Abstract
The indigenous marital system giving belis ‘bride price’ practiced by the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Indonesia, is one of the Nusantara marital custom phenomena that today has developed and raised issues of both pros and cons which deserves critical scrutiny from Cultural studies and Anthropological perspective. Both perspectives facilitate the critical standpoint of the NTT society’s mindset summarized in the cultural or customary marriage rules requiring a marriage with belis. This study revealed that in the attitude towards belis, the East Nusa Tenggara women agreed and taken for granted the construction of their reality and power production through various discourses. Current practice of belis raises the economic capitalism up to the identity contestations. Lately, the essence and value of belis have changed and are likely to be more commercial. Even some may view it as mere a symbol and customary fixtures, such as in the region of Lamaholot imposing the elephant tusks, and the Allor society with their Moko as the payment methods of belis. Belis has left biggest challenge for the communities who are not able to afford higher bride-price objects, this consequently lead to a more emerging unlawful marriages as a resistance against the unresolved poverty problems.
Highlights
Indonesian people are a nation built on the foundation of diversities in terms of the culture and the society
This study aims to develop an understand the issues surrounding the practice of marital system implementing bride-price, traditionally called belis as a perquisite for marriage validity
The practice of paying belis with elephant tusks as a symbolic media among the majority of the East Nusa Tenggara people is not because there are a lot of elephants in the land of East Flores, but it is the remaining result of a transaction or trade barter system enacted in early society
Summary
Indonesian people are a nation built on the foundation of diversities in terms of the culture and the society. The practice of paying belis with elephant tusks as a symbolic media among the majority of the East Nusa Tenggara people is not because there are a lot of elephants in the land of East Flores, but it is the remaining result of a transaction or trade barter system enacted in early society. The situation reinforces the economic capitalism up to identity contestations, the struggle over the ideology of gender, supporting the family prestige contestation and triggers poverty situation in the province In some regions such as Lamaholot, the elephant tusks have been agreed through generations for being the object of belis in each customary marriage. Such traditional marriage imposing the society with the elephant tusks at the marriage time is determined by the social strata of the people. The higher strata of the girls the more number of tusks must be preliminarily paid by the prospective groom to the girl’s family
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