Forgotten Islands of Indonesia. Nico De Jonge

who arose from the soil of the island. In a similar manner a father, during his activities to provide dmeir for a baby, is dependent on the male ancestors. For, without their help he is incapable of killing and cannot distribute fish to the villagers, in the name of his child. This potency to kill dates back to the first male ancestor, a mythical immigrant (see below).

      Returning to the boat symbolism in relation to man, the distinction made between dmeir and mormorsol is very important. The language of Dawera and Dawelor reveals that a person's body, the part in which mormorsol manifests itself, is compared to a boat. The local terms for nose and toe correspond with bow and helm, and the shoulder blades are called wedyol, a word which means paddle. On the basis of this, the identification of dmeir, someone's image in the community, as a helmsman, a person who represents the boat to the outside world, is obvious. This association is indeed made on the islands. The boat represents the vital force and the helmsman a person's image.

      Of course the question arises: What does the use of these nautical terms amount to? Is it just a matter of "playing games" in a world steeped in boat symbolism, or is there more to it? The latter is probably the case.

      It seems that an interdependence is expressed by the terms boat and helmsman, as constituent parts of a whole. The nautical terminology presumably reveals that the creation of the whole depends on the availability of the constituent parts. On various occasions, creating something is worded or represented on the islands as bringing something "on course" (see also below). And boats can only set sail when two preconditions have been met: both boat and helmsman have to be available.

      Boat symbolism seems to indicate that mormorsol and dmeir are indispensable components of the human being. Without both vital force and social identity or image, there can be no talk of a "complete" person. At the same time the ancestors' role in society is also symbolically emphasised.

      The Family and Boat Symbolism

      The nautical symbolism regarding the founding of a family is certainly not a matter of "playing games." In order to bring a family "on course," entering a sexual relationship is necessary, something that has to take place within the framework of marriage. This "precondition" for the creation of progeny is expressed through boat symbolism.

      Imagery is an important form of expressing this symbolism. The woman is compared to a boat with an open waste pipe lying on the beach, waiting for a man who wants to go sailing. Only when the man, the helmsman, embarks and—as it is put—seals up the drainage hole, can the boat set sail, that is to say: a family can come into being.

      The image presented may seem familiar (the "marriage boat" pushing off), yet there is a notion involved which is far less easy to Understand. In the islanders' ideology the creation of new life depends on the killing of existing life, an old religious concept that is also found many other places in Maluku Tenggara. The tradition is expressed in the idea that a man, before he can marry and beget children, must have killed life present in the "outside world." In fact this is considered to be his contribution to the creative process. Once he has returned with his hunting spoils he can marry and the spouse can then contribute to the process of creation in her way: developing and giving birth to new life. Aside from the imagery, this is very explicitly expressed in a ritual in which the founding of a family is represented in a nautical manner.

      The Boat-Building Ritual