The High Tiger in South Nias,Indonesia

Abstract

Every seven or fourteen years a festival was held in the southern part of Nias Island, Indonesia, in which a giant tiger image from each of four or five villages would be disposed of in a local river. The effigies represented the rulers of prominent villages and by extension, the lineages which provided those rulers. The purpose of the ceremony was to renew society and as such many of the organizational structures of South Nias culture were incorporated into the offering. The “high tiger,” as it was called, embodied dualistic principles and rich metaphorical references. It was also a ritual substitute for the ruler in an otherwise dangerous period of transition. Upon completion of the ceremony, power was restored to the rulers, standardized weights and measures were reset and life returned to normal patterns for the next seven or fourteen years.