Ngada's Animism


The Ngada tribe is an ethnic group that inhabits the central part of the island of Flores, especially in the Ngada district. In the 20th century, missionary Paul Arndt conducted research in the region. Animism & dynamism are belief systems that lived in prehistoric times.

In the Mesolithic era, when humans led a life of advanced hunting and began to settle & grow plants, these two belief systems developed. In the history book for the SMA/MA class about this opinion, there is a painting of a boat in a nekara which is said to be a vehicle for spirits to go to the afterlife.

Other records also explain the complexity of several spirit-honoring ceremonies, burial systems & giving offerings to trees. This shows the form of prehistoric society's belief system, namely animism and dynamism. Quoting the explanation on the Ministry of Education and Culture's website, animism & dynamism are beliefs held by humans in prehistoric times, such as the megalithic era.

So what is the difference between anism & dynamism and what are some examples? In full, Zakiah Daradjat in Comparative Religions explains, that animism is the belief in spirits & spirits before humans were influenced by teachings that were revelations from God. Animism is characterized by the belief in the existence of the spirits of people who have died.

Animism believes that relatives & people who have died are still around their relatives. Not only human spirits, as written by AG Pringgididgo in the General Encyclopedia, but animism also leads a person to believe that nature, which includes mountains, forests, caves and cemeteries, has a soul and must be respected. If not, then the spirit in the object will disturb humans.

Those who previously adhered to animism also asked for protection from spirits to protect living humans. Apart from that, animists also ask for things from those they believe in, for example healing, successful harvests, safe travel & avoidance of various natural disasters. Requests & supplications to spirits are made by providing offerings and certain ceremonies which are usually led by a traditional leader.

More clearly, the definition of animism is a belief in a personal power that lives behind all things & is a very old idea of ​​all religions. Animism is also an insight into the universe & world which is believed to not only be a place for living creatures to live, but there are also many spirits that live side by side with humans. There are many examples of animist beliefs developing in Indonesian society.

One example is the belief of the people of Nias who believe that the rats that often come in and out of the house are the incarnation of the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth.

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