Badri Jawara: Festive 'Dero' no longer binds people in Poso

Badri Jawara: Festive 'Dero' no longer binds people in Poso.

The Jakarta Post
January 5, 2002

Palu

The Malino Meeting, held to bring leaders of the different warring factions
together during the festive atmosphere of Idul Fitri, Christmas and the New
Year, evoked sweet memories of the district's peaceful past. When peace
reigned in Poso, there were good relationships and merriment among different
religious and ethnic groups during the annual holidays.

During important religious holidays, the regency capital of Poso was the
scene of great festivity. Idul Fitri was not only a happy day for Muslims but
also for Christians. Likewise, at Christmas both Christians and Muslims had a
good time. Poso residents would visit their neighbors of different religious
persuasion. They would exchange presents and enjoy themselves.

"We used to live in one big melting pot," Benny, a resident of Kayamanya
subdistrict, now a refugee in the village of Sedoa, Napu Valley, said, while
reminiscing.

During the festive period of Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year, an event
called Dero would be held by Poso townfolk. At this art event, particular to
Poso, a group of people - young and old, male and female - formed a circle.
With the accompaniment of a local tune, these participants clasped one
another's hands and swung their legs twice to the right and then once to the
left, making the circle of people move around a central point.

If there were many participants, they would be divided into several circles,
each having the same central point. So, there was a large circle and then
several concentric circles with an increasingly shorter diameter. The event
usually took place at night and ended at daybreak.

When you joined Dero, religious and ethnic boundaries, as well as social
status, disappeared in the melodies of the accompanying music. What came to
view was only the legs moving to the right and to the left and hips swaying
to the same rhythm, making a circular movement within the same circle.

Philosophically, Dero manifests a popular saying of the Poso people: Sintuvu
Maroso, which means "united and strong". Sintuvu means to be united in
attitude, a reason why the people of Poso resort to deliberation before
making a decision. Sintuvu is a principle applicable also to migrants, for
example the Bugis people, the Javanese and the Balinese. Thanks to the wise
saying of Sintuvu Maroso, during the Soeharto era, Poso was the pride of the
regional administration in terms of religious harmony.

When rioting broke out in this black-wood-producing region, Poso was suddenly
no longer the pride of the region.

Sintuvu Maroso seems to have been abandoned. The people of Poso do not seem
to have any more time for their Dero. They no longer move in a circle
following the tune. They just seem to walk in one direction, heading for
safer areas as refugees. There is no longer any music. It has been replaced
by the weeping of children, the complaints of tired old people and the cry of
women in labor.

Husri Ahmad, chief editor of Poso Post, said there was something missing this
year in the festivities, which are usually inherent during Idul Fitri,
Christmas and New Year. Idul Fitri was celebrated by Muslims without the
presence of their Christian friends. "My Christian friends and neighbors used
to visit us earlier than other people to say 'Happy Idul Fitri' to us. This
year, however, there seemed to be a distance between us," he said. He also
said that he could no longer say "Merry Christmas" directly to his Christians
acquaintances. "I hope we can be together again before long," he noted.

Lebron, secretary of the Calvary Church congregation in the village of
Sangginore, Poso Pesisir district, had much to say about the sweet memories
when peace reigned during religious holidays like Idul Fitri, Christmas and
the New Year in the past. He said that at Idul Fitri he and his family and
friends would go to Poso to bring Nasi Jaha (glutinous rice cooked in young
bamboo) for their Muslim relatives and friends.

"I would stay in Poso for a week visiting my Muslim friends during Idul
Fitri," he said.

He added that at Christmas, his Muslim friends and relatives would visit him.
"They would come in groups and take with them some rice. Then we cooked Nasi
Jaha together," he said. While waiting for Nasi Jaha to be served, they would
usually perform Dero.

Before the riots broke out, the people of Poso were united, not only by the
festive atmosphere of Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year, but also by the
atmosphere of Padungku, a customary rite usually performed after harvest
time. "It is an expression of gratitude to God for the annual harvest," said
Risman, one of the youth figures in Poso. Just like Dero, Padungku also
involves different religions and ethnic groups in Poso.

Following the deployment of five army battalions with Sintuvu Maroso as their
code of operation and the conclusion of the Malino Meeting with a ten-point
declaration toward the restoration of peace, Idul Fitri, Christmas and New
Year, the celebrations this year did not seem to lose any of their merriment
and festive spirit.

Dero was performed as usual but this time it was neither a circle nor did it
have several smaller concentric circles.

The Dero held by the Christian community was not attended by Muslims and vice
versa. One Dero circle was performed in the town of Poso and the other in
Tentena. These two circles were very clearly separated, and there appeared
little hope of them being reconciled soon.