Clasification of ancestral statues according to it's form and function

Deities (Upulera)

A deity statue which has an anthropomorphic form, being in a sitting position and the knees are bent reaching his chest and both arms resting on the knees. This statue is placed on a carved wooden pole. On the top of the pole, extended to the left and right, are two wings (or a boat symbol). There are two wings, one bigger than the other, probably this symbolizes a vertical-down relationship to dere and luli (the founding fathers) and a vertical-up relationship with “it matromna” (the creator of the universe). The wings wriggles like flames of fire (symbol of divine power). This statue is a personification of the sun god (upulera). Upulera statues are always on poles because of it’s high status.



Fertility statue

The fertility statue “upuinai” is a deity statue of the earth/moon. Fertility statues are female statues in the form of a “tree of life” and than carved in such a way until it has an anthropomorphic form, where the whole surface is covered by carvings of the symbol of fertility. Both arms stretched to the left and right and the tips of her fingers are flames of fire. Included in this classification are also the fertility carvings. Very fine and beautiful spiral carvings carved on a flat wooden surface. There are also standing upright or torso upuinai on a block of wood and a small cup to put offering into.



Founding fathers ancestor statues

There are three types of founding fathers statues, all three are anthropomorphic. The first type has a standard position placed on a wooden pole. The second type has a common style and placed in a boat on a wooden pole. The third type is in a sitting position with both legs on a carved wooden chair.



Protective statues

Among protective statues are “walut” and “protector of the gardens”. Wealut has an anthropomorphic style, standing as well as torso. Usually, walut’s are placed in houses to protect from evil spirits, enemies, thieves and diseases. The “protector of the garden” statues are usually placed at the gardens. It has an anthropomorphic form, either male or female. These statues are very simple made, including some branches functioning as arms or legs. Its face is very simple carved. But the genitals are more detailed and eye-catching. By calling the spirits of the ancestors to stay in these protective statues their gardens will be secured from bad spirits.


Preventive acts like this are a characteristic of a traditional society. Their life depends directly to the nature. They do not have the technology, yet, to use fertilizer, irrigation etc to increase their production. They were forced to surrender to nature and destruction of the plants by pests. They can not fight back using their own strength. That’s why they tried to find protection from other powers which were higher and more powerful than theirs; the supernatural powers. Walut and other protective statues including offering rituals, magic-religious rituals, dances etc, became an important and central role in their society.



Offering statue

There are two types of offering statues. The first one is an ancestor statue consisting of three statues each on a carved wooden pole. The three of them are connected by a horizontal beam positioned slightly under the feet of the statues. Offerings of garden products are hanged on the wooden beam. The second type is a small statue sitting on a carved wooden beam and the beam rested on a carved block of wood. There is also a cup to put in offerings.



Family statues

Family statues are small scale statues either adult or child, malke and female. Distinction between male and female could be seen fom its sitting position, the statues are placed on a wooden plate. Family statues are a manifestation of family members who has passed away. These family statues functions as protective spirits.
Ancestor statues as symbol of authority


The first type of this group is the so called “tongkat komando” (baton). It’s handle or grip is in the form of an ancestor statue, either in standing or sitting position. The sitting position is more complicated with a difficult carving’s technique, on the other hand the standing position is more simple. The second type of this group is called “lirena”; carved house poles of the house of a village head or a noble person. The lirena’s are considered sacred.

The third type of this group is the “babal”; the drum. An ancestral figure in a sitting position holds the drum upon his head. This is a symbol of obedience of the people towards their leaders and spirits of the ancestors. A babal is used to accompany traditional dances. The next type of this group is the

“kowalwaan” which is a spinning wheel and “korluri” which are carved decorations of the king’s boat or house.

Religious concepts as background of ancestor worship

“………… Eka upuleru kerun mai, nunu upasnu kakeperni lisar nida ilaa nida loom. Katuwawi tenorma amuetma polu wutu spuou liarnu spuou wooni. Leter woru rusnuru woru roduwutu ratema pempeunu teptepra. Rapolaa upulera orporeke tetpioo naanu rerlai po nemnu kukuma po nana rapalpala po nemnu. Nensalmeka resa sewowoone wuku sewowoone. Siwi meyetap wawleianu mukakarse. Nodi nusriala rumerwaata aane rowaate. Pola upuleru rowaklaa upulera nawiru nowakawi lelis niani masa snaani. Sutre pipui snrue marne liawanne wusru liawanne. Pelemse rnu lelenwalse makamate wawi makamte liol makapupuprupu makiaata kaunmakiaata. Nodimai netemnelaa liarnu spaou wooni mutusieri muturiarme nedrumlole sakarlole tetliole tetliole toplole. Jomuutki nimamu pele rasoi wenu, toikus metme nimamu pele retiki wenu letworu nawerwerna. Netertesra …… “

This was a prayer sang in hoarse voices through dry throats sounds to heaven begging for mercy and a drop of rain from the heavenly gods by humans on dry and barren earth. When, for a long period during the dry season no rain has fallen and the South Eastern wind blew without carrying a drop of dew, life for humans as well as animals and vegetation would become miserable. Man will cry for upulera “the sun god” and beg for rain to fall and wet mother earth. A free translation of the prayer song above is as follows: “………..Ea Upuleru, come down to earth, because the nunu tree has started to give young buds. Eat as much as you want from these offerings that we have brought for you and make the earth alive again, rise and fertilize this land with your rain water. Make this land (island) a shining dot drifting on the waves of the ocean. O upuleru, please tell the lighting to prepare himself, so that the roots of our trees can loosen themselves from so long being enslaved by the dry and hardened soil”…….

This prayer for help is accompanied by a fiesta called “poreka”. Various kinds of food including pork, goat, buffaloes, palm wine, elephant tusks, golden ear rings and necklaces etc were offered to upuleru.


The background of this ritual is lack of knowledge and technology. Facing consequences of tomorrow which is uncertain and death could be the result of dryness, makes man lean on powers he believed are more powerful than he is. This cause man makes religious acts of rituals. And through those rituals he hoped to have a more secure life.


This religious system is based on holy stories that sometimes have its roots in the past, which is called myth. Myths do not mean true or not true. In this case myth is different than lullabies. Myths are dreams of supernatural truth, which contain reality, such as cosmos, deities and divine natural powers, formulas of law and ethics and social law. That’s why myth became the highest truth which forward patterns or basics of live.

There are many myths about one super natural power, which is the creator of man and the universe. This power created, planned and organized the live of man. He is the ultimate super natural being called “It Matromna” (South East Moluccas) and “Upu Lanite” (Central Moluccas).


One stage below “It Matromna”/Upu Lanite are personifications of bodies of the universe such as “upuleu” (the sun god), “upu inai” (mother earth) and others. Myths of the worshiping of the sun and the earth in relation with the creation of land and man, especially on Leti island is as follows: “Once upon a time upulera sent a young girl named “Osakramiasa” (meaning island, gold or female) with the help of the lightning (symbol of male) into the ocean. Commanded by upulera, a snake crept into her lap and Osakramiasa became pregnant. She gave birth to a red feathered rooster. When the rooster wanted to fly away Osakramiasa caught the legs of the rooster and did not let go. So when the rooster flew up from the bottom of the sea to the surface, he pulled Osakramiasa along with him and she became the island Leti.

In a simple way this myth could be translated as follows: upulera (male) has a relation with upuinai (female), through the lightning (male symbol of fertility because lightning is identical to rain) and the girl (symbol of fertility) which met in the sea (water is also a symbol of fertility). Thoughts of fertility became accentuated when the myth tells about the snake which crept into the lap of the girl (coitus), got pregnant and finally gave birth to a red feathered rooster. A rooster is the symbol of the sun, which in turn means the source of live. Through the power of this live giving source, an island was created, the island of Leti. This means that new live on earth was the result of interaction between natural powers such as the sun and the earth.


The people of the Moluccas, especially in the South Eastern islands, believe that man has 2 souls. The first soul lives in the body of the man which gives him the will and strength to live. This soul will die when the man dies. The second soul lives in the shadow of the man, but will not die when the man dies, it will move to another place and live forever. After a death, the second soul will be called “nitu”. When the man belongs to the ursiwa social group, his nitu will travel to an island called Baer, and when he belongs tyo the lorlim social group his soul will travel to an island called Ohimas. On these islands the nitu does live an everlasting live, but they are not bound there forever. The nitu’s are free to leave the island and visit their village of origin and their relatives (descendants). Their visits occur through the phenomena of dreams. Their visit could occur on their own free will or they were called upon by their living descendants. Basically a nitu’s visit could either be constructive, if his living descendants frequently bring offerings to him, or it could be destructive if his living descendants neglected to bring offerings. A constructive visit will bring forth fertility to the gardens. A destructive visit could take the form of sickness, death or the gardens failed to give crops.


Nitu’s are souls of ancestors which are not worshiped collectively by the whole village, except by his or her own descendants. Nitu’s of village leaders have a higher position than a common nitu. That’s why they are worshiped and offerings are being brought by the whole village. In Serwaru archipelago (Lati, Moa, Lakor) “dere” and “luli” are the founding couple of the villages. Both nitu are the protectors and also mediators of the common nitu’s and upulera/upuinai. Because of holiness of upulera/upuinai, the common nitu’s does not have direct access to them, therefore dere and luli became mediators.


Believing in sacred deities and ancestor spirits became an object of worship and tribute of man transformed into works of art. Those works of art are wooden and stone statues were treated in a sacred magic-religious way; since the cutting of the knawa tree, the carving process and the worshipping rituals.

The Objectives of Museum Siwalima

           The objectives of Museum Siwalima is to become an important and strategic source to introduce Maluku man, nature and culture to the world. Museum Siwalima, as a non-profit institution under the Department of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia, gathers and exhibits material culture of the past and the present of Maluku man, nature and its culture. The collections are carefully conserved and preserved and than communicated to the audience through its permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition and also traveling exhibitions.  The main course of this museum is: 
1) to develop and improve human resources to become professionals, 
2) develop the exhibition quality to create appreciation, innovation and imagination of the visitors, 
3) improve conservation methods to preserve the collections.

         Most people think a museum is a place to store old unused things. This concept of thinking must be pull back to the real meaning of a museum. That a museum is a place to learn, to enjoy, to experience new things. A museum has an educational goal, to educate people and making them live a better  and positive life.

Brief History

Fertitility Statue

          Establishing a museum in the Province of Maluku in Eastern Indonesia, started during the years of the 1970-s. At that time Belgian anthropologist (Prof. Dr. Tursch from Bruxell)  and an American anthropologist (Prof. Dr. Pierret from Chicago) found precious worshiped ancestral wooden statues in the South Eastern islands of Maluku. Most of those statues originates from the Leti, Moa and Lakor archipelago and the Tanimbar archipelago. Those artifacts were forbidden to take abroad due the the law of "Monumenten Ordonantie Staatsblad 238 0f 1931". The great numbers of artifacts led to the establishment of "Museum Siwalima".

     
Symbolic meaning of the word siwalima
          The term "siwalima" was chosen to name this museum. This was based on some basic and essential backgrounds of the term siwalima itself. The essential meaning siwalima is identical to the way of life of Maluku society.
          Literally siwalima is formed by two words "siwa" menaing nine (9) and "lima" menaning five (5). Siwa and Lima are two main social groups still existing in MalukuAnd nobody knows exactly what those number represent. Both groups in the northern part of Maluku (North Maluku) is called "uli siwa" and "uli lima" and in the south eastern island are known as "ur siw(a)" and (l)urlim(a).
Several cultural aspects could be used as an indicator to determine whether society or clan belongs to the siwa or the lima group; for example through the quantity of dowries paid to the bride, the architecture of houses, initial rituals, location of the sacred stone (batu pamali) at the "baileu" (village meeting house.).

Front Gate Ethnographic Museum

Its growth
          The compound once owned by "Yayasan Maluku Irian Barat Makmur" has been renovated to make it function as a museum. several other building were added such as: office and administration, security,  storage and library, workshop, temporary exhibition hall, marine museum, preservation and conservation, theatre, curatorial office and others.
          The first collections of this museum were the seized artifacts, as mentioned before, contribution from the Maluku Protestant Church, Mr. Herman Pietersz, ex army commander of Maluku and many others.