Local Political Conflict and Pela Gandong Amidst the Religious Conflicts

Abstract

Pela Gandong which is believed by Ambonese for its propitiational value is in fact failed to prevent horizontal conflict that victimized a big number of life and financial damages. However, Wayame vil- lage is found to survive from those conflicts, and the community of this village, comprising of Islam and Christian religious group, succeeds to maintain har- monious relation. The research aims at, first, de- scribing the perception of Wayamae village com- munity to Pela Gandong in the post-conflict period; second, analyzing the cultural competence of pela Gandong in conflict resolution in the era of tech- nology. This research employed qualitative method, involving in-field data gathering based on official report, digging out information from the resource persons who were directly witnessing the conflict when it occured and other references obtained through Forum Group Discussion (FGD). An analysis was performed to seek answer concerning on how the community of Wayame village viewed Pela Gandong in post-conflict period, how it is – as a local wisdom – maintained in the middle of changing and how Pela Gandong was revitalized. Research showed that Pela Gandong was maintained by involving all el- ements such as customary community and the gov- ernment. Pela Gandong grew as the icon of Ambonese society in settling conflicts by raising awareness that they are Eastern people, collectivis- tic in nature, and place kinship into priority