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Ambon, Dec. 19 (360info) Molucca tribe traditions help protect marine resources from threats of climate change.
Fishing is central to the people of the Indonesian Maluku Islands. Everyday life on the 1340 islands revolves around the sea. As a result, their livelihoods are highly vulnerable to climate change.
At a time when fish stocks in Indonesia are dwindling, sasi laut is a Maluku tradition that can help maintain food security when fish stocks are at risk. Changes in ocean temperature are affecting coral reefs, reproductive cycles, migration and overall populations. As weather patterns become more unpredictable and extreme, fishermen are finding it harder to determine the best time to go out to sea.
Sasi Laut aims to protect natural resources and the environment. It is also a means of addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
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Sasi prohibits community members from taking anything related to natural resources at a certain time, in a certain area (whether it is a forest, farmland, or ocean). Sasi is practiced to protect the tribe’s natural resources and the welfare of the tribe’s members.
Maluku communities, especially the Central Maluku region, have a custom body called the kewang, which acts as a custom (tribal) policeman and is responsible for enforcing sasi. The duties of the Kewangs include monitoring their domains both at sea and on land.
In the customary leadership structure, Kowan is headed by a chief, called Latu Kewano, who is elected from a particular mataruma (kinship) through the generations. The chief is assisted by the children of Kewang. They must be hardworking, honest, intelligent, healthy, brave, and bold.
Dotcom is inseparable from the implementation of sasi. The kewang performs its duties to uphold the sasi law and manage public order in farms, forests and seas. They watch over the forest and the sea, put up sasi signs, and claim moul (the ritual of opening and closing sasi) performed by the chief of Kowang at night.
Anak Kewang acts as the officer administering any trials of those accused of violating the sasi. Kewang is also responsible for processing income generated from violations of sasi.
A famous example of Sasi Laut is the Sasi Ikan Lompa (Thryssa baelama), a small sardine fished by the Haruku tribe. The Sasi lompa tradition has existed since the 1600’s. It bans lompa fishing around the Learisa Kayeli River – at the mouth of the river, some distance upstream and out to sea.
Lompa hatchlings usually emerge between April and May. To mature the hatchlings, sasi lompa is declared. Do not catch sasi lompa when they are only 2-3 months old. They can be captured after about 5-7 months. kewang monitors sasi lompa regularly and then decides when to perform Buka Sasi (turn on sasi).
The Tutup Sasi ritual provides certain fish species with the opportunity to reproduce properly, thus maintaining the life cycle.
Sasi is important for maintaining public order and preventing theft of personal or state property, as well as ensuring the conservation of natural resources. When it comes to fighting climate change, the sasi tradition is one of the answers to overcoming the food crisis.
To instil a sense of responsibility in protecting the environment in the younger generation of Haruku Country, Kewang Elly Kissya formed ‘kewang anak’ for school children.
Children are taught to plant and tend mangroves around the coast of Haruku Country. By maintaining the mangrove ecosystem, it will continue to be a suitable habitat for fish, shrimp and other marine life. Sasi, both on land and at sea, can help secure food supplies in the face of the uncertainties posed by climate change. (360info.org)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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