Ende's Animism

According to local oral tradition, the Ende tribe were the first people in the Ende Lio region to descend from the highest mountain, Mount Lepembusu, which is located in the Wolotolo village residential area. According to folklore, their ancestors came from outside, namely by sea with rafts from the west, east, and north. The first ancestor of the Ende people was Nggae Sawu, who came from across and landed in Manado Sawu.

Th Verhoever found human skeletons in the Momer & Bua burrows. The first excavation was carried out in July 1965. In 1701, for the first time in Kupang, an elementary school & Christian congregation were established by a traveling pastor.

Belief in ancestors is a belief that developed in prehistoric times, this animism belief is a belief that still applies in the Ende Lio region, in this belief system, ceremonies for worshiping ancestral spirits are still the most important place in traditional ceremonies, they believe that people who have died have a huge role & assume that people who have died have a big role and there is no difference in life in the world, only in another realm. The teing hang ceremony includes views on the relationship with ancestors, fellow humans & God. The death ceremony is carried out in several stages, from the care of the body, and burial to the thanksgiving ceremony after the burial on the third, fifth & fortieth day.

The stage when dying, as a characteristic of the Ende people in general & the people in Golo village in particular, is an expression of grief by crying. The pigs & chickens that are brought, are handed over to the traditional elders for offerings to the spirits of the ancestors. For offerings to the ancestors, a potion is taken from rice & meat that has been grilled by the traditional elders.

The potion is spread in the corner of the house near the corpse's bed and on the floor so that the spirits of the ancestors come. An important element of the original religion of the Ende people and also of Ende Lio in general is the belief in the spirits of ancestors. In the Ende language, the spirits of ancestors are called empo / andung.

Another term is poti, which means spirits who have died in general. The spirit is considered to occupy nature around the human residence, namely in the house pillars, a peringgi, beside the road, in a large tree in the yard, etc. In religion, people believe that the soul, after death, becomes a spirit that for several days wanders around the house, especially where it usually sleeps.

Five days after death, there is a ceremony called kelas. In the kelas ceremony, the soul is considered to change into a spirit, releases all ties with life in the mortal world, and goes to the afterlife, the place of Mori Kraeng. In the Ende people, the figure of God is called Mori Kraeng, in the mythological tales of the Ende people.

Mori Kraeng is considered the creator of nature & there is a special tale about how he created the earth, humans, the spirit world, animals, and plants such as corn and rice. The first part of good spirits that do not harm humans that fall into this category are ancestral spirits, people often call them embo. It can also be done in the rice fields / in the garden, for example when starting to farm & to start the rice harvest / other income there will be a ceremony of giving offerings in the form of rice, grilled chicken that has been cut into small pieces and palm wine, at which time the old person who we trust as the speaker calls the ancestors to eat the offerings that we have prepared.

Because in the past the ancestors of Ende believed in animism & dynamism, it was believed that spirits lived in large trees, in water sources, swamps & dense forests, and places that were considered to have a source of power / sacred called pong. In the past, in each part of the house, there was a sacred place, which was a pile of large stones & which was considered a place where the guardian spirit of the village could descend. The middle level is where humans live, while the roof level is considered a sacred part of the house for spirits, so sacred objects & heirlooms are stored there, but also food ingredients.

The phrase ata polo is built from 2 words ata which means human & polo which means evil, not good, devil, evil spirit. According to KBBI, suanggi is an evil ghost/shaman who works with the help of spirits. From several definitions above, it can be concluded that suanggi / ata polo is a human who is in league with evil spirits for 1 specific purpose.

The alliance between humans & evil spirits was born from the initiative of humans who approached evil spirits with offerings in order to obtain supernatural powers. Belief in evil spirits has developed since ancient times before humans knew religion. Belief in spirits that can be found on rocks / large trees / other places that are believed to be the residence of these spirits.

Not infrequently, Koo chooses a shortcut that is considered appropriate for getting what you want by cooperating/allying with evil spirits. After allying with evil spirits & having supernatural powers, then koo will show different behavior from most people. They are then called ata polo / suanggi because of their alliance with evil spirits & the crimes they commit.

Furthermore, it is also explained that Dua Nggae is in the form of a spirit that has a voice & he is also like a reflection in a mirror that is visible but has no body. He is the originator & creator of everything including spirits & ata polo. It is often difficult to distinguish between magical & religious practices because they have many similarities but the target of religious ceremonies is directly to God, namely the highest sky soul and the deepest earth soul, while magical practices control the power of nature only with the persuasion of offerings, namely offering ceremonies for spirits & ancestral spirits.

Thus, magic has similarities with ata polo in terms of relationships with spirits & ancestral spirits as well as in terms of offerings that must be given. However, unlike the ata polo kesu & jou types, magic is not obtained by studying with humans but simply by bringing offerings for spirits & ancestral spirits. Related to the type of Japa shaman, it is often difficult to distinguish whether the spell used is a spell to summon good/evil spirits because it is often suspected that there are ata polo who also work as shamans.

The relationship between shamans & ata polo is clearly seen in other types of japa / black shamans who also use special spells as a medium to communicate with evil spirits who are in league with them. Spirit is something created by God as the cause of life. Spirit is also defined as a creature that is not physical but thinks & feels.

For example, a request to protect oneself from temptation/disturbance from people around / evil spirits & can also be used to ask for healing for illnesses suffered due to the actions of ata polo. This expression is intended to summon the spirits that reside in rocks, water, hills, trees, stone monuments, the sea & other places of wisdom, to gather and eat the offerings that are offered. This is done of course with the hope that the spirit can protect the person who brings the offering so that he can avoid danger & temptation and be blessed with abundant fortune in a cool and comfortable land.

For example, before building a house, the indigenous people ask him to sleep in the location that will be used to get divine guidance / from the spirits of the ancestors. Evil spirits with various powers & efforts cleverly use the moment of human fragility to act to distance humans from the path of salvation.