<italic>Discovery</italic> stage: <italic>Baileo</italic> as a place to create solidarity between Christian and Muslim communities
At the Discovery stage, the authors analyse the experiences of both Christian and Muslim communities towards Baileo before the 1999 social conflict in Maluku. To hear their stories, the authors interviewed the kings of Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou. They stated:
‘Before the conflict, Baileo is always a place for us to gather.’ (King of Hutumuri, 52 years old, private)
‘… and discuss various happening problems as our agreement.’ (King of Christian Sirisori, 53 years old, self-employed)
‘Besides, we always carry out traditional rituals in Baileo and it will not start if one of the countries is not present.’ (King of Tamilou, 57 years old, retired state civil servant)
‘Because of the conflict, we cannot do it anymore.’ (King of Islamic Sirisori, 59 years old, self-employed)
Traditional leaders of these four countries also stated the same. Moreover, they call their countries as sibling countries. They stated:
‘In every traditional event, we as sibling countries gather in Baileo to carry out traditional activities.’ (Traditional leaders from Christian Sirisori [65 years old, farmer] and Hutumuri [68 years old, farmer])
‘But, since the conflict happened in Maluku, we cannot do it anymore because we are afraid of being killed.’ (Traditional leaders from Islamic Sirisori [68 years old, farmer] and Tamilou [69 years old, farmer])
Furthermore, both Christian and Muslim religious leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou admitted that they live in harmony before the conflict:
‘We are very happy in every traditional event together.’ (Religious leader from Islamic Sirisori, 61 years old, ulama)
‘… because through this event the sibling countries such as Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou always come together.’ (Religious leader from Tamilou, 63 years old, ulama)
‘The atmosphere is very harmonious.’ (Religious leader from Christian Sirisori, 45 years old, pastor)
‘But during the conflict, we cannot find its atmosphere anymore.’ (Religious leader from Hutumuri, 51 years old, pastor)
Then, the community leaders of the four countries stress as follows:
‘All traditional events from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou become events which we mingle with one another in the peaceful atmosphere as brothers and sisters.’ (Community leaders from Tamilou [59 years old, farmer] and Islamic Sirisori [61 years old, farmer])
‘But we cannot feel that atmosphere because of the conflict in Maluku.’ (Community leaders from Hutumuri [58 years old, state civil servant] and Christian Sirisori [59 years old, farmer])
Based on the data above, it is evident that Baileo holds significant value as a place to create solidarity between Christian and Muslim communities. The existence of ties as siblings (gandong) influences the solidarity between them. Thus, they have the same interest, namely, harmony. Dean (1995:115) called it affection solidarity, which means the solidarity created based on certain relationships (love and friendship) to have emotional experiences and feelings of mutual care and concern. Moody and Achenbaum (2014:152) named it a community of interests and recognition of common interests. According to Alfaqi (2015:113) solidarity is created because of an agreement from individuals or groups to achieve certain goals. Harmony has implications in their daily lives in three ways. Firstly, there is an order amongst them to avoid internal conflict; secondly, if there is a problem amongst them, they always discuss and resolve it together in Baileo; thirdly, if the community members are traveling and crossing one of the countries, they may take the harvest for consumption. According to Durkheim (1915:31) the bonds of solidarity among communities are very important to maintain a social order. Those who violate the order are said to have committed crimes so that the community is directly linked to the individual and society or community (Durkheim 1915).
The solidarity created between the Christian and Muslim communities continues to be preserved through traditional rituals in Baileo. These traditional rituals are the inauguration ritual of the king, the ritual custom of gandong and rituals of traditional weddings. According to Tarekegn and Terefe (2019:591), a ritual is a behaviour that depicts continuous socio-religious activities and follows the applicable rules. According to Bell (1992:15), a ritual becomes a model for a community to strengthen cohesion amongst them, whereas Morris (2003) states that a ritual politically functions as an integrative and social mechanism that restores group balance and solidarity because rituals are performed for preventing forces that are difficult to control (Segal 1997). Through customary rituals, the community represents a fundamental value, namely, a deep meaning of community history and loyalty to practice it in their daily activities. Additionally, Carter and Fuller (2016:16) say that through rituals, we can understand the collectivity of a community that is the symbolic interaction process. Symbolic interactions have three fundamental values: meaningful action, meaningful social interaction and meaningful interpretation (Rejeki Waluyajati & Farida 2018:85). Thus, a process of symbolic interaction strengthens the cohesion and solidarity between Christian and Muslim communities because both communities always engage in social introspection and interpretation that is meaningful to them. It has a positive impact on the preservation of gandong (brother and sister) relationships.
The continuity of traditional rituals in Baileo depends heavily on the inclusive attitude of both Christian and Muslim communities. If they have mutual acceptance and respect for differences between them, they can continue traditional rituals in Baileo. It is in line with Normuslim’s (2018:88) opinion that the essence of living together is mutual acceptance and with Casram’s (2016:193) view that inclusion is an attitude that recognises the truth of other religions. Thus, they have a mutual respect for the teachings of other religions so that they live in harmony (Dandirwalu & Rehy 2020). Nurcholish Madjid, a Muslim figure, has campaigned its idealism through his work: Harmonization among Islam, Indonesian, and Modernism, in which Zainal Abidin reviewed that Islam has an inclusive attitude because it has open and tolerant insights into anyone who comes and provides a suggestion. Islam is a religion for humanity in line with the teachings of Muhammad SAW (Abidin 2014:682). Even so, Casram added that the application of an inclusive attitude has two difficulties: firstly, the arrogance of each religion, or there is power domination from one religion to the others; secondly, accommodating various opposing attitudes and considering it as accepted truth (Casram 2016:194).
<italic>Dream</italic> stage: Local traditions, <italic>Baileo</italic> and <italic>gandong</italic> become a meeting point for Christian and Muslim communities
At the Dream stage, the authors analyse the best opportunities or visions that will become the strength of the peace of Christian and Muslim communities in the future. Based on the results of interviews with the Kings of Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou, they stated:
‘The lives of siblings should not be lost just because of conflict.’ (King of Hutumuri [52 years old, private] and Tamilou [57 years old, retired state civil servant])
‘Thus, through traditional rituals in Baileo, we are still trying to reconnect the lives of younger siblings which have been lost during the social conflict in 1999.’ (King of Islamic Sirisori [59 years old, self-employed] and Christian Sirisori [53 years old, self-employed])
Traditional leaders of four countries conveyed a similar opinion during an interview that stated:
‘We believe that we have to reconnect the lives of siblings which has been fractured.’ (Traditional leaders from Hutumuri [68 years old, farmer] and Tamilou [69 years old, farmer])
‘… because we still have Baileo which was not destroyed during the social conflict in 1999.’ (Traditional leaders from Islamic Sirisori [68 years old, farmer] and Christian Sirisori [65 years old, farmer])
Furthermore, the authors collected the following data based on the interview with Christian and Muslim religious leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou:
‘We must create the life of siblings as Christian and Muslim teachings.’ (Religious leader from Tamilou, 63 years old, ulama)
‘We believe Christian and Muslim communities can reunite …’ (Religious leader from Christian Sirisori, 45 years old, pastor)
‘… because from a long time ago, sibling countries lived very intimately …’ (Religious leader from Hutumuri, 51 years old, pastor)
‘… even though they had different religions and beliefs.’ (Religious leader from Islamic Sirisori, 61 years old, ulama)
Then, the authors provide the following interview with community leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou:
‘Sibling relations between Christian and Muslim countries are very good, so we are confident that we can create this relationship …’ (Community leaders from Tamilou [59 years old, farmer] and Islamic Sirisori [61 years old, farmer])
‘… because we still have Baileo which can bring us together’. (Community leaders from Hutumuri [58 years old, state civil servant] and Christian Sirisori [59 years old, farmer])
Based on the results of the interview, it is illustrated that the local traditions of the community in the form of Baileo and gandong are still part of the lives of both Christian and Muslim communities. It becomes their best opportunity or vision.
<italic>Baileo</italic> as a sacred symbol
The sacred symbol of Baileo makes it a binding force and a place of communication for both Christian and Muslim indigenous communities because they have a deep relationship with it. According to Eliade (1985:3) in primitive societies, symbols are always associated with religion, so that the cosmological structure and beliefs are expressed because it was created by the gods. The symbol also has a deep attachment or relationship with its owner so that it becomes a force to build a life for the community (Eliade 1985:5). Related to the sacred, Eliade (1957:20) shows that it occupies a heterogenous space because of the special rooms that are considered sacred such as when God said to Moses: ‘[t]ake off your shoes because the place where you are standing is a sacred place’ (Ex 3:5). According to him, every sacred space indicates the existence of hierophany, namely, a sacred presence, and separates it from the profane environment, such as the story of Jacob’s leader in Haran in Genesis 28:12–19 (Eliade 1957).
Baileo as the binding strength between Christian and Muslim communities is expressed through various traditional rituals, such as the inauguration of the king, gandong relationships, and traditional marriages, which are continuously held there. Thus, Christian and Muslim communities have customary sentiments and persistent solidarity. According to Morris (2003:145–146), the symbolic expression of the community shows the awareness of individuals and communities for the continuity of social life among them because the ritual is the real form of expression to create the emotional condition. Then, it builds sentiment and solidarity amongst them (Morris 2003:145–146). Therefore, the sacred symbol of Baileo has a functional value as a meeting point for Christian and Muslim communities, as stated by Cassirer (1944:48), that the symbol is regarded as a designator and has a functional value because of its meaning. Symbols also have a historical function, so they have a deep relationship with these symbols (Musurillo 1957:357). Therefore, these symbols can facilitate the development of the personal and cultural characteristics of the community over time (LeRon Shults 2010:718). Thus, according to Bielo (2018), the ritual has important characteristics. Firstly, the ritual marks the relationship between the everyday world and the supernatural world; secondly, it has a communicative value; and thirdly, it reflects beliefs, moral values and commitments.
Gandong
Gandong means coming from one womb that has the same ancestor (Bakri 2015:55). According to Hehanussa (2009:4), gandong is defined as the existence of a relationship between two or more countries that share common ancestry. Dandirwalu (2014:35) explains that gandong is a social bond between Christian and Muslim countries because of their blood or hereditary relations, such as Hutumuri (Christian), Sirisori (Christian), Sirisori (Islam) and Tamilou (Islam). Historically, the formation of gandong amongst these countries, the authors interviewed traditional leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou as follows:
‘In the 16th century, there were two people namely husband and wife. Living on a rock in the land of Hatumeten. They have three sons and two daughters. The first child was named Temanolle, the second was named Simanolle, the third was named Silaloi, the fourth was named Nyai Intan, and the fifth was named Nyai Mas.’ (Traditional leader from Hutumuri, 68 years old, farmer)
‘Because of the war in Hote-Banggoi, the three boys took part in it, but they chose to help the Portuguese against the people from Hote-Banggoi. After they won, they separated.’ (Traditional leader from Tamilou, 69 years old, farmer)
‘Before parting on the boat, the three of them tied the little finger of the left hand with a thousand leaf bones (Achillea millefolium) and cut the tips of the fingers.’ (Traditional leader from Islamic Sirisori, 68 years old, farmer)
‘Then they drank the blood swearing: “One must not forget or overpower the other. Those who oppose this agreement are cursed by the ancestors to their children and grandchildren’’.’ (Traditional leaders from Christian Sirisori, 65 years old, farmer)
Gandong history was read at traditional rituals in Baileo. The parents also always convey this to their children from generation to generation. Thus, all children and grandchildren from the land of gandong know it well from both the Christian and Muslim communities. Whenever and wherever they meet, they are always called onco (bongso). According to Ong (2013:14), oral culture has strong verbal cues and has a high human value, and represents the cultural identity of the Christian and Muslim communities. According to Kim (2007:241), cultural identity is part of the concept of an individual, which is based on his or her knowledge as a member of a social group accompanied by the values inherent in it. Jenkins (1996:18) stressed that identity refers to an individual or community that is distinguished by an individual or other communities.
Based on the history above, gandong swearing gives the meaning that it bound both the Christian and Muslim communities. They must take care of and protect each other from various threats of danger. They should help and assist each other to ease the tension between them. For example, if Hutumuri people carry out traditional inauguration rituals, the Christian Sirisori, the Islamic Sirisori and the Tamilou will provide resources in the form of food. However, if the Tamilou is about to rebuild the mosque, the three other countries will help see the work of the mosque to completion. Malatuny and Ritiauw (2018:38) emphasise that the existence of customary swear is absolutely necessary as a guide to the ability of a community (Christians and Muslims) in building their life that is always aligned with cultural values and traditional rules of a community to social order. Moreover, according to Hehanussa (2009:9–10) through customary swearing, Christian and Muslim communities live in mutual respect without dominating each other because ‘I am part of you and you are part of me’, or they acknowledge their differences. Thus, they create unity without involvement with other communities, and there is no self-identity found.
<italic>Design</italic> stage: Reviving the solidarity of Christian and Muslim community brotherhood through the <italic>Baileo</italic>
At the Design stage, the authors analysed data relating to the realisation of the best experiences and opportunities of both the discover and dream stages. After the social conflict in Maluku in 1999, the central and regional governments have made various efforts to reconcile the Christian and Muslim communities in Maluku. These efforts involve inviting 1500 representatives of leaders from both Christian and Muslim communities to Malino in order to discuss the resolving of social conflicts in Maluku; and returning refugees to their respective regions or countries, such as refugees in North Seram, Amahai and Waipia districts (Dandirwalu & Rehy 2020:68). However, the efforts have not come to fruition as demonstrated by the social conflicts in 2011 and 2012 that took place in Ambon city, which has a psychological-social impact on other areas of Maluku. There are two causes. Firstly, the government still uses a universal approach. The government also ‘seems’ to homogenise the diversity and peculiarities of culture or customs of people in Maluku. For instance, the culture or customs in Kei region cannot be necessarily equated with those of the Central Maluku region. Secondly, a community’s cultural or indigenous values are difficult to reveal through a ‘formalistic’ meeting because meetings related to the disclosure of cultural or community values are always sacred.
Reviving collective memory amongst Christian and Muslim communities in Maluku has become an important part of the peace process in Maluku. The collective memory represents the previous traditional values before the social conflict in 1999 in Maluku. It became the institution in the community in social interaction and religious community both Christian and Muslim. Related to the concept of collective memory, Noa and Yigal (1996) argue that collective memory is a less common term based on Jonathan Frankel’s article entitled The Yizkor Book of 1911 – A Note on National Myths in the Second Aliyah. The article discusses collective memory, but the term is only mentioned twice. Firstly, it is combined with the word ‘unconscious’, and secondly, it is combined with the word ‘conscious’ (Noa & Yigal 1996:30–31). Noa and Yigal (1996:32) do not contrast both terms. For them, both have the advantage that is a separation amongst fields, which are dominated by factors ‘beyond human control’. According to Funkenstein (1989:6), there can be awareness and memory in individuals who are active, conscious and remember their activities. In other words, collective memory departs from humans based on their experiences. Then these experiences become part of the ‘subconscious’ and ‘consciously’ as their value.
The views of Noa and Yigal (1996) are in line with the concepts of Olick (1999). According to him, collective memory is always based on individualistic principles. It means that individual memories are collected from members of a community, so the centre of collective memory is the individual (Olick 1999:338). In contrast, Zerubavel’s (1996) stance tends to accommodate both. He uses the term ‘social memory’, namely, a memory process that involves not only individual memory but also collective memory. The tendency that occurs is that social memory is part of collective memory, for example, America’s collective memory of the Vietnam war, Israel’s collective memory of the Holocaust (Zerubavel 1996:293–294).
During the interviews with the kings of Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou, they stated as follows:
‘We are trying to re-established [sic] the relationship among brothers and sisters that existed before the social conflict in 1999 in Maluku.’ (King of Tamilou, 57 years old, retired state civil servant)
‘… so that we can meet together again.’ (King of Hutumuri, 52 years old, private)
‘We re-perform the traditional rituals together in Baileo.’ (King of Islamic Sirisori, 59 years old, self-employed)
‘… to get the bonds of brotherhood among us back to our lives’. (King of Christian Sirisori, 65 years old, farmer)
The opinion of traditional leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori is in line with that of the kings, which is expressed as follows:
‘The current longing is the ties gandong can [sic] re-established very harmonious and peaceful life as before.’ (Traditional leader from Islamic Sirisori, 68 years old, farmer)
‘We believe we can re-establish the bonds of gandong that were destroyed during the social conflict in 1999 in Maluku …’ (Traditional leader from Christian Sirisori, 65 years old, farmer)
‘… so that we can carry out the traditional rituals in Baileo together.’ (Traditional leader from Hutumuri, 68 years old, farmer)
‘ … so far, we do it individually in each country’. (Traditional leader from Islamic Tamilou, 69 years old, farmer)
Furthermore, based on the interviews with Christian and Muslim religious leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou, the authors received the following information:
‘We as religious leaders, in principle, are sibling countries.’ (Religious leader from Islamic Sirisori, 61 years old, ulama)
‘Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Sirisori Islam, and Tamilou can reconcile so that the lives of the brotherhood can be re-created as before.’ (Religious leader from Christian Sirisori, 45 years old, pastor)
‘Therefore, as religious leaders from the Christian and Muslim communities, we continue to assist kings and traditional leaders to revive the values of the brotherhood without religious differences …’ (Religious leader from Hutumuri, 51 years old, pastor)
‘… through communication and involvement in all traditional rituals carried out in Baileo by those gandong countries namely Hutumuri, Sirisori Christian, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou.’ (Religious leader from Tamilou, 63 years old, ulama)
Based on the interviews with community leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou, the authors obtained the following information:
‘We miss the atmosphere before the 1999 social conflict in Maluku …’ (Community leader from Hutumuri, 58 years old, state civil servant)
‘… because we can meet each other …’ (Community leader from Tamilou, 59 years old, farmer)
‘… either through traditional rituals in Baileo or social interactions.’ (Community leader from Christian Sirisori, 59 years old, farmer)
‘We are working on it so that we can re-create a harmonious life.’ (Community leader from Islamic Sirisori, 61 years old, farmer)
Based on the above interview, it is illustrated that the Christian and Muslim communities have a collective memory of the past before the 1999 social conflict in Maluku, namely, reviving the solidarity of the brotherhood of Christian and Muslim communities through Baileo. The construction of collective memory is based on several factors.
The first is consciousness. Both Christian and Muslim communities have the consciousness that they are the victims of the 1999 social conflict in Maluku, or in other words, the breakdown of gandong ties. The consciousness is important because the issue that appeared during the conflict is a religious conflict. According to Jati (2013) religion cannot be used as an issue of conflict in Maluku because it is only used as prejudice or support. The root of the conflict is the struggle for economic and political resources, and bureaucracy (Jati 2013:394). Dimah (2009) who discussed Sikod’s thoughts, stated that the cause of social conflict in Africa is the failure of the African government to implement policies fairly and effectively related to the availability of food for the community, so that civil conflict often occurs in Africa. He identified several conflicts that occur in Africa, namely, conflict of liberation that occurred in Angola and Western Sahara, religious conflicts in Algeria, border conflicts between Ethiopia-Eritrea and Cameroon-Nigeria, ideological conflicts in Angola and Mozambique, and peasants’ conflicts in Northwest Cameroon (Dimah 2009:132–133). Meanwhile, according to Osei-Kyei et al., the causes of the conflicts that are reported in Ghana and China were related to bad governance and the arrangement of work contracts between the public and the private sector (Osei-Kyei et al. 2018:1). Naumkin (2019) who researched in Russia, found that the cause of the conflict in Russia was ethnopolitics, which directly affected Russia. Suyanto (2007) researched conflicts that occurred in Jambi and West Sumatra, where the cause of the conflict was the ongoing tenurial conflict between oil palm plantations and farmers because the company did not provide compensation to them (Suyanto 2007:68). According to Sangadji (2014), the conflict in the 20th century was a conflict among countries. However, between 1989 and 1996, inter-ethnic conflicts often occurred, such as in 1991 between Serbia and Bosnia, and tribal wars between Hutu and Tutsi, which occurred in 1994 with the cause was wanting to emphasise recognition of communal identity (Sangadji 2014).
The second is cultural romanticism. Both Christian and Muslim communities have positive memories that originate from various experiences in a culture that have bound them in relationships without being restricted by religious and ethnic differences, such as pela, gandong, masohi, maren and aini ain. This cultural romanticism is an encouragement or strength for them to create a sentiment to live together as siblings in Maluku without any religious and ethnic differences. Holbrook (1997:105) argues that cultural romanticism is an important part of individuals because essentially cultural romanticism has a spiritual value that appears all the time. According to Handler (1989:1), cultural romanticism is an aesthetic revolution in which self-expression, creativity, sincerity and spontaneity are part of every individual. Van Klinken (2014:2) sees romanticism as historical truth. It means that civilisation is always rooted in the past, there is no future without the past, and humans can build a future after learning from the past.
The third is imaging. This factor is closely related to the activities that take place in Baileo, such as traditional rituals and deliberation in solving various problems. Through this activity, narratives relating to the history of encounters, traditional promises and customary prohibitions are conveyed. Thus, they indirectly re-form the ‘subconscious’ mind of the Christian and Muslim communities so that fraternal solidarity between the two communities became increasingly stronger, confirmed by Larson (1984:26) as words of faith. Based on a note from the editor of the book Carita Orang Basudara, the storytelling tradition has become a habit of Maluku people. Each mother tells stories to her children as an introduction before bed such, as the story of a fairy tale and life experiences (Manuputty et al. 2014:v). Ong (2013:6–7), in Orality and Literacy, explained that storytelling is part of spoken language and that humans communicate with each other with various models, take advantage of the senses, touch, taste, and are articulated through sound.
The researchers argue that the presence of the collective memory will not eliminate the individual memory because of two factors. Firstly, the individual memory also constructs the collective memory of a community. When talking about collective memory, it is also talking about individual memory. Secondly, the dynamics of individual memory greatly impact the dynamics of community collective memory.
<italic>Destiny</italic> stage: Implementation of the traditional ritual of the inauguration of the King of Hutumuri in <italic>Baileo</italic> as an embodiment of peace for the Christian and Muslim communities in Maluku
At this stage, the authors analysed data related to efforts to create a social order that allows the involvement of all parties for a change. Thus, the implementation of the ritual custom of the inauguration of the king of Hutumuti country in Baileo on Friday, 20 March 2020, is a manifestation of the peace amongst Christian and Muslim communities in Maluku. The countries that took part include Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou (Islam). The four countries involved Christian and Muslim communities.
Based on the results of interviews with the kings of Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou, they stated that:
‘The inauguration ceremony of the King of Hutumuri Country …’ (King of Tamilou, 57 years old, retired state civil servant)
‘… is a starting point for re-knitting the bonds of brotherhood among us …’ (King of Hutumuri, 52 years old, private)
‘… because all countries that are members of the ties gandong may attend.’ (King of Christian Sirisori, 53 years old, self-employed)
‘Those are Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori, and Tamilou.’ (King of Islamic Sirisori, 59 years old, self-employed)
Traditional figures from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou have the same opinion as the kings:
‘As traditional leaders, we are very happy …’ (Traditional leaders from Tamilou [69 years old, farmer], Islamic Sirisori [68 years old, farmer] and Christian Sirisori [65 years old, farmer])
‘… because all sibling countries including Sirisori and Tamilou which are Islam can attend the traditional rituals of the inauguration ofnthe king in Baileo’. (Traditional leader from Hutumuri, 68 years old, farmer)
Furthermore, based on interviews with Christian and Muslim religious leaders from the Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou, the authors obtained the following information:
‘We are grateful to Allah.’ (Religious leader from Hutumuri, 51 years old, pastor)
‘[F]inally, the Christian and Muslim communities can reunite at the inauguration of the king of Hutumuri.’ (Religious leaders from Tamilou [63 years old, ulama], Islamic Sirisori [61 years old, ulama] and Christian Sirisori [45 years old, pastor])
Then, based on interviews with community leaders from Hutumuri, Christian Sirisori, Islamic Sirisori and Tamilou, the authors obtained the following information:
‘We are very happy because we can meet our brothers who are different religions of the Hutumuri community.’ (Community leaders from Hutumuri [58 years old, state civil servant], Christian Sirisori [59 years old, farmer], Islamic Sirisori, [61 years old, farmer] and Tamilou [59 years old, farmer])
Based on the interview data above, through the traditional ritual of the inauguration of the king of Hutumuri which took place in Baileo, they realise peace. This peace is based on mutual trust among them. Without mutual trust, it is difficult to achieve peace between Christian and Muslim communities in Maluku. It is a sign that the gandong bonds between Christian and Muslim communities are still part of their institutions. Held (1986:157) states that the important value of trust is when we do not know whether someone will or will not do something to us. It is clear that when the Muslim community is present and lives in the Christian community, they never think that they were attacked or killed.
Giddens (1990:83), meanwhile, discusses beliefs in two forms: firstly, trust between individuals or communities who know each other, and secondly, beliefs in abstract systems, where there is no meeting with the individual or community responsible for them. The authors prefer the first form because the beliefs created among the Christian and Muslim communities are based on the bonds of brotherhood, namely, gandong, as Seligman’s concept that ‘basic beliefs’ are placed on beliefs personified in the community, namely, kinship and friendship (Seligman 1997:17).
Another reason the authors favour Giddens’ first form of beliefs is because there is equality between the Christian and Muslim communities in Maluku. It does not eliminate the differences between them or impose their beliefs on each other. Therefore, Beaman (2017:85) uses the term ‘you are Christian, I am Sikh, but it doesn’t matter’. According to her, ‘deep equality’ is not based on interfaith dialogue but the experience of encounters between ‘me’ and ‘him’ (Beaman 2017:85). The experience of such encounters is based on the value of love, or according to Ferreira (1997:65), as a work of love containing the resources to understand the existence of the different reality. At this point, religion becomes very functional and contextual because it is not outside of the daily reality of the community. According to Hehanussa (2009) religious leaders have conveyed the value of love or the work of love to their followers (church or congregation), through words such as: ‘all that you want others to do for you, then do it also for others’, ‘love your neighbour as yourself’, ‘who can keep his tongue and hands from hurting others’ and the expression, ‘Assalamu’ alaikum. ‘Assalamu’alaikum means greeting to you. It has important values in Islam, namely, the meaning of love, compassion and peace. Its meaning is based on the words of the Prophet Muhamad: ‘spread greetings to people you know and do not know’ (Zulkifli 2016:190) and ‘Metta/Maitri, Karuna teachings’ (Zulkifli 2016:191–193), as taught in Zoroaster teachings in the eighth century BC, Buddhism and Confucius 500 years BC, Jesus’ teachings from the first century, and Islamic teachings in the ninth century (Hehanussa 2009:10).