Location: Indigenous Alorese are native to the mountainous interior of the island of Alor, Indonesia and were relatively isolated until Indonesia gained independence. There are thirteen recognized tribes on the island of Alor, speaking 48-60 languages.
Settlements: Traditionally, Alorese lived on isolated mountaintops in elevated houses built of wood and bamboo with thatched conical roofs. Villages of up to 150 residents clustered around a central dance area (masang). Many villages were relocated by the Dutch colonial administration. Today many homes are constructed of cement with tin roofs.
Subsistence: 80% of Alorese practice shifting cultivation. Maize is their staple crop, supplemented with rice, beans, millet, cassava, pigs, goats, and chickens. Other Alorese are government workers, fisherman, or merchants.
Kinship: The Alorese reckon kinship bilaterally. Traditionally they were patrilocal, but many families are neolocal today. Each patrilineage has its own masang, and members of a patrilineage share mutual obligations involving marriage, death, and finances. Sons inherit their father’s wealth and daughters are usually given ownership of the family field at the age of 10-13. In the past they practiced polygyny, but now they are monagomous.
Economy: Alorese social structure is non-hierarchical, but men may gain prestige through a system of ritualized exchange that permeates many aspects of social life. A bronze drum, or moko, gongs, and pigs are the primary currency. Marriages, funerals, and the erection of new lineage houses all require large payments of mokos, pigs, and gongs. The Alorese also have a system of credit in which individuals make loans and require interest.
Sometimes money is used to settle personal disputes. A person who has been insulted may publicly challenge the offender to play an inflated price for his mokos. In an extreme feud, patrilineages may hold an event much like a potlatch in which each kin group kills as many pigs as possible to feed the other and both sides feast and throw spears.
Religion: Some Alorese have converted to Christianity; others continue to practice traditional religions. According to Du Bois, who studied the Atimelanger of Alor, lineage spirits (ulenai) are connected to the wealth of a village. Villagers sometimes offer sacrifices or special carvings to invoke their aid. “Water-Lords” (Je-Adua), a type of shaman, oversee harvest rituals. Seers (Timang) are still sought out for curing rites today in conjunction with Western medicine.
Atimelangers believe that a person has two souls: one departs on death and the second lingers until the final memorial feast. The spouse of the departed may keep his or her knife unsheathed for a few months for protection from the lingering soul. Lengthy mourning is not encouraged; the family is expected to go back to daily life as quickly as possible.
Adams, Kathleen M. and John Beierle
2003 Cultural Summary: Alorese. eHRAF World Cultures, New Haven, CT.
Du Bois, Cora Alice, Abram Kardiner, and Emil Oberholzer
1961[1944] The People of Alor: A Social-Psycological Study of an East Indian Island. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN. eHRAF
World Cultures, New Haven, CT.
Written By: Melissa Lorentz, 2008