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Marapu
The Marapu religion is a form of ancestral religion that is practiced mainly in the island of Sumba in Indonesia, as well as in remote areas of Flores. Both the Christians and Muslims on these islands tend to combine their faiths with Marapu. Since Marapu, like Kaharingan of the Dayaks, is not an official religion of Indonesia, and all Indonesian citizens are required to identify as a member of one of the religions sanctioned by law, members have chosen either Christianity or Islam to self identify.
A member of the Marapu religion, joining forces with representatives of three other indigenous religions, brought a court case to Indonesia's Constitutional court, arguing that the civil rights of Marapu followers suffered because they had not been recognized as one of Indonesia's six official religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism). On November 7, 2017, Indonesia's Constitutional Court decided in their favor, declaring that the earlier laws were discriminatory and violated the principle of equality under the law. In the past, those who failed to declare that they followed one of the recognized religions on their national identity cards could be denied rights to marriage registration or land titles.
According to Marapu activist Antonius Jawamara, there were around 200 thousand Marapu adherents in Sumba in 2000, and in 2023, there were 16,700 schoolchildren who professed Marapu as their religion in East Sumba Regency alone. Jawamara estimated that in 2023 there were around 100 thousand adherents in the whole of Sumba.
Those who practice Marapu believe in temporary life in the world and eternal life in the Doomsday, the world of spirits in Marapu heaven – Prai Marapu. The word Marapu means:
According to Marapu beliefs, any spirit consists of two elements: Ndewa and Hamanangu. Marapu teachings concern the balance of universal life through which happiness can be gained.
This balance is symbolized by the Great Mother (Ina Kalada) and the Great Father (Ama Kalada) who live in the universe and take the forms of the moon and the sun. In mythology, they are husband and wife who gave birth to the ancestors of the Sumbanese.
Sumbans believe seven pairs of men and women descended from the sky on a ladder made of buffalo horns to a point in the north-central part of the island, and that suitably buried, they too will ultimately ascend this same ladder to be reunited with their families.
To honor Marapu, the Sumbanese put effigies, called Marapu statues, on stone altars where they lay their offerings in the forms of Sirih Pinang (a dish containing betel leaves, nuts, and lime) and sacrificial cattle. The statues of Marapu are made of wood in the shape of human faces. These images are usually placed in the yards of their houses or inside traditional houses.
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Marapu
The Marapu religion is a form of ancestral religion that is practiced mainly in the island of Sumba in Indonesia, as well as in remote areas of Flores. Both the Christians and Muslims on these islands tend to combine their faiths with Marapu. Since Marapu, like Kaharingan of the Dayaks, is not an official religion of Indonesia, and all Indonesian citizens are required to identify as a member of one of the religions sanctioned by law, members have chosen either Christianity or Islam to self identify.
A member of the Marapu religion, joining forces with representatives of three other indigenous religions, brought a court case to Indonesia's Constitutional court, arguing that the civil rights of Marapu followers suffered because they had not been recognized as one of Indonesia's six official religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism). On November 7, 2017, Indonesia's Constitutional Court decided in their favor, declaring that the earlier laws were discriminatory and violated the principle of equality under the law. In the past, those who failed to declare that they followed one of the recognized religions on their national identity cards could be denied rights to marriage registration or land titles.
According to Marapu activist Antonius Jawamara, there were around 200 thousand Marapu adherents in Sumba in 2000, and in 2023, there were 16,700 schoolchildren who professed Marapu as their religion in East Sumba Regency alone. Jawamara estimated that in 2023 there were around 100 thousand adherents in the whole of Sumba.
Those who practice Marapu believe in temporary life in the world and eternal life in the Doomsday, the world of spirits in Marapu heaven – Prai Marapu. The word Marapu means:
According to Marapu beliefs, any spirit consists of two elements: Ndewa and Hamanangu. Marapu teachings concern the balance of universal life through which happiness can be gained.
This balance is symbolized by the Great Mother (Ina Kalada) and the Great Father (Ama Kalada) who live in the universe and take the forms of the moon and the sun. In mythology, they are husband and wife who gave birth to the ancestors of the Sumbanese.
Sumbans believe seven pairs of men and women descended from the sky on a ladder made of buffalo horns to a point in the north-central part of the island, and that suitably buried, they too will ultimately ascend this same ladder to be reunited with their families.
To honor Marapu, the Sumbanese put effigies, called Marapu statues, on stone altars where they lay their offerings in the forms of Sirih Pinang (a dish containing betel leaves, nuts, and lime) and sacrificial cattle. The statues of Marapu are made of wood in the shape of human faces. These images are usually placed in the yards of their houses or inside traditional houses.