• Original Title: Marapu dalam Bencana: Pemaknaan dan Respon Masyarakat Wunga Sumba Timur Indonesia (Marapu in Disaster: Meaning and Repons of Wunga People in East Sumba, Indonesia)
• Author: Pdt. Jimmy Marcos Immanuel
• Archive Type: Book
• Published: 2013
• Publisher: Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada
• Place: Yogyakarta
• Pages: 207
• ISBN: 9786021778142
• Available File(s): Photos
• Keywords: Marapu Indigenous religion, indigenous knowledge and practice, disaster management, Indonesia.
• Link: https://crcs.ugm.ac.id/marapu-dalam-bencana-alam-pemaknaan-dan-respons-masyarakat-desa-wunga-sumba-timur-terhadap-bencana-alam/

This book is an edited version of Jimmy Sormin’s master’s thesis. In this book, Sormin highlights the strategy of the Marapu community to survive in the face of disasters, particularly in the Wunga village of the Wunga community in East Nusa Tenggara. This area is known as geographically vulnerable to various kinds of natural disasters. Sadly, the Wunga community has and will continue to experience various natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, droughts, and others.

Combining literary and field studies, Jimmy narrates how the Marapu community relies on Indigenous survival wisdom which has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. In other words, the Marapu community goes through disasters with their own knowledge without relying on modern technology and knowledge at all.

The Marapu people of Wunga, East Sumba, perceive natural disasters as part of life in line with their cosmological view. They believe that their ancestors guard and play a role in every natural event. Events such as droughts, earthquakes, and pests are classified as Ngangu Hipu (offenses) that are considered to occur due to human error, rather than as disasters. Rather than “victim,” people use the term “sanctionee,” which is representative of their belief that such events are the consequence of adat violations and a moment of introspection on the disharmonious relationship between humans, nature, and Marapu.

To mitigate disasters, Marapu communities perform a ritual named Hamayangu (praying to ancestors) as a way of asking for forgiveness and guidance to restore the crooked relationship. The ritual typically involves concrete actions such as planting trees, protecting sacred lands and forests, and enjoying springs. All these efforts reflect the Marapu community’s adaptation to its changing environment as a way of building resilience and restoring harmony with nature.

Photo(s)

Source(s)

• Jimmy Marcos Immanuel, Marapu dalam Bencana: Pemaknaan dan Respon Masyarakat Wunga Sumba Timur Indonesia (Yogyakarta: Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies, 2013).

Curated by Jear Nenohai (December 2, 2024); Edited by Abel K. Aruan (January 30, 2025).