TATA LIBA CEREMONY FOR RECONCILIATION AND HEALING (PALU’E ISLAND, EASTERN INDONESIA
Electronic Journal of Folklore: Folklore Vol. 85. https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol85/ PDF: https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol85/danerek.pdf https://doi.org/10.7592/FEJF2022.85.danerek Abstract: This article examines the Palu’e Tata liba ceremony with the help ofmultimedia research documentation, participant observation, and comparisonwith other local ceremonies. The form and performance, including reasons andeffects, are described and analysed. On Palu’e, a person who is ill, or who hastried medicines without results, wonders if he/she has done something wrong ac-cording to custom or toward fellow human beings, and can request one of severalceremonies or healing genres. Tata liba is integrated into a holistic system ofgeneral health and can also be performed preventively for good feelings and themaintaining of good relations. The ancestors are called upon with ritual language,shown to exhibit semantic parallelism, to heal the participants’ suffering rela-tions and possible ill health. The overcoming of negative feelings is symbolicallydisplayed by wiping the participants with water, throwing rice grains behind theback, and spitting in a coconut bowl. The main objective is to achieve harmonywithin or between families, and there is no argumentation or chronological issuesproducing a win-win situation. Keywords: ancestors, folklore, healing, medical anthropology, Palu’e, reconcili-ation, semantic parallelism, traditional ceremony