STONES AS HUMAN BONES: AN ECOTHEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF MOLLO INDIGENOUS WOMEN’S SPIRITUAL BELIEF SYSTEM TO
ENVIROMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Ira D. Mangililo
Ira.mangililo@staff.uksw.edu
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to demonstrate the interconnection between the indigenous Mollo women with their land and nature which is shown through their spiritual belief system that regards rocks, trees, land, and water as their bodies. As the ones who are most affected by the presence of mining companies in their area, Mollo women have used their spiritual beliefs as a powerful foundation for their active and creative attempts to challenge thecolonization of the globalization as the
manifestation of capitalist patriarchy. These spiritual beliefs, therefore, are a gift from the Divine Being that should be preserved and passed down from generation to
generation. This belief system is in line with the message of the Bible which emphasizes a strong relationship between the land, the people, and God. Therefore, humans are called to maintain the land’s fertility as a requirement of humans’ well-being and sustainability. As such, Christianity, together with Mollo women’s spiritual beliefs, can be used as a theological model of transformation that underlines women’s resistance movement in East Nusa Tenggara.
Globalization is known as a process of global economic, political, and cultural integration which has successfully turned the world into a small village where all the borders between countries have disappeared.1 As such, one can see how the rapid
diffusion of information and cultural merging has successfully decreased the dimensions of our world.2 As a result, whatever happens in other parts of the world will be known
in a matter of minutes as the news and reports can be accessed easily via online media that has flourished rapidly in these last few decades. Moreover, many pictures shared in social media such asFacebookorInstagramproclaim how Indonesian people now are
1Roland Robertson,Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture(London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1992),
8.
2Karla Sosa, “Globalization and Economic Development in the Third World: Hazard of Enhancement?”
leaning towards a Western way of living; they feel honorable when they can dress like Hollywood celebrities; use fancy branded hand-bags; eat in fancy Western restaurants; and speak or write in English. Hence, globalization is a powerful trend that can bring together and unify various cultural values and the world economic systems. It involves “economic integration; the transfer of policies across borders; the transmission of knowledge; cultural stability; the reproduction, relations, and discourses of power; it is a global process, a concept, a revolution, and ‘an establishment of the global market free from sociopolitical control’.”3This description indicates that globalization can refer to progress, development and stability, integration, and cooperation; however, it also can refer to regression, colonialism, and destabilization.4
However, the massive impact of globalization has also brought Indonesia into a very tough question on whether it will help increase Indonesia’s economic growth or whether it will further widen the gap between the rich and poor. Will globalization only benefit the First World counties since it allows “industrialized countries to expand their large markets through the implementation of free-trade zones, border areas where restrictions such as import tariffs have been reduced or eliminated”?5In Indonesia, globalization has created a tremendous impact on the lives of many Indonesians. In our everyday lives, we witness that even though Indonesia celebrates its independence which has been obtained since 1945 after living under the colonization of Dutch people and Japan for almost three and a half centuries, the notion of external colonization which represents the power of white master colonizers is still obvious and visible in our land. This external colonization can be seen in a system often referred to as
neocolonialism, in which “the ex-colonial powers and newly emerging superpowers such as the United States continued to play a decisive role through international monetary bodies, through the fixing of prices on world markets, multinational corporations and
3Nayef R. F. Al-Rodhan, “Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed
Definition,”in Program on the Geopolitical Implications of Globalization and Transnational Security (Geneva: Geneva Centre for Security Policy, June 19, 2006), 3.
4Al-Rodhan, “Definitions of Globalization,” 3.
cartels, and a variety of educational and cultural institutions.”6In Indonesia, neocolonial influence and activity can be seen in the presence of Western lenders, including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and other international organizations that work closely with the Indonesian government to create plans for economic
development. These international organizations also have assisted the Indonesian government since the reign of President Suharto in 1967 to exploit Indonesia’s natural resources such as oil, gas, copper, gold, coal, tin, nickel, fisheries, and rainforests for the sake of so-called national development.7
The neocolonial system that walks hand-in-hand with global capitalization is also applied in my own province of East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT). Being located quite a distance from the capital city of Indonesia and among the country’s poorest provinces, East Nusa Tenggara is characterized by dry, mountainous areas and a short rainy season. Most men and women are self-reliant and resilient farmers, whose primary crops of root vegetables, corn, and peanuts provide important food reserves in harsh ecological conditions.8In such a situation, there is constant pressure for the local government to improve the income per capita which is very low compared to other provinces in Indonesia. As Rihi Dara puts it, East Nusa Tenggara had an “income per capita in 2008 at around 4.5 million rupiah (AU$ 500) which is only 23 percent of the national average. NTT’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2008 was around 21.6 trillion rupiahs (AUD 23 million) or 0.9 percent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) (BPS Indonesia 2009).”9
In order to improve the economic conditions, our local government opened up the opportunity for foreign investors from China, South Korea, Japan, India, and
6Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin,Key Concepts in Post-Colonial Studies(London and New
York: Routledge, 1998), pp. 162-63.
7Elizabeth Adams Parciany, “Golden Beaches & Adventuresome Wilderness: The Neocolonial Timeshare
in Indonesia,”Intersections10, No. 2 (2009), 183.
8Ria Gondowarsito, “Men, Women and Community Development in East Nusa Tenggara,” inWomen in
Indonesia: Gender, Equity and Development, ed. by Kathryn May Robinson and Sharon Bessell(Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002), 251.
Australia to explore mining (especially marble and manganese) in three districts – South Central Timor, East North Central, and Belu. The majority of farmers were forced to switch to mining as land was converted from small farms to mines. Many women and children have been forced to get involved in mining activities in order to meet their food needs and to pay off their debts, even though these activities endanger their lives.10
Indeed, the fast development of manganese and marble mining in East Nusa Tenggara created a debate on whether the presence of a mining company is a blessing or a curse to local communities. The major reason that prompted such a notion is due to the shifting of the livelihood of the peasants from an agricultural subsistence to artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) of the manganese and marble.11The ASM is a more attractive option of livelihood for various people because it is a cash-based economy that can help people buy food and their basic needs. Rihi Dara states that women who gave up
farming and engage in mining activities have been able to improve their yearly income. They can send their children to school, renovate their houses, and have motorcycles. Hence, ASM is seen as a means that provides “direct cash since agriculture is vulnerable to harvest failure due to prolonged dry seasons, and it also requires more time and effort.”12However, many NGOs that engage in environmental issues such as Wahana Lingkungan Hidup (Walhi) have shown that the presence of mining companies has also resulted in massive environmental damage, destroying soil, forests, water, and air. Mining financially enriches only a very few people but afflicts so many, with those people living near the mine generally remaining poor.13Moreover, the presence of mining companies has also triggered social conflict among local people as well as
10Kompasiana, “Pertambangan Mangan: Menjawab atau Membawa Multikrisis?” 9thOctober 2011. http://green.kompasiana.com/iklim/2011/10/09/“pertambangan-mangan-menjawabi-atau-membawa-multi-krisis”/ [Internet Accessed: 16thMay, 2012]; Selaras Lingkungan, “Tambang Mangan: Antara Mimpi dan Bayang-Bayang Kematian,” Kamis, 8thMaret 2012.
http://yayasanselaras.blogspot.ca/2012/03/tambang-marmer-antara-mimpi-dan-bayang.htm1 [Internet Accessed: 16thMay, 2012]; Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, “Pernyataan Tolak Tambang di NTT,” http://walhintt.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/pernyataan-tolak-tambang-di-ntt-2/ [Internet Accessed: 16th May, 2012].
11Rihi Dara, “Understanding Risk and Benefits,” vi. 12Rihi Dara, “Understanding Risk and Benefits,” vi.
13Kompasiana, “Pertambangan Mangan.”; Selaras Lingkungan, “Tambang Mangan.”; Wahana Lingkungan
conflict between local people and the mining companies that hold the mining business licenses from the local government.14 In short, it not only damages the relationship among family members and the community but it also creates a strong division among those who agree with the presence of the mining activities and those who are against it.
Indigenous Mollo Women as Protectors of Nature
In his bookThe Political System of the Atoni of Timor, Schulte Nordholt states that the island of Timor together with the islands of Rote, Sabu, and Sumba are not the same as the other islands in the archipelago because they lack volcano deposits which are necessary to fertilize soils in the region. Instead, most of the land in West Timor contains lime and marl soil making it less fertile.15Nonetheless, there are some areas of the island of Timor that are not too dry. These areas contain an old black volcanic rock type that “can be seen in a deep chasm with black cliffs, hundreds of meters in height, with loose, black, extremely fertile soil at their foot.”16 The existence of these stones can be seen in Manamas, Naibenu, North Central Timor, NTT.
In addition, other areas that are also fertile are located at the foot of Mount Mutis, Tetum, Bonleu, Nenas, Naupin, Nunbena, and Fatumnasi. Due to the rainfall that occurs almost every month with the highest frequency occurring from November to July, Mount Mutis and its surrounding areas are the wettest areas on the island of Timor; it contains fertile soils which are good for agriculture.17The frequency of rainfall allows the region of Mount Mutis to become the main water source for three watersheds (DAS) on the island of Timor. They are Noelmina and Noel Benain in the southern part and Noel Fail in the northern part.18One group of people who live around Mount Mutis is
14Rihi Dara, “Understanding Risk and Benefits,” 2.
15H. G. Schulte Nordhold,The Political System of the Atoni of Timor,diterjemahkan oleh M. J. L. van Yperen (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 60), 27. 16Schulte Nordhold,The Political System, 28.
17Wisata Nusa Tenggara, “Cagar Alam Gunung Mutis: Wisata Alam – Cagar Alam Gunung Mutis – Nusa Tenggara Timur,” http://wisatanusatenggara.wordpress.com/wisata-nusa-tenggara-timur/cagar-alam-gunung-mutis/ [Internet Accessed: 14 April 2015].
the Mollo people. Most of them are farmers who “cultivate corn and cassava as staple foods but have also diversified into vegetables and other cash crops, including onions, garlic, potatoes, and fruit trees. Livestock-raising is another important component of the rural economy and tradition…”19
The labor division among Mollo women and men has been strictly regulated based on the traditional customs. The men cut and burn the trees and clear the bushes. The women, on the other hand, are responsible for the planting. Schulte Nordhold describes that,
…the women harvest and winnow the rice; they perform this work in the daytime under observance of the strictest silence. Furthermore, a woman, usually the wife of the lineage head (amaf), but in any case the wife of the oldest member of the agnatically related group engaged in the cultivation of a garden plot is responsible for the “tying of the vital force of the rice.” The building of the corn, on the other hand, is the responsibility of the men and the “tying of the vital force of the corn” is theamaf’s task. This work is done by night and the men drink palm wine and ask each otherpantunin-between. So they may speak as they do this, while there is often even boisterous hilarity. Now, the wordfeto(female) also donates “the interior” – during winnowing only women fromwithinthe lineage are present – while another connotation of the wordmone(male) is “exterior” – when the corn is bundled men from without the lineage are invited.20
The description of women who perform their duty silently in the daytime which is quite in contrast to the men who are allowed to drink and talk while working may indicate women’s lower position in Timorese society. However, when one looks closely, the description of the labor division above has shown the big amount of responsibility that Timorese women have. They are the ones who plant and harvest – types of works performed under the scorching sun. They are also
responsible for doing all the work at home, including ensuring the availability of food supplies at the household; and in order to do that, women must ensure the
availability of the fertile land that can be used to grow all kinds of plants that are
19Larry Fisher, Ilya Moeliono, and Stefan Modicka, “The Nusa Tenggara Uplands, Indonesia: Multiple-site Lessons in Conflict Management,” inCultivating Peace: Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resource Management, edited by Daniel Buckles (Ottawa, Canada: The International Development Research Centre, 1999), 66.
useful to meet their food needs. In this, it is not exaggerating to state that Mollo women play an important role as a protector of nature, culture, and natural resources.21
Kolimon in her bookA Theology of Empowerment: Reflections from a West Timorese Feminist Perspectiveobserves that the role division for men and women in Timorese culture that places women in the inside of the house and men in the outside implies the social order of theAtoin Pah Meto(people of the dry land).22 Kolimon states that,23
The common order of theMetopeople is understood in a binary category symbolized by right-left, men-women, outside-inside, above-below, etc. These dual categories are represented in the structure of theMetohouse. In the Metohouse there is a consistent association of men’s activities and symbols with the right side and outside of the house, while women’s activities and symbols are associated with the inside and the left side of the house. These pairs of association, founded onMetosymbolism, are as follows:
Men (mone) - women (feto)
Outside (mone) - inside (nanan) Right (ne’u) - left (li)
Above (fafon) - below (below) Front (matan) - behind (kotin) Heaven (neno) - earth (pah) Hot (maputu) - cool (manikin)
In her analysis of the meaning of this binary category, Kolimon rejects Cunningham’s analysis that regards a dual association as an expression of super-ordination and subordination. Instead, this division, according to Kolimon, points to a harmony in which “each side of the category must know its place. Women have to know that their place is inside, while men’s is outside. When such an arrangement is not kept anymore, the society will come to instability…this division [also] implicates
complementary. They are different but are inseparable from each other.”24Hence,
21Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, “Indigenous Women in Southeast Asia: Challenges in their Access to Justice,” 10, http: www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/.../StudyAccessToJustice/AIPP.ppdf, (Internet Accessed: 9 Maret 2015].
22MeryKolimon,A Theology of Empowerment: Reflections from a West Timorese Feminist Perspective (Zürichand Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2008), 166-67.
Kolinom sees the interconnectedness between the two opposite categories. However, Kolimon is quickly to point out that even though the binary category emphasizes harmony and equality, in performance and material levels, women are the powerless among the powerless in Timor because they are the ones who bear the heaviest burdens and the biggest responsibilities in their families and
community.25
The description of the role of women in Timorese culture indicates Mollo women’s strong attachment to their family, land, and nature. This is further
strengthened by the fact that Mollo women have seen the rocks, trees, and water as the symbols of their identity. As such, Mollo women see themselves as part of the nature; therefore, there is a constant effort to always protect their natural resources including the marble stone which is calledFatu(rock)Metan(black) in Dawan
language - Timorese traditional language. For Mollo women, the value of marble stone cannot be measured with anything. Marble stone is considered as sacred and thus should be respected. It is widely believed that if the Mollo people are
disrespectful to marble stone, there will be landslides, tornados, droughts, and other disasters. Therefore, Mollo people are prohibited from taking or moving the marble stone from its place.26
This attitude towards nature is also influenced by the philosophy ofAtoin pah meto.The philosophy underlies the way they interact with nature is that the earth is described in accordance with the organs of the human body; land (nijan) is seen as human meat; stone (fatu) is described as a bone. Water (oel) is the blood that flows in a human’s body; forests are the lungs and hair. With the identification of nature (earth) as such, it is pivotal forMetopeople to preserve and maintain the nature just as they maintain their own bodies, because they know that their bodies
25Kolimon,A Theology of Empowerment,173.
26Weeklyline.Net., “Batu Mangan Diambil Tulang Pulau Patah,” 23 February 2014,
will not function properly or even be paralyzed if any of their body parts were taken or destroyed.27
In addition, the stone is also a symbol of the tribe (Fatu Kanaf). This is why most of rocks located on Timor Island are named according to the tribes on Timor Island. Here, the naming of the rocks marks the boundaries and territories of areas inhabited by each tribe on Timor Island that cannot be violated. In addition to the mystical reason above, the marble stones play a significant and practical role in Mollo people’s lives; inside and under the stone, there are the water sources. Hence, the marble stones are needed as they provide water that becomes the source of life forMetopeople on Timor Island.28It is therefore obvious that any attempt to destroy the stone would mean a destruction of the Mollo people’s livelihood. The description above helps us to understand why the arrival of mining companies in Mollo region provoked anxieties among local people. It is these mining companies’ ignorance towards the meaning of the land and the nature for Mollo people as well as their desire to profit as much as possible from the marble extraction that prompted their rejection by most of Mollo indigenous women. Perhaps it is true that their presence may help build and repair some roads, build churches and schools, and provide clean water and jobs; however, as Mollo women have testified that the social havoc, violence, and deep divisions within communities and families are the heavy price to be paid by local people if they allow these mining companies to operate in their area.29
Moreover, as the presence of the mining companies has resulted in significant environmental damage, Mollo women have been forced to deal with the destruction of their traditional lands, the removal of their forests, and the pollution of their water. Those environmental conditions have put more pressure and responsibilities on women
27Weeklyline.Net., “Batu Mangan.” 28Weeklyline.Net., “Batu Mangan.”
29Rihi Dara, “Understanding Risk and Benefits,” 1-2; See also Nani Afrida, “Aleta Baun: Environmental Heroin from Molo,”The Jakarta Post, April 18 2013,
because the primary tasks of women are to maintain the family’s health and economic welfare and to secure the food supply.30 Many women have testified that because of the environmental damage, women can no longer do the farming, and as a result food is scarce. In such a condition, in order to make sure to get food for their families, they have to travel many miles for that purpose. Many women are also forced to sell their bodies to fulfill the basic needs of their families, and some women even cross the borders to work as migrant workers in other countries. Some of them are even
trafficked into many different forms of labor and sexual exploitation. These conditions are coupled with the fact that when household food needs are not met in patriarchal areas like South Central Timor, women are able to access food only after their husbands and children have eaten. As a result, many women are not getting adequate nutrition, which of course causes malnutrition and influences maternal mortality and child
mortality.31Thus, it is obvious that our local government and political elites are the ones who enjoy the key advantage of direct access to the local assets that were once owned by powerless indigenous people. The harsh effects that these external and internal exploitations and oppressions have on Indonesian people, especially in poor areas such as my own, cannot be ignored.
In addition, the impact of these multiple oppressions is greater for Mollo women than for men because women are caught within oppressive structures of both class and gender relations. As implied above, the negotiations about mining activities are indeed on a man-to-man basis, which do not pay attention to women’s interests and welfare. Here, Mollo women are not invited to share their knowledge or views of the implications of the mining activities for their environment and community. Hence, it is clear that Mollo women are oppressed by the patriarchal structure and ideologies that maintain men’s power and domination over the land, the natural resources, and
30Athiqah Nur Alami, Sandy Nur Ikfal Raharjo, and Yuly Astuti, “Women and Food Security: The Case of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Provinci, Indonesia,” inAsian Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities Vol. 3(4) November 2014, 172-74.
31Joko Sulistyo, ‘Food Access: Where is the Space for Women?’ 16thOctober 2011.
women’s hard work. This leaves women relying heavily on men and therefore powerless. As such, one notices that the obvious effects of male dominance over women can be seen in the denial of women’s agency and the steps taken to prevent women from participating in the public sphere – the right of women to be involved in public decisions regarding the mining development, and the role of women is restricted to the domestic sphere, where she acts as home-maker, cook, and servant to her husband. This male domination has prevented Mollo women from voicing their strong resistance publicly regarding an active attempt of their male local government to separate them from their nature and therefore perpetuates men’s domination over them.
Mollo Women, Spirituality and an Act of Weaving as a Symbol of Resistance
When forced to give in to their suffering and give up their land and nature to be abused by their local government and the mining companies, Mollo women in East Nusa Tenggara turn to their traditional spiritual beliefs and practices that “relates to basic philosophy drawn from cultural values or local wisdom that sets a holistic notion of the interconnectedness of people and other elements of earth such as plants, animals, and nature.”32Lartey defines spirituality as “the human capacity for relationship with self, others, world, God and that which transcends sensory experience, which is often
expressed in the particularities of given historical, spatial, and social contexts, and which often leads to specific forms of action in the world.”33Martsolf and Mickey point out five important elements of spirituality: 1)meaningwhich refers to the ontological significance of life, make sense of life conditions or obtain meaning in existence; 2) connectingwhich points to the relationship with self, others, God/higher power and the environment; 3)transcendencewhich refers to experience and appreciation of
dimension beyond the self, extend self-boundaries; and 4)valuewhich defines beliefs and standards that are cherished. It has to do with the truth, beauty, or behavior; 5)
32Ira D. Mangililo, “When Mollo Indigenous Women in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia Speak Back!” in Feminism in Religion Forum, August 6, 2015.
becomingwhich is related to an unfolding of life that requires reflection and
experience.34This definition indicates that the source of spirituality is a cultural ethos in which a person’s identity is revealed.35
The understanding of spirituality helps us to recognize the feeling of oneness, of belonging that Mollo women have with their land and nature. This deep innermost feeling is the driving force that leads the Mollo women to look after their land and to protect their nature. It is an obligation which has been passed down from generation to generation. The recognition of nature as their own bodies demonstrates Mollo women’s intricate and tender bond with nature. In this, Mollo women’s hearts and souls are closely connected with nature. Hence, Mollo women understand that any attempt to destroy nature will break this sacred relationship.
It is this traditional knowledge and special dependence on the nature that drives Mollo women to create a movement of resistance to free their land, water, and sacred marble from the colonization of the globalization as the manifestation of capitalist patriarchy. They have done this by “using gender roles which, in the past, have
restricted their movements to the domestic sphere and twisted them so that men will allow them to enter the public sphere where they can initiate a peaceful protest against the mining companies.”36Here, they use the Timorese patriarchal argument that
perceives women as more nurturing, intuitively spiritual, and closer to nature to
persuade men in their community to allow them to leave their domestic site in order to enter a public sphere where they can stand on the frontlines of the protests and acts of negotiation with the local government and mining companies. Furthermore, under the leadership of a homemaker named Aleta Baun, Mollo men are convinced that women should be allowed to lead the campaign because they are the ones who have a special dependence on the nature and a special knowledge of the nature. The men apparently
34D. Martsolf & J. Mickey, “The Concept of Spirituality in Nursing Theories: Differing World-views and Extent of Focus,”Journal of Advanced Nursing, Feb: 27 (2), 1998, 294-95.
35Samson Tse, Chris Lloyd, Leon Petchkovsky and Wiremu Manaia, “Exploration of Australian and New Zealand Indigenous People’s Spiritualty and Mental Health,” inAustralian Occupational Therapy Journal (2005) 52, 181.
saw no harm and threat in this demand and therefore allowed their wives, sisters, and daughters to enter the public sphere where they could form a peaceful protest, starting in 2006.
In her attempt to reach out to other Mollo women to fight together with her, Baun testified that not all women were ready to support her in her important mission. Many of them saw the presence of the mining as a way to escape their poverty and to pursue a better life. However, in her own words, Baun argued convincingly that, “I told them it's true you have money now, but you should remember that your name came from the rocks, from the tree … Once the money is over, your name will be over too.”37 Through this argument, Baun invited her Mollo women to remember who they are – to their own identity that cannot be seen separately from the earth’s bones. Moreover, Baun also reminded the Mollo women of the importance of the forest that provides the dyes for their weaving – another symbol of their identity.38 Baun’s messages were well received by Mollo women. They were convinced to reclaim and protect what is rightfully theirs. Taken together, Baun’s active attempts to use the gender roles to convince the Mollo men to let their women resist the oppression as well as her use of spiritual belief that considers the interconnectedness of human beings and nature have become an important foundation and driving force to sustain their struggle to protect their
environment.39In her description of the nature of the resistance, Baun recalls, “… when we began our protest, women realized that they could do more — take a stand and be heard. Women are also the recognized landowners in the [Mollo] culture, and this reawakened in those women who hadn’t been actively speaking out a desire to protect their land.”40
37 Simon Roughneen, “’Mama Aleta’ Defends Indonesia’s Natural Habitat,”The Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 2014,
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2014/0808/Mama-Aleta-defends-Indonesia-s-natural-habitat, [Internet Accessed: Oct 9, 2015]. 38 The Goldman Environment Prize, “Aleta Baun: Indonesian 2013 Goldman Environment Prize Recipient for Islands & Island Nations,” April 15, 2013,
http://www.rightsandresources.org/documents/files/doc_6039.pdf, (Internet Accessed: 21 July 2015), 3. 39 Mangililo, “When Mollo Indigenous Women.”
Furthermore, Baun’s wisdom to connect the struggle to prevent the nature destruction with the weaving activity is a powerful gesture that speaks directly to Mollo women’s hearts as woven fabrics contain symbols which describe their identity and ancestry. Moreover, the weaving activity itself depicts the routines and rhythms of daily life in village with women as the ones who perform such an activity. Hence, weaving is closely connected with women.41In addition, woven fabrics are regarded as sacred entities that create a link between the mundane world and the supernatural or ancestral world. Those fabrics are precious heirlooms that are used in lifecycle rituals and as offerings and are passed down from generation to generation as they contain sacred values. Finally, woven fabrics are a valuable item that defines people’s status and exchange. They are owned by different types of people from different social and
economical status and background.42
Baun’s emphasis on the possibility of the cessation of weaving activities due to forest destruction has raised the Mollo women’s awareness and has allowed them to open themselves to new, empowering ideas that are related to the notion of taking a concrete action to prevent the destruction. In 2006, 150 women left their houses – their comfort zone in order to challenge the mining companies’ domination over them. Using a peaceful form of protest, these women sat on the marble rocks at the mining sites and were quietly weaving their traditional cloth, their symbol of identity.43 This activity was performed for a year and was fully supported by Mollo men who, in spite of strong gender role divisions in Timorese society, were willing to take over women’s tasks at home such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children.44 Hence, we can truly say that even though women were the ones who initiated and performed the act of resistance, one cannot ignore the active involvement of Mollo men in protecting the land and the nature. Through their actions, the Mollo men demonstrated their ability to look beyond their Timorese culture that requires men to be dominant, authoritarian,
41Joanna Barrkman,Entwined: The Influence of Indian Patola and Trade Cloths on the Ritual Practices and Textile Motifs of the Atoin Meto People of West Timor, (MA Thesis, Charles Darwin University, 2006), 2. 42The Goldman Environment Prize, “Aleta Baun,” 3.
and responsible to provide for, protect, and defend their families and community. Here, for the sake of their community’s survival, men were willing to take a back seat and let their women be active agents to negotiate, confront, and speak to power that has defined their full right of their land and nature.
The Mollo women’s act of resistance was not in vain. When confronted with a peaceful and sustainable presence of the villagers, the mining companies realized that they could no longer continue their marble-quarrying endeavor. Moreover, the weaving occupation also put tremendous pressure on Indonesian government officials who then had no choice but to stop the mining activities as the public awareness of the weaving occupation increased. By 2010, the mining companies abandoned their operations and left the four existing mines in Mollo territories.45The termination of mining operations in Mollo proves the efficiency of the Mollo women’s perseverance to overcome the systematic silencing and disempowerment by the male ruling government officials in their regency. They with no doubt have challenged the multiple oppressions that have been culturally and politically marginalized and domesticated them. Through their expulsion of the mining companies from their land, the Mollo women have shown that they are capable of speaking for and about themselves. And in doing so, they took “center stage, positions of power, and leadership roles that will transform and empower them and other women like them who are situated on the periphery.”46This center stage is what I call a third space47 – a space of enunciation where Mollo women feel powerful to resist their oppression and to challenge the capitalist patriarchal power that aims to destroy their land and nature. This third space therefore is a safe space where identity can be reaffirmed and strengthened and the spiritual beliefs can be shared and then used to protect the life of the community. It is an innovative site where Mollo
45Afrida, “Aleta Baun.”
46Ira D. Mangililo, “When Rahab and Indonesian Christian Women Meet in the Third Space,” inJournal of Feminist in Religion31.1 (2015), 61.
women can “build a support network of relationships based on solidarity among women”48that contests the destructive power of neocolonialism.
Mollo Women’s Spiritual Belief System and Christianity
TheMetopeople, including Mollo people, are mostly Christians. They were first exposed to Christianity by the Western traders and later by Western missionary
organizations. However, even though theMetopeople already embraced Christianity for more than 100 years, they still preserve their cultural identity and apply it hand-in-hand with Christian values. In her description, Kolimon mentions that even though there is a tendency to regard Christianity as superior to Timorese culture, theMetopeople “are not passive receivers of Christian traditions. They pay attention to the stories of Christian traditions, including those in the Bible, and at the same time hold on to their own stories, myths, legends, songs, and poems.”49
As a part of Timorese people, I have seen and experienced firsthand how my people are in a constant endeavor to negotiate between Christianity and their own cultural identity. An example of this can be seen in the cultural belief that the spirits of the dead people will leave their bodies on the third day after the burial. When my father passed away, my oldest sister was burning the candles at my father’s grave and asked us to join her in guarding the grave in order to ease my father’s transition from this
mundane world to the world above. When asked whether this tradition is against
Christian teachings, my sister provided an interesting explanation that was received well by others. In her own words she said, “For Jesus died and was resurrected on the third day; therefore as people of faith, we believe that those who abide in Christ will also experience resurrection on the third day.” Here, as Kolimon puts it, the Timorese people “reshape the meaning of the Christian tradition based on their own worldview and
48Mangililo, “When Rahab and Indonesian Christian Women,” 64.
perspectives.”50 By doing so, they can still be Christians who practice their cultural beliefs.
Another example can be seen in the way Timorese people address the name of their God. Before the presence of Christianity in West Timor,Metopeople who already had their religion, called the Divine Being by the names “Uis Neno ma Uis Pah, Nitu ma Leu” (the Ruler of Heaven and the Ruler of Earth, Ancestors, and the Awe-inspiring / Fascinating Things).51Kolimon points out that,
TheUis Neno, the ruler of heaven, is described as a transcendental masculine power. He is far above. He is known as one who ignites and burns, protects and watches over people, the arranger and guider of life (apinat aklahat, aneom ahafot, alekat ma alulut). On the other side, the ruler of earth,Uis Pah, is the immanent feminine power. As a mother, she carries us and holds us on her lap, feeds and nourishes us (afafat ma amnaifat, ahaot ma afatis). The ruler of heaven decides when we will be born and when we will die, while the ruler of earth, our mother of life, brings us forth into the world, nurtures us, and receives us when we die and are buried.52
When H. Kraijer van Aalst, the first Dutch missionary to theMetopeople, arrived in 1916, he immediately delivered sermons in theMetolanguage and even translated some parts of the Bible as well as the Lord’s Prayer into theMetolanguage. He deliberately translated the name of God intoUis Neno– the name of one of the Metogods.53Until today, ChristianMetopeople use the name Tuhan (Lord), Tuhan Allah (Lord God), and Uis Neno (Tuhan Allah) interchangeably.
Through my description of the traditional indigenous spiritual beliefs and practice that has become a means to enter a third space where they could actively and creatively challenge the mining operations in their area, I have shown how Mollo women see all aspects of life as interconnected and inspired by their deep connection with the nature. In this, we can see how Mollo women do not regard their spiritual beliefs or local wisdoms as inferior to Christian values. Through their bold actions to
stop the mining operations, Mollo women send the message that “both Christianity and the Timor culture are two equal entities and influence each other.”54What is more, I would argue that the presence of the spiritual beliefs has made Mollo women powerful Christians who dare to fight for justice and righteousness – two valuable and important concepts found in the Hebrew Bible. In other words, the Mollo women’s spiritual beliefs should not be considered as a threat to Christianity. Instead, its existence has helped Mollo women speak to their powerful male government officials in order to correct their corrupt point of views that have been influenced by colonial desires and interests. Here, I argue that Mollo women’s spiritual beliefs have contributed immensely to their self-empowerment to overcome their suffering and to save their land and nature. These spiritual beliefs therefore are gifts from the Divine that should be preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
To this end, in order to create a dynamic and constant dialogue with the Timor culture, it is important to explore what the Bible says about the ecological crisis experienced by the Mollo women. Does the Bible offer insights that will help Christian Metopeople address the environmental damage that influenced their lives? In her attempt to address all these issues, Ellen Davis states that the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible, is centered in its theological discussions.55Davis states that,
Beginning with the first chapter of Genesis, there is no extensive exploration of the relationship between God and humanity that does not factor the land and its fertility into that relationship. Overall, from a biblical perspective, the sustained fertility and habitability of the earth, or more particularly of the land of Israel, is the best index of the health of the covenant relationship. When humanity, or the people of Israel, is disobedient, thorns and briars abound (Gen 3:17-19); rain is withheld (Deut. 11:11-17; 28:24); the land languishes and mourns (Isa. 16:8; 33:9; Hos. 4:3). Conversely, the most extravagant poetic images of loveliness – in the prophets, the Psalms, and the Song of Songs – all show a land lush with growth, together with a people living in (or restored to) righteousness and full intimacy with God. “Truth [or: faithfulness,’ĕmet] springs up from the earth [’ereṣ].”56
54Kolimon,A Theology of Empowerment,237.
55Ellen F. Davis,Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 8.
The Hebrew Bible’s interest in land and its emphasis on the importance of humans’ role to maintain the land’s fertility as a requirement of humans’ well-being and sustainability help us to understand the mutual relationship between humans and land. When
humans care for the land, the land in turn will also care for them. Here, “the well-being of humans and the enduring fruitfulness of the earth are inseparable elements of a harmony sometimes imagined as a ‘covenant’ encompassing all creatures.”57 As such, the ecological crisis indicates humans’ moral failure to carry out their responsibilities to be fully humans who serve and preserve the land – their source of life.
The description of a strong relationship between the land, the people, and God in which the life of the Israelites cannot be seen separately from the land is in line with Mollo women’s local spiritual beliefs. Hence, the messages of the Bible can also be used as a powerful foundation to support Mollo women’s struggles to overcome their
oppression. Here, just like the local spiritual beliefs, the Scriptures can contribute to Mollo women’s actions. To this end, it is appropriate to say that one can be aMeto woman and a Christian at the same time for all she needs to do is to embrace both identities in order to allow herself to be enriched and transformed by different values offered by both entities.
Conclusion
The mining companies are long gone from the Mollo area. However, Mollo women face new challenges due to the environmental damage caused by the mining activities. In this, Mollo women have to nurture the wounded earth in order to make it healthy and fertile again in the same way they care for their own family members. Mollo women’s responsibility to care for the soil continues as the governor of East Nusa
Tenggara has once again issued 315 mining business licenses for several mining companies to operate in East Nusa Tenggara. Among those mining companies is Soe’ Makmur Resources (SMR) that has promised to provide the basic facilities and
installations such as roads, church buildings, and schools that will improve local people’s lives. However, theMetopeople know well the mining activities will break humans’ strong bond with the land and the nature. As such, I think people in East Nusa Tenggara have to follow the footsteps of Mama Aleta and Mollo women who created a social movement to resist the mining companies. In this, I think the spiritual beliefs as well as the Christian values that see the strong connection between humanity and land should be used as a theological model of transformation that underlines the resistance
movement to expel the mining companies from their area. The active and creative encounter of the Timor culture and Christianity hence may illuminate Timorese people’s efforts to face the challenges that occur in East Nusa Tenggara.
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