Tata Liba Ceremony for Reconciliation and Healing (Palu’e Island, Eastern Indonesia)

Abstract

This article examines the Palu’e Tata liba ceremony with the help of multimedia research documentation, participant observation, and comparison with other local ceremonies. The form and performance, including reasons and effects, are described and analysed. On Palu’e, a person who is ill, or who has tried medicines without results, wonders if he/she has done something wrong according to custom or toward fellow human beings, and can request one of several ceremonies or healing genres. Tata liba is integrated into a holistic system of general health and can also be performed preventively for good feelings and the maintaining of good relations. The ancestors are called upon with ritual language, shown to exhibit semantic parallelism, to heal the participants’ suffering relations and possible ill health. The overcoming of negative feelings is symbolically displayed by wiping the participants with water, throwing rice grains behind the back, and spitting in a coconut bowl. The main objective is to achieve harmony within or between families, and there is no argumentation or chronological issues producing a win-win situation.