ART in situ 114 FIG. 12 (Screened behind): Detail of the superstructure of a mayasa. Collected in Hendeya, Buton Island, 1992. H: 106 cm. Wood. Ex Volker Schneider. Private collection. Photo: Alain Herzog. FIG. 13: Detail of a mayasa on a grave. Hendeya, Buton Island. Photo: Volker Schneider, 1992. Today, the Cia-Cia are Muslim, but belief in various supernatural beings, particularly ancestral spirits, is still present in village life. The basic conception of cosmology and animistic beliefs is more or less similar throughout the peoples of Indonesia (Stöhr and Zoetmulder 1965). The existence of two types of souls is asserted, which can best be described by the opposing notions of the “soul of life” and the “soul of death.” The former is linked to life and circulates—it originates from god and returns to him after death, after which it reincarnates into another human being. The “soul of death,” which is sometimes itself split into two parts, rises after death on a soul boat from the middleworld (where humans live) to the upperworld, where it transforms into an ancestral spirit (Schwartzberg 1994). Such ancestors are venerated in small ancestor houses erected next to the pile-dwellings or graves (Elbert 1911: fig. 98). Reincarnation beliefs were also reported by Schoorl (1985). In Hendeya, it is believed that two kinds of ancestral spirits exist: The spirits known as arwah kasar remain attached to the corporeal part of the deceased in the grave, while the arwah halus spirits rise to the upperworld but return after some time in another body. The common Indonesian cosmological structure of under-, middle-, and upperworld is also symbolized in the structure of the area’s pile-dwellings by (in the same order) the substructure, main structure (above the raised floor), and superstructure (roof), as described by Sato (1991). These spiritual underpinnings permit further analysis of the conception and function of the mayasa sculptures. First of all, the concept of two souls, “soul of life” and “soul of death,” or arwah kasar and arwah halus, may explain the presence of two mayasa on one grave. Furthermore, the structure of the mayasa seems to correspond to the threepart cosmology: the underworld (lower pole part anchored in the grave up to the substructure of the pile-dwelling), middleworld (middle part of the inhabited pile-dwelling), and upperworld (roof of the pile-dwelling and head-like superstructure). The boat on top of the southern type of mayasa in fact may not be linked to the profession of the deceased as stated by Elbert, but may represent a soul boat that guides the “soul of death,” or arwah halus, to the upperworld. More specifically, in cases where the ornate three-part structured and smaller structureless/undecorated mayasa are on the same grave, the former, placed at the head, may be inhabited by the soul that rises to the upperworld, while the soul that remains connected to the grave inhabits the smaller post at the foot. To conclude, the mayasa sculptures of Buton Island may be seen as representations of the complex cosmology and animistic beliefs of the local Laporo population. The successful integration of the numerous corresponding interrelationships into the design and expression of a single sculpture is remarkable. The merging of the dual threepart cosmological representations, expressed both on the structure of the post and in the architecture of the piledwelling it depicts, is unique and extraordinary. The mayasa thus is not simply a post decorated with carvings on the planes of its four faces but a true spatial representation of an inhabited pile-dwelling. Furthermore, this formal three-part representation allows the mayasa an anthropomorphic quality—expressing head, body, and legs. These multilayered sculptures engage the viewer through their aesthetic and artistic qualities. One can only deeply regret that this culture and its rich tradition have now disappeared. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Volker Schneider and Professor Johan W. Schoorl. REFERENCES Cipolletti, Maria Susana (1989). “Buton: Ein Haus für den Toten.” In: Langsamer Abschied: Tod und Jenseits im Kulturvergleich. Museum für Völkerkunde, Frankfurt am Main, Band 17: 34–45. Elbert, Johannes (1911). Die Sunda-Expedition des Vereins für Geographie und Statistik zu Frankfurt am Main. Fest-Schrift zur Feier des 75jährigen Bestehens des Vereins, Band 1, Verlag Hermann Minjon, Frankfurt am Main, pp. 175–232, pl. XX–XXIII, map 3. Gortzak, Henk Jan, et al. (1987). Budaya-Indonesia, Kunst en Cultuur in Indonesië. Tropenmuseum, exhibition catalog, Amsterdam. Haryati, Soebadio (1993). Art of Indonesia. Vendome Press, New York. Juynboll, Hendrik Herman (1925). Süd-Celebes (Schluss), Südostund Ost-Celebes und Mittel-Celebes (Erster Teil). Katalog des Ethnographischen Reichsmuseums Leiden. Buchhandlung und Druckerei, vormals E. J. Brill, Band XVIII, Vol. II. Sato, Koji (1991). “To Dwell in the Granary: The Origin of the Pile- Dwellings in the Pacific” (“Menghuni Lumbung: Beberapa Pertimbangan mengenai Asal - Usul Konstruksi Rumah Panggung di Kepulauan Pasifik”). Antropologi Indonesia, University of Indonesia, no. 49: 31–47. Schoorl, Johan W. (1985). “Belief in Reincarnation on Buton, S.E. Sulawesi, Indonesia.” In Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. KITLV, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Leiden, Deel 141/1: 103–134. Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1994). “Cosmography in Southeast Asia.” In Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies, J. B. Harley and D. Woodward, eds. University of Chicago Press, pp. 701–740. Stöhr, Waldemar and Piet Zoetmulder (1965). Die Religionen Indonesiens. W. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart.
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