Mori's Animism

For fieldwork, 12 field officers and 5 field coordinators have been prepared, consisting of lecturers and doctoral students from the history and civic law department, Undana's teaching faculty, and Musepur employees who are already bachelors and alumni of the history department. This training lasted for 1 month, namely July 1977. Based on folklore still alive among the people of East Nusa Tenggara, their ancestors used to think they came from outside, namely by sea with rafts from the west, east/north, from the sea, and air.

According to folklore, their ancestors used to come from outside, namely by sea with rafts from the west, east/north. Some even say they emerged from the ground/plants, such as the Abur people in Alar and several tribes in Belu. It turns out that several areas in NTT admit that their ancestors came from across from 1 place that has the words Sina & Malacca.

The people of Sumba Island know their ancestors as Umbu Walu Mandoku who came from Malaka Tanobara by taking the Hapa Riu Ndua Riu, Ndjawa, Rukuku Nboli, Nduna Makakary, Ende Ambaru, Numbu Hambaru, Enda Ndau, Haba Rai Njua route and landing at Tanjung Sasar. The people of Sikka Regency know their ancestors named Moang Ria, Raga & Gumang, who came from Siam Sina Malaka and landed in Sikka at a place called Nidung Mage Gakar. Although the folklore source above clearly states the place of origin of the first ancestor who is related to Malaka, it does not mean that this ancestor must have come from there.

In some areas, it is also known that their ancestors came from across the river, but it is not stated where. For example, on Sabu Island, Keka Ga is known as the ancestor of the Sabu people who came from a place far southwest of India. The people of Manggarai have ancestors named NggaeSawu who came from across the river and landed at Mando Sawu.

The first ancestor of the Manggarai people was Nggae Sawu who came from across & landed in Manado Sawu. The inhabitants of Rote Island have first ancestors named Bara & Rote Nes who came from Sela and Niki Den. They came by boat through Andanu, Sera Dai & finally landed in Mueoe.

In addition to the story stating the first ancestor from across, it is also known in several areas that their ancestors did not come from outside. In Tinor, archaeological investigations were conducted in 1935 by W Meyer, A Bukler & Willem. In 1952 van Heekeren conducted excavations in the Rundung & Soki caves.

In the Toge hole, a skeleton & bone fragments were found in 1954. The skeleton is a female skeleton aged between 30 - 40 years. Th Verhoever found a human skeleton in the Momer & Bua holes.

In addition, a skeleton was found in Lewoleba by Fr M Inney & excavated by Drg A Lie Goan Liong. In 1969 in Nikimates, Tofil village, Amarasi sub-district, Kupang district, several skeletons were found which were then excavated by Dr J Glinka in 1973. Meanwhile, according to Dr J Grover's investigation, Timar Island has been inhabited by humans since 13,500 years ago, by a small group of people who lived from hunting & gathering forest products.

The hunting & gathering period on Timor Island ended approximately 4500 - 5500 years ago. As proof, in the Bobo area to Bangga, many corals & beach/seagrasses were found. In the Kulawi area, there is still the manufacture of clothing materials processed from tree bark called katevu.

The head of the city of Pitunggota / Patanggota is called Baligau. However, most of the Kings resisted the Dutch army, they fought & were not willing to be colonized by the Dutch. Before the entry of religion into the Kaili land, the Kaili tribe still adhered to animism, worship of ancestral spirits & the Creator God, the Fertility God, and the Healing God.

Belief in ancestors is a belief that developed in prehistoric times, this animism belief is a belief that still applies in the Flores Manggarai 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 very big 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. An important element of the original religion of the Manggarai people & also from Flores in general is the belief in ancestral spirits. In the Manggarai language, ancestral spirits are called empo / andung.

The first part of good spirits that do not harm humans that are included in this category are ancestral spirits, people often call them embo. Another term is poti which means spirits who have died in general. The spirit is considered to occupy nature around the place of residence humans, namely in the house pillars, a peringgi, a large tree in the yard, beside the road, etc.

Because in the past the ancestors of Manggarai adhered to animism & dynamism, it was believed that spirits lived in large trees, in water sources, swamps, and dense forests, such places 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 village guardian spirit could descend. The middle floor was where humans lived, while the roof level was considered a sacred part of the house, a place for spirits, so sacred objects & heirlooms were stored there, but also food ingredients.

In the Manggarai people, the figure of God is called Mori Kraeng, in the mythological tales of the Manggarai 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 stage when dying, as a characteristic of the Manggarai people in general & the people in Golo village in particular, is the release of grief by crying.

The pigs and chickens below are handed over to the traditional elders as offerings to the spirits of the ancestors. For offerings to the ancestors, a potion is taken from rice and 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.

In the class ceremony, the soul is considered to have changed into a spirit, releasing all ties with life in the mortal world and going to the afterlife, the place of Mori Kraeng. It can also be done in the fields/gardens, for example when starting to plant and 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. This study aims to reveal the ideology of obedience to God/spirit in the black in Guyub Tutur Manggarai.

Obedience to God/spirit that is to be achieved through ireng is based on ancient beliefs of dynamism, animism & recognition of the existence of a supreme being as the creator of all the contents of the earth. The problem explored in this study is how the ideology of obedience to God/spirit is manifested in ireng speech, which is expressed through the linguistic units used & the meaning contained therein. Ireng has existed & been used since the time of the Manggarai ancestors and has been passed down from generation to generation.

One of the obediences that is the ideology of GTM life is obedience to God/spirit. Obedience to God/spirit in GTM life is based on the belief in the existence of a supreme being & the belief in dynamism & animism in their lives. GTM believes that there are guardian spirits that inhabit trees, springs, gardens & other certain places.

Above all, GTM believes in the existence of an inexplicable power that created their ancestors & all the contents of this earth. The ideology of obedience to God/spirits expressed in the ireng speech in GTM states that there is a relationship that must be maintained from generation to generation. Obedience to spirits shows that there is a relationship that must be maintained because invisible spirits are believed to also live with humans on earth and use the contents of the earth together with humans.

GTM in ancient times adhered to the belief of dynamism & animism, namely believing in spirits. They believe that most spirits are present in large trees & in water sources/swamps. Several ireng that express the ideology of obedience to spirits can be seen below.

GTM believes that there are garden guardian spirits who inhabit certain places in the garden. Related to the belief in dynamism & animism held by their ancestors, worship of the Goddess of the Land and the guardian of the springs is still carried out today, such as in the ritual of opening a new garden, planting a garden, harvesting, rituals, New Year's rituals and others ireng & are also still obeyed today, as a form of worship of the Goddess of the Land. As for spirits, they are believed to live with humans on earth so they must be given their own space to move.

The different roles of God & spirit cause different portions in the life of GTM, especially in its culture. The ideology of obedience to God/spirit is based on these different roles, so that if not obeyed it will cause harm to the violators. Family names are usually taken from the names of ancestors who first became Christians / were baptized.