Moko Symbolization As Socio-Religious Harmony of Alor Society in East Nusa Tenggara Iswanto and Yudhi Kawangung

Paper received: 05 March 2021 Paper revised: 31 August-14 September 2021 Paper approved: 01 December 2021 Abstract The understanding of moko is related to the identity of the Alor people. Historically, moko was brought from Vietnam and became a heirloom which was passed down from generation to generation. In practice, moko can be used as a dowry of marriage, clan identity, musical instruments, and several other uses. This study provides novelty on the moko symbolization as a socio-religious harmony of Alor society. The problem to be resolved in this research is “how does the moko symbolize socio-religious harmony in the people of Alor, East Nusa Tenggara?” The theoretical concept used in this article is Geertz’s ‘religious as the cultural system” which is paired with Epicurus' opinion about the three levels of harmony. This study used the phenomenological method of Edmund Husserl. The results of this study are moko symbolization as a rhythmic leader of musical instruments related with social messages in the ownership it and the function of moko as a dowry of marriage. In addition, the results of the study also show that the symbolization of moko becomes a part of the harmony embodiment in the life of the Alor people. This symbolization process occurs at the level of ideas and manifests in behavior. The novelty in this research is the characteristics of the Alor community as a heterogeneous society place the symbols of a set of conventions. Moko as part of the convention symbol embodies social harmonization. This part becomes an interesting character because moko is not an original object from the Alor community, but it has been adopted as a cultural symbol. Social harmonization occurs at the level of ideas which are adhered to customary law. This really depends on the values held in society.


INTRODUCTION
Socio-religious harmony relates to the condition of the community either in the form of defense efforts or naturally maintaining harmony in social values and religious life (Kawangung 2019). The phenomenon of harmony is a formation of historical events related to the meeting of different groups in one region. Meanwhile, in modern times the social area is not only limited by geological boundaries, but also it can extend to economics, politics and ideology. Plural society is formed from the desire to achieve common goals (Qian 2017: 470).
Socio-religious harmony is a symbol of the cultural diversity owned by community (Zaluchu and Widjaja 2019: 4-5). Futhermore, the Province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is a province with diverse cultural properties. Alor Regency is one of the districts in NTT which is geologically located in the Alor archipelago. Alor Regency is also known as Nusa Kenari and also 1000 Moko Moko have 4 (four) ears which usually function as handles (Juliawati 2013: 195-196).
In general, the moko function as a musical instrument which replace tambur 'the drum' function. The moko instrument is usually paired with or without a gong which is usually played to accompany dances.
Moko as musical instrument have a function of rhythmic harmonization and as a rhythm regulator. Several studies link the existence of this instrument with the perception of socio-religious harmony (Karim 2020: 60). In fact, Moko as a musical instrument also functions as a social symbol, namely stating the status of a person's social position and as a 'belis' wedding dowry.
Social function is defined as "the more moko a person has, the higher his social status will be" (Rema and Prihatmoko 2016: 104). The function of moko as the dowry is related to the movement of moko from one family to another. The man will give a dowry of belis in the form of moko to the woman's family, so that the two families will tie themselves together in social status (Juliawati 2013: 196 (Klamer 2017).
Cultural diversity mapping based on the language diversity is shown by the figure 1.
broad social sphere, in fact it is one of the essential social symbols in Alor society. The symbolic function is a function which is maintained in society, binds and regulates people's life. Several studies have positioned dowry as a tool for social, political and economic negotiation (Khanal and Sen 2020: 355;Miguel and Gugerty 2005: 2328-2329 Another article which closely relates to this research is the harmonization of Lego-lego in the Alor community as a cultural and interreligious symbol. The study explains the perceptions of the Alor people as seen in lego-lego poetry. These perceptions are (1) cosmology; (2) social; and (3) culture. These three main elements constitute an episodic memory symbolized in a circular form in lego-lego dances, fraternal poetry, and culture which transcend religious identity Hutapea, 2020: 90-91). The methodological paradigm in this research is important. Lego-lego is not only seen as a dance but also a symbol of socio-religious harmony in the Alor community.
This passage is stated as a phenomenon so that it is possible to interpret the event as a hidden truth. What is visible is only a reference to identify ideas.
Based on the explanation above, the problem in this research is how does the moko symbolize socio-religious harmony in the people of Alor, East Nusa Tenggara? The research objective is to analyze and describe the socio-religious harmony study of moko symbolization at Alor Society in East Nusa Tenggara. The answer to the research question will be a novelty about how symbols are attached to an object (moko) in which there are ideas and rules to organize people's lives. This is even more interesting because moko as heirlooms have been adopted as the property of the Alor community.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept of social harmony is a broad range of studies. This study is classified as a social science study. Narrow opinion states that social harmony comes from individuals themselves without intervention from society and the government (Uchida, Norasakkunkit, and Kitayama 2004: 226).
This concept is considered inflexible so that it is developed into social harmony in the community.
This concept is based on multiculturalism and religious differences. The thing which is emphasized in social harmony in the community is the effort to understand each other (Kamal 2017: 58;Suwanto, Nurdin, and Pitono 2020: 28-29;Valters 2013: 2-4). In addition, in Indonesian context, the concept of harmonization also provides assumptions which enrich existing concepts. The study of tolerance as a form of socio-religious harmonization is defined as the attitude of accepting and understanding shortcomings and differences through togetherness and complementarity (Rantesalu and Iswanto 2018).
Socio-religious harmonization is also defined as efforts made by the government. This concept is closely related to differences in beliefs and social conflicts. The government will establish interfaith communication forums as an effort to reduce conflict in social life (Suwanto et al. 2020: 36-37;Wong 2009). Some of the previous researches can help enriching the concept of socioreligious harmonization. However, it is not the main concept of this research. This study focuses more on socio-religious harmonization in cultural phenomena in the symbolization of moko.
Furthermore, the concept of social ideology in indigenous communities is associated with symbols which exist from generation to generation (Ardhana 2020: 11-12; Qodim 2019: 144). This study can provide space for discussion about the process of internalizing moko to become a sacred object and a cultural symbol. Good internalization will produce multiculturalism and ethical boundaries to live together as a community (Umar and Tumiwa 2020).
On the other hand, if the internalization of the value of diversity is used for narrow socio-polit- Sometimes, cultural patterns are seen as a model. The model itself has two meanings, namely "from" and "for". In the meaning of "from", it means manipulating the symbol structure according to the internal conception of symbols. While in the sense of "for", it means that internal conceptions are manipulated in relation to symbols.
In the second part, it is said that religion creates strong and lasting feelings and motivations in humans. Religious symbols are able to express the world's climate and shape it. These symbols shape them by internalizing the dispositions to the devotee which characterize his activities and the quality of his experience. This disposition itself is actually a pattern of activities or events, not just one particular event or activity (Beyers 2017: 3).
In the third part, it is emphasized on the conception of the order of existence that is present by the religious symbol system. Chaos will occur when humans are unable to formulate a conception of the structure or order of existence. Thus, symbols always provide orientation or guidance for humans on all phenomena that occur in themselves and in nature.
Humans will always seek to understand the phenomena occur, and they will not leave it without answers. They will find the answer no matter how limited their analytical capacity is. Without that answer, even though the answer itself is inconsistent and tends to be inaccurate, chaos in humans occurs.
Religion gives its role here as a conception of phenomena that cannot be understood by humans as a whole (Mirza 2016: 9-10).
The fourth part, it is said that the conception is attributed with a factual nuance. This can show how the figure of authority who is trusted in religion is able to make humans obey because they attribute the conceptions embodied in that symbol with convincing facts. Here, religion differs from other symbolic systems. Religion assures that there is something that is really real which is considered more important than anything (Wicaksono 2018: 4-5). Religious events are different from everyday events. It has been said before that the motivations and feelings in religious rituals will be consistent with his view of the world (Hovland 2018: 425).
The theory of religion as a cultural system was also sharpened by the Helanistic philosophical view of Epicurus (341-270 BC). In his view, the harmony of life is divided into three criteria, namely (1) harmony with nature (natural and seasonal rhythm); (2) harmony of behavior and conscience; (3) make peace with those around you (Cooper and Annas 1994: 8;Euler 2019: 131-133;Long 1974: 64-65).
Furthermore, Epicurus views harmony as happiness which is not obtained from external material elements but self-management, social harmony, and harmony in nature. The simplicity of life or social continuity will shape life circle of society which places the internalization of self-values and culture above the external material. The concept of self and man becomes a middle theory within the framework of harmony theory (Epicurus), Culture and Religion (Gertz) (Delanty 2006: 143). The reasoning of the texts of these two concepts is bridged by hermeneutic anthropology (Schuster 2013: 197). The theoretical framework is depicted by the figure 2.

Theoretical Framework of Epicurus and Geertz
Anthropological hermeneutics deals with cultural texts. The interpretation of cultural texts is influenced by context and history (Matei 2016: 8-10). Context is defined as behavior, all material forms related to behavior, and anything that can provide a supporting image for the text. While history is related to specific events that can be obtained from documentation of research results, and prosodic memory. Anthropology means placing humans at the center and matter outside of humans as objects (Schneider 2015: 26). In other words, hermeneutic anthropology will use various points of view to describe a cultural behavior and a broader perception of that behavior (Allen 2020: 303).
Anthropological hermeneutics also involves assessing signs. This sign system is known as semiotic science. This study uses a semiotic rationale to analyze the meaning of symbols, the intermediary of symbols and symbols in society (Kemple 2019: 262). In contrast, the positivism view must maintain a distance between the researcher and the one being studied. In fact, phenomenological research between the researcher and the one being studied must be integrated with the object of his research (Umanailo 2019: 1-2).

RESEARCH METHOD
Edmund Husserl explains that phenomenology is an object of study which emphasizes the subject's perception, thought, will, and belief about something outside the subject that is transcendent, in addition to aposteriorics. In this case, phenomenology is in line with rationalism, namely seeing objects in their context and using logical thinking more than just causal linear (Iparraguirre, 2016: 618;Ives & Kidwell, 2019: 1357.   Togetherness and cooperation are highly respected. Prudence in speech is also a characteristic of this society. Homogeneous society, creating social harmony based on historical events that they have gone through. War between groups and infighting led these groups to establish cultural symbols of peace. The cultural harmonization of the Alor people can also be seen in several other symbols, such as lago-lego, and the slogan taramiti tominuku 'different but still one'.
In this article, moko will be discussed as a function of socio-religious harmony among the Alor community.
In this regard, the people of Alor are known for their harmony in socio-religious life. Social and cultural life is so strong in synergy with religious values. This kind of social construction has a unique value and is difficult to find in other societies around the world. In this section, we will describe the three functions of the moko and the symbols behind it. The results of these studies will then be discussed based on several previous studies as presented in the introduction. The results and discussion will show the novelty of this research.
The explanation is presented in sub-chapters as below.

Socio-Religious Harmony
In traditional societies, art is not only seen as a pure aesthetic act. Arts, including music and dance, are ritual activities related to the life circle.
In other words, this activity is about how humans live in harmony with each other and the environment.
Harmonization of music in moko is not interpreted as merely an artistic activity, but rather as a religious ritual that must be carried out.
The moko organology consists of several parts, namely foking ba he ara hey, hey karoki wal yeting buti with a size of 29 centimetres, foking hawei upi buti, hey, karoki with a size of 10 centimetres, foking ba hadama miya hey, hey, karoki wal oki with a size of 12 centimetres, foking ba he ira hey, hey karoki wal yeting buti with a size of 29 centimetres, and foking which looks like karyeting suo with a size of 80 centimetres.
In general, the shape of the moko is oval like a small drum, but some are like a large drum   The sound of the moko is not as loud as the eight gongs, but we can hear it as a call to dance lego-lego. With the sound of moko, we must respect each other, without differentiating, must help each other without looking for who is better than the other. People who play the moko must also lead the gong so that together they produce a regular sound. When the sound is regular, we can dance lego-lego together (Interview: Daniel S. Laoepada, Mataru Districs, Juli 12, 2020). " In addition to being an accompaniment to dances, moko sounds also have another function, namely as a sign that an activity will be held such as a construction activity or a grief event is taking place. Until 1990, the tradition of moko and gong musical instruments to commemorate a mourning event was still carried out by the bereaved families as a sign to call girls. The bereaved family rung the gong and moko for a week. However, starting from 1991 until now this tradition has no longer practiced because they began thinking that the activity was only a waste of time and requiring a lot of money. Nevertheless, the sounds of gongs and moko for construction activities are still being carried out today. The purpose of making sound of a musical instrument is to summon girls to the place immediately. As soon as the girls summoned were all present, the activity of making sound of these musical instruments was stopped because their goal had been achieved. (Interview with Daniel S. Laoepada, Mataru Districs, July 15, 2020).
Each tribe in Alor has its own story about the moko musical instrument, some consider moko as a sacred object so they have an oral story which says moko cannot be held or even played by a woman, because it has fatal consequences for the woman. In the village of Mataru Utara, there are no penalties or sanctions when women play the moko instrument. It is a myth that women, let alone playing a musical instrument, just holding is a pemali which will have fatal consequences for women and have no children. If men or women play moko together with gong, as long as they are well-trained the moko musical instrument will be heard. (Interview with Benyamin Lauata, Mataru Districs, July 16, 2021) In playing a musical instrument, there are usually musical elements which musical instrument players must pay attention to, because these musical elements are very influential in playing musical instrument. "The whole rhythm is in moko, from beating with a slow, medium to fast rhythm. Sometimes a slow rhythm is used in the lego-lego dance to remind the war that has occurred in the past.
Sometimes moko is also used for togetherness.
Moko is placed on a stone altar and all the people dance lego-lego. Everyone does not think that the person next to him is of a different language or from another village, but all of them are in one feeling and thought. That's a power that's hard to explain but exists in Alor (Interview: Daniel S. Laoepada, Mataru Districs, July 15, 2020)."

Moko as Determinant of Social Status
The function of moko as a determinant of social status is related to ownership of moko.
Based on the results of the interview, the moko as a musical instrument also functions as a determinant of social status. Each clan having a large number of moko and living in a traditional house, is considered to have h igh social status. In this case, social status is not interpreted as caste, but rather the ownership of heirlooms that govern the ownership of the family dowry in the clan.
Further discussion led to the symbolization of moko culture. In fact, based on historical commentary moko did not originate from Alor, but it was later converted as a cultural symbol.
An informant stated that the Alor community consisted of a number of groups, they inhabit the islands of Alor and Pantar. Sociological conditions like this need symbols of unity so that conflicts do not occur. For example, the slogan of taramiti, tominuku "different, but one heart", lego-lego cultural dance, and traditional house which also has different names but leads to one symbol, respect for life together. Moko is considered to have sacred values which are respected, and the value of cultural education that the Alor community is one.
Moko is often referred to by the term Rai foking Moko. It has a name and a value. The size and origin affect the moko value. Table 2 shows the name of the moko and the comparison.  This cannot be separated from the historical factors that formed the community of Alor.

Moko as a Dowry of Marriage
Moko is a dowry of marriage symbol.
Culturally, this is defined as the status of women This will automatically form an individual attitude which is inseparable from social circle. In this way, moko can be said as a socio-religious symbol which is still preserved until now.
At the wedding ceremony a customary leader has prominent role. The traditional leader is the eldest son in the tribe or village who will invite every tribe in the village and even outside to join 'mol bel batat', a traditional party to pay dowry to the women. This event was attended by males and females. Some males will sit and hear traditional talks and some others will provide betel nut and accessories for weddings. Meanwhile, the young females will help mothers cook and peel the betel nuts and serve the speaking men.
The implementation of the marriage does not only involve one village. In the Alor community, the term afeng, which means 'helps each other', is well known. Marriage for the people of Alor is part of a symbol of 'the integrity of the community circle' which must be maintained. This symbolization is a very interesting focus in research on society, culture, and humanization. Not only in moko dowry, but also several symbols such as lego-lego dances, traditional houses, and the tominuku taramiti slogan become a symbolic part which are inseparable from the people of Alor.

Moko's function as a dowry of marriage is
not only related to marriage activities. The social aspect as described is closely related to the individual.
This study provides a description of social symbols as determinants of individual attitudes. Individual behavior is influenced by the values in the socio-cultural symbol. In other words, moko is influential in shaping individual attitudes and behavior. When a marriage is going to be carried out, every individual feel they are responsible for the success of the activities. The success of an activity is not determined personally, but how the community group completes it.

Moko's function as a dowry of marriage
is not only seen as a gift and fulfillment of the requirements of a man's family, but it also has a deeper value. In weddings with moko as dowry, there is community obedience to the rules that have been agreed upon. The value of social obedience is higher than the dowry of marriage.
The understanding of the determination of moko as a dowry of marriage explains the context of socio-religious harmony in the Alor community.
Together, fulfilling the requested number of moko illustrates harmony and a sense of empathy. Thus, social harmony can be maintained and irreplaceable values.

Follow-up Discussion
This section is further discussion with the regard of the research results. Three aspects of harmonization originate from oneself, namely harmonization with behavior, people, and nature.
These three aspects are an endeavor of individuals not from social groups (Hadot, Kotva, and Sellars 2020). (2020) is different from the concept of socio-religious harmony, which is a form of social psychology and the individual is not the subject but the object of this harmonization (Euler 2019). This study also found that socio-religious harmony exists in the social structure, not in the realm of individuals.

The opinion of Hadot
Social groups as subjects form a strong social perception of nature, community, self-value.
Epicurus' theoretical framework on socioreligious harmony in Alor community can be explained in the table 3.

Religion as Cultural System in Moko
Harmony with nature Symbolization of the function of the moko as a rhythmic leader of the gong musical instrument. Certain moko which are considered as sacred are used in lego-lego rituals and dances as a sign of peace, tribal authority, and togetherness Harmony with people Ownership of moko in the 15 th century was the social status of the tribe. The chief of the tribe is the person who has the most moko. This moko is kept as a dowry of marriage and a ritual symbol. In this way, social harmony in the pluralistic community of Alor is maintained.

H a r m o n y with behavior
Depends on the social order. Moko is considered more as belonging to the community, so that individuals involve themselves in traditional activities, ceremonies and events. The attitude of obeying and working together as a community is the main forming element of the behavior. Furthermore, the term socio-religious harmony described by Kawangung (2019) This study provides differences in the concept of the three levels of happiness by Epicurus. In the social system of the Alor community, harmony is determined at the social level and is not cultivated by individuals. At this level, moko as a symbol of material carries a social message to families or communities in other villages. This concept also wants to state that customary law that contains social values can synergize with religious values held by the community.
The people of Alor place moko as a symbol.
This idea becaoes a reference in people's lives.
Customary laws exist at the oral level and are respected from one generation to generation. The culture of speech plays a role in this section. The phenomenon that occurs is that the heterogeneous Alor people obey the same oral customary law. At least there is uniformity in placing moko as a symbol of regulating socio-religious life. This strong desire can be seen as being manifested in cultural music by placing moko as the leader of the eight gongs used. Of course, the moko here is an heirloom moko whose existence is placed in a traditional house. Another phenomenon, the existence of a large number of moko in one traditional parent is considered good because it can regulate social life such as maintaining relations between clans and as a regulator of dowry.