestors and live on the island of Seram, in the Indonesian province of Maluku.  Whilst the majority of studies that look at ritual tend to focus on the content and their symbolic value, this anthropological research by the University of Kent, instead focuses on their frequency and the time which lapses between them. It finds that for Nuaulu people, experience of ritual is, for the most part, constituted by preparation, which in turn makes timing at least as important as performance. 

Key findings

Frequency of Nuaulu rituals

• Birth rituals for males and females occur with equal frequency. All female initiation rituals are triggered by the biological event of first menstruation, and therefore cannot be delayed. This means that female initiation rituals are conducted more frequently than those of males. 
• Unlike female initiations, male initiation rituals are collective events. Research shows that the numbers of male individuals initiated - and the ceremonies themselves - doubled for the village of Rouhua between 1945 and 1975, as the population grew proportionately.  
• The early life-cycle rituals and minor house construction rituals are some of the most frequent and simple rituals, which means that they are regularly reinforced and become models for other rituals. 
• Most death rituals are those of uninitiated minors and are therefore done without great ceremony or care. Those conducted for initiated older people are not socially visible beyond direct family.     

Internal influences on Nuaulu ritual timings

• The sequence of rituals may prove to be more socially significant than their actual content. Furthermore, because rituals follow particular sequences, those further down the line are more likely to be delayed, modified or even abandoned. For example, the least frequent rituals are those of the suane cycle, where intervals may be 30 years or more. It relies on the prior performance of a great number of other rituals to happen. 
• Demographic patterns impact the frequency of rituals. For example, if a clan produces few female children, it may be years between the first menstruation rituals. Similarly, if there are too few young men in a clan, male initiations may not happen.     

External influences on Nuaulu ritual timings

• Tensions arise amongst Nuaulu people when rituals cannot be performed because certain material conditions are not satisfied, such as being unable to obtain certain sacred objects. It is believed that failure to perform particular rituals at the appropriate time may result in ancestral wrath, which in turn may result in misfortune. 
• Periods of political stability tend to be reflected by regular and increasing ritual cycles. Conversely, civil disturbances tend to disrupt the ritual cycle and increase modifications in ritual practice. For example, whilst Nuaulu animists were able to continue their rituals during the civil unrest between 1999 and 2003 which impacted the Christian and Muslim populations, displacement affected their timing and the ability to source necessary materials.     

About the study

Research was led by Professor Roy Ellen, Department of Anthropology, University of Kent. The main part of the project involved the organisation and analysis of ethnographic data on rituals, which was collected between 1970 and 1996. Once patterns and trends in the data were identified, they were followed-up in 2002 and 2003 with further fieldwork.

Key words

Ritual, Nuaulu, Indonesia, civil unrest, animism

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