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HUMAN-NATURE IN INDONESIA-MALUKU: HYGERA LAI: HERITAGE TO ECOLOGY PROTECT IN LUANG ISLAND
49-61Views:355Luang Island is a small island located near Timor Leste and southwest of Australia. Geographical location, global economic considerations, global climate, and the policies of the Indonesian government all have an impact on the existence and culture of the Luang Island people. The people of Luang Island have local wisdom called Hygera Lai that assists them in developing a relationship with nature. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Hygera Lai and the environment among Luang Island residents. This is a qualitative study using an ecological anthropological lens. Content analysis was used to analyze the data collected. This study establishes a link between Hygera Lai and the Luang people's natural environment.
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LUANG ISLAND: COASTAL ECOLOGY SYSTEM IN OUTERMOST SMALL ISLANDS (ESCAOSD), MALUKU-INDONESIA
37-55Views:307Coastal communities and their ecology are inseparable units, connected to one another. The Luang Island community is one of the coastal communities on the outermost islands in Indonesia-Maluku Province-Southwest Maluku Regency. Understanding the ecological system of the people of Luang Island is inseparable from how they live their daily lives, which then accumulates into knowledge, habits as well as patterns to regulate their life order through a long historical process of interaction with nature. This knowledge and habits depend on the geographical environment in which they live, in other words, the natural environment also influences the way they act and think. This pattern then plays a role in realizing the harmonization of their lives, to create unique social and cultural conditions which then become their spirit. This spirit can be seen in their daily lives. This study uses ethnographic research with an ecological anthropological approach. Data was collected through literature study techniques, interviews, FGDs, and participatory observation. The data analysis technique used in this research is ethnoecology. The results of this study indicate that the influence between community relations and nature on Luang Island is reflected in the use of everyday language in communication, the ability to express sea areas based on local knowledge, and presenting natural elements into the social culture of the people of Luang Island. The results of this study are useful for ecological studies in the outermost small islands in Indonesia and as a comparison among the forty-eight archipelagic countries in the world, both tropical and non-tropical.
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The Local Wisdom of Luang Islands: ‘Hygeralay’ of History Aspect
47-62Views:280This research aims to identify hygeralai from a historical aspect as one of the local types of local knowledge that lives in the indigenous community of Luang Island, Maluku Province, Indonesia. This research uses a qualitative research method with a historical approach. Data collection techniques in this research through in-depth interviews, field observations and literature studies. The analysis technique used in this research is historical analysis. The results of field research show that the etymology of hygeralai began as a sign of identity, a sign of ownership, a sign of territorial boundaries and used by the ancestors of Luang Island at that time. In its development, it underwent changes related to several attributes and organization when Protestant Christianity entered. The results of exploration in the field show that the etymology of hygeralai is also influenced by the environment and geography. This is evidenced by its affiliation with one of the plants that grow on Luang Island, the koli tree. From this affiliation material, it is also important to display the position of Luang Island in the division of flora in Indonesia according to Wallacea and Weber line. Thus, we can analyze the history of plant movements used by the ancestors in etymology of hygeralai. The hygeralai research results from this historical position are then compared in general with other terms in Maluku related to environmental and natural resource management. The results of this research contribute to local history, especially the management of natural resources based on local wisdom in coastal communities and border areas.
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Etymology, Cosmology, and Marine Stewardship: The Socio-Ecological Significance of Hygeralai in Luang Island
63-77Views:110This study examines hygeralai as a system of knowledge and socio-ecological governance practiced by the Indigenous community of Luang Island, Southwest Maluku, within the broader context of global climate change and increasing coastal development pressures. Against the backdrop of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification that significantly affect coastal ecosystems, the study positions hygeralai not merely as a customary tradition, but as a normative and cosmological framework that structures sustainable human–nature relations. The research employs a qualitative ethnographic design grounded in ecological anthropology and the socio-ecological systems (SES) framework. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, documentation, and spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Sampling followed the principle of data saturation, reaching a saturation level exceeding 90%. Data analysis proceeded through domain, taxonomic, componential, and thematic stages to identify the normative, ecological, and social dimensions embedded in hygeralai practices. The findings indicate that hygeralai is rooted in linguistic transformation and local cosmology that conceptualize the sea as both a sacred domain and a communal resource. The system regulates seasonal harvesting closures and openings, restricts fishing gear, and institutionalizes collective responsibility for maintaining ecological balance. Coral reef conditions in the Luang region, including Metiamarang Island, remain relatively healthy, characterized by low levels of degradation and high biodiversity. Nevertheless, ecosystem sustainability faces internal challenges, such as unstructured waste management, as well as external threats including illegal fishing, destructive fishing practices, and the impacts of global climate change. The study demonstrates that hygeralai represents a spiritually grounded environmental ethic integrating historical, linguistic, and ecological dimensions within a community-based governance system. It contributes to the development of marine resource management models for Indonesia’s outermost small islands by emphasizing the integration of local knowledge, institutional support, and adaptive policy responses to global environmental change.