Diversity with a Difference: Adat and the New Order in Aru
Author(s)
Sakai, KeikSpyer, Patricia
Abstract
An analysis of conflicts over timing of a specific Indonesian ritual indicates the contradictions in the much publicized national notion of ‘unity in diversity.’ The slogan has been in use since Indonesian independence but it reflects only the efforts of the state to conserve cultural diversities in their original forms. The conflict between the village chief and an important adat official in the village of Bemun in Aru, Indonesia, over the timing of a ritual performance illustrates the clash between adat or custom and President Suharto’s New Order.
