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4. The boat-building ritual The imagery of boat symbolism does not stand independently, but is reflected in the construction rules for vessels built on the islands. Two types of boat are built on Dawera and Dawelor - tree trunk canoes, used for coastal fishing, and boats some seven metres in length and made of planks, mainly used to visit other islands. In days gone by these boats also served as war proas.
The rules and regulations The building of plank boats, in particular, is governed by rules and regulations: the building ritual, according to the islanders, reflects the founding of a family. Briefly, this comes down to the following: by following various rules, the boat is regarded as if it were a woman, with the exception of one constructional element which is depicted as a male helmsman. During construction 'the drainage hole is closed' with this male element. In a metaphorical sense this depicts the sexual union of man and woman - marriage. At the same time it is apparent that the symbolic man is a successful hunter, someone who has killed. He possesses hunting trophies and the ritual role of these spoils illustrates in a practical way that there can be no life without death. In practice This is what happens in practice. A keel beam is chopped from a straight part of the trunk of a tree. This is extended at each end with curved pieces of wood cut with the aid of a measuring cord - a neatly upwardly-slanting stem post (the prow) and a more steeply rising stern post.
The name of this cord, lerlol, is derived from the name of the belt with which women on the islands traditionally hold up their sarongs. This gives the boat as a whole a feminine 'stamp' from the start of construction. The first planks of the hull are then placed on either side of the keel beam. In Moluccan Malay these planks are called papan pomali, which might be translated as 'sacred planks'. Although all the work during the construction of a boat is carried out by men, it is a rule that these two planks are ceremonially laid against the keel by a woman. It is said these planks, together with the keel, form the boat's 'vagina', an explicit comparison of the boat with a woman. Sun, heat, hunting The element representing the symbolic man is the stern post, which is associated with a helmsman. The post's male identity is expressed in various ways, almost all of them identifying with the sun. This heavenly body is considered to be a 'great hunter', a notion based on its 'heat'. In Maluku Tenggara heat is a quality which has a strongly associative meaning and in general is associated with concepts of death. This can be seen, among other ways, in the hunt. Before the hunt commences the hunters are brought to a 'hot' condition by magical means, a condition in which it is said their deadly powers prevail. The identification of helmsman and sun manifests itself, among other ways, in the orientation of the boat during construction: the stern post must be directed eastwards, the direction from which the sun rises. Moreover, identification is traditionally expressed in the decorative motifs on the stern board at the top of the stern post, which, in many cases, include a wheel of the sun.
In the past the helmsman was also represented as a 'great hunter' on other stern board motifs. Usually a figure of a cock, a bird which is associated with the sun; or a dog, an animal kept for hunting; and sometimes a snake, in particular a type of water snake, would be depicted on the stern board. Completing the marriage The marriage of the symbolic woman, the boat as a whole, and the symbolic hunter, the stern post, is graphically expressed in the construction: the stern post is fixed to the keel by a dowel pin, an emphatic reference to sexual union. The symbolism of the imagery is thus made visible, as it were. The union of 'boat' and 'helmsman', woman and man, brings the family 'into service'. Hunting trophies as seed By representing the male element as a 'great hunter', the religious relationship between life and death is implicitly incorporated into the building ritual. However, this concept is expressed in another, more pronounced manner, with the aid of jewellery. Traditionally a pair of gold earrings are bound to the joint between the stern post and keel, the point of union of man and woman. Nowadays no-one knows the significance of this. The symbolic meaning of the earrings, however, looked at in the context of a number of traditions on surrounding islands, suggests that it is an elaboration of an old religious concept concerning the relationship between life and death. On several islands in Maluku Tenggara, such as Tanimbar, this notion is expressed by comparing the man's seed with hunting trophies. Life that has been killed is considered to be a source of new life. The building of a boat on Dawera and Dawelor shows probably a ritualized translation of this. On the islands, namely, gold earrings symbolize the severed heads of the hunter's victims and their location at the joint between the male and female elements strongly suggests that they represent the hunter's seed. Launching the boat The building ritual is concluded with the launching of the boat. Just before this takes place the woman's contribution to the creative process is expressed. The boat, the symbolic woman who has received the 'seed', is 'cooled down' by sprinkling it with coconut juice. Like heat, coolness has a strongly associative meaning. It represents a calm, safe environment in which life can flourish and grow. The family can begin to develop. | |
