HOME PAGE: THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE MENTAWAI ISLANDS
 

ARTICLE 8

Puliaijat for the prevention; pabete for the cure.

In this, the final article, we will look closely at how the concepts discussed in article 7 form the focus of the two types of ritual practiced in the Rereiket, the puliaijat and the pabete (healing event), in particular the puliaijat. The general reader who may have not made his or herself conversant with any of the preceding articles will find in this one an accessible, albeit very detailed, description of the puliaijat, and to a lesser extent, the pabete.

In terms of the more detailed argument that is embedded within the descriptive passages dealing with the various elements and phases of the puliaijat, I will be concentrating on analysing how the puliaijat creates the hospitable space of the pulaggajat out of an inhospitable space, exemplified by the leleu (refer to article 3 ). This is done by means of the uma and the ancestral heirlooms (alei katsaila) that are kept within. From this perspective, the puliaijat can be viewed as a temporary intervention, carried out by means of the uma and its ancestral heirlooms, in the cosmos to ensure the triumph of "life" over the entities of death. This is the general end towards which each puliaijat is directed. Where the powers deployed in a puliaijat have ceased to be effective or have simply failed (exemplified by a calamity or prolonged illness befalling a member of a particular uma faction) then it is the object of the ritual healing event, the pabete, to excise the bajou (the cause of illness) from an individual or a household (lalep), to push back encroaching entropy restoring he, she, or they fully to "life"(1).

For most days of the year the uma is usually only occupied by the rimata, his wife and children when he is in the village, despite the fact that the uma is, socially and cosmologically speaking, the hub of the uma faction of the suku of which it forms a part. However it is only in a puliaijat that the uma’s social importance becomes obvious. For the duration of the event the uma comes alive. Apart from those brief intervals when the particular events making the puliaijat what it is take place, when the rimata retires into the inner sanctum to perform his art in concert with his heirlooms, the place is in virtual uproar, a cacophony of barking dogs, animated conversations, surreptitious gossiping, including laughing, screaming, crying and fighting children—it is very much a social event. Nevertheless it is still the rimata’s art, as the main occupant of the uma and the caretaker of the heirlooms, that defines its import. But before I can proceed to look at it in detail, I need to look a little more closely at the properties imputed to the bakkat katsaila—as the pre-eminent heirloom—in its capacity as an entity of "life", since it is this, as "ritual attractor" (Fox 1993:1), which is the centre of proceedings in the puliaijat.

The bakkat katsaila is also referred to as the bakkat uma ("foundation of the uma") or riokuma. Riok means to "stand" and has connotations of being "firm", "enduring", "upright" which we met in relation to the uggala siririok uma (article 4). As with all the ancestral heirlooms the bakkat katsaila must be "looked after" and "respected". As its "guardian" only the rimata may freely tamper with it without fear of reprisal, but only then if there is good reason, such as in a puliaijat. In the words of one rimata: "If the bakkat katsaila was a human being (sirimanua), then it could be said to be my foundation (bakkat), just as a parent is the bakkat of his children." In actuality then the rimata looks after the bakkat katsaila in order that the bakkat katsaila looks after him and through him every member of the suku or uma faction.

Each bakkat katsaila is represented as having its own specific, "powerful" constituents. Not many rimata that I interviewed about this were sure what exactly was inside their respective katsaila although they would say what "usually" went inside. All items are associated with "life"; since the bakkat katsaila is purely a repository of "life" there are, therefore, no gaud sikataik objects included amongst these. In each case the ingredients were represented as several drawn from a set of items common to all bakkat katsaila, located at the bottom (bakkat) of the katsaila’s bolobok (bamboo cylinder). On the two occasions where I was able to witness the recreation or renewal of an old bakkat katsaila, it turned out that the ingredients used were indeed drawn from those represented. The fruit of aileleppet, momunen, taimalauklauk, and duruk are often included. Ubiquitous is a small quantity of bulau (lead). Its power as gaud, similar to aileleppet, comes from its imputed "coolness". In the same way a river pebble or two might be included for the "coolness" they exude having come from the "cool" depths. There is often a tairosi (small bell), powerful in its capacity as an adjunct to "life" in that a live being "moves" (mageret) and "makes a sound" (ulamo), a tinkling sound if wearing a tairosi. This property is felt to inhere in these bells. Some claimed that rattan (bebeget) leaves were also included, the power from these stemming from their characteristic fluttering in the breeze, movement indicative, once again, of "life". In one instance I observed the rimata cut a sliver of lead from a sinker he kept stored near the heirlooms. He placed this on top of a "base" (pereman) of aileleppet and momunen all of which were placed on top of an initial base of duruk. Fruit of each type was included after this, along with some taimalauklauk and bukak. An old pebble from the former bakkat katsaila was also placed in with these. In line with its identity as an ancestral object informants claimed, in respect of other cases where such renewals had occurred, that only the bolobok (case) had been changed. The objects inside were represented to be from the ancestors and therefore had to be retained.

To understand the puliaijat one needs to, firstly, understand the bakkat katsaila in its role as the premier ancestral heirloom, and secondly, the rimata’s relationship to it. The puliaijat can, in fact, be described purely in terms of the relationship between the rimata and his bakkat katsaila, mediated by a special series of events, the puiringan, involving the other heirlooms. Through a close examination of these events, which are at the heart of the puliaijat, the relationship of the bakkat katsaila to the uma, the suku, and the rimata, as well as the relationship of each in to the other, that is in respect of the role they play in producing a viable space within a hostile cosmos, become clear.
 
 

The Puliaijat

There are a great many types of puliaijat, each being held in order to achieve a specific purpose for the members of the suku or uma faction involved. For example there are a series of puliaijat carried out in order to bring a new wife into the suku through "introducing" (isegeakek: lit. "to inform") her to the bakkat katsaila (the bakkat katsaila is "informed" that she is now one of "us", and no longer one of "them"), effectively making her into a new member of the suku. Two separate puliaijat are held, sometimes many months apart, in this case. There are also puliaijat conducted by her original suku in order to relinquish her, to define her as no longer a part of the suku. There are two "preliminary" puliaijat followed by a further two complete puliaijat carried out at intervals over a period of several months, a year, or longer after a member of the suku has died, in order to free the suku, and particularly the immediate family (lalep), from the deleterious consequences that this person’s sanitu can have upon them as well as the whole suku.

A puliaijat, strictly speaking, only lasts for one day. However, puliaijat often occur together in a series held on successive days. For example the final puliaijat for a deceased uma faction member, an eeruk simaeruk, actually consists of three individual puliaijat which take place over three days. They are collectively referred to as a puliaijat eeruk simaeruk. On each day participants define themselves as being in a state of mulia, the intransitive verb form of the noun pu-lia(i)-jat. Each day consists of a fixed sequence of events, the puiringan, which take place in every puliaijat. Dispersed within this fixed structure are other events defining the particular type of puliaijat it is and the ends towards which it is directed. The nature and ends towards which these secondary events are directed determine the specific purpose for which the particular puliaijat is held. The standard events are the sogi katsaila, aggaret, lia goukgouk, irik, pusikebbukat and the kokoman sikebbukat, each performed in succession. The aggaret, irik, pusikebbukat, and kokoman sikebbukat constitute the all important puiringan events. These define the general purpose to which the puliaijat is directed: the enhancement of "life" through distancing the entities of death, within which is subsumed the puliaijat’s specific purpose, a marriage, a death and so on.

All events typically take place in the daylight hours although they may run into the night if, for some reason, proceedings get held up. Or, conversely, they may only take up a morning. The concurrence of these events as a unit in the one day defines the puliaijat. There are no instances where events are held over until the next day. All the puiringan events take place on the floor section within the batnuma (inner sanctum) in front of the bakkat katsaila and the other ancestral heirlooms. Each event lasts a few minutes, although the pace at which these are executed depends partly upon ‘not rushing things’ as well as what other events are happening in between these main events that are standard in every puliaijat. Indeed each event can be viewed as a differential means of channelling the life-giving, life-preserving ‘power’ of the bakkat katsaila from the katsaila itself through the mediation of the other ancestral heirlooms, specifically the irik, pusikebbukat, kokoman sikebbukat lulag plates, and the lakuk, to the suku or uma faction members.

The human agent mediating this is the rimata of the uma faction/suku. It is an important position. People continually stressed to me the gravity of the events executed by the rimata in which he addresses the bakkat katsaila. He is the one member of the suku or uma faction who is able to approach, converse with, and touch the bakkat katsaila and the other heirlooms in this context. For anyone else to do so may bring untoward consequences—accidents, or sickness brought on by the bakkat katsaila’s bajou as the manifestation of its disapproval—not only to the rimata himself but the other uma faction members. The wrong attitude in the execution of events, or simply errors in execution, could have disastrous consequences for everyone.

The first three events occur directly after each other early in the day. The sogi katsaila involves the rimata presenting several varieties of gaud to the bakkat katsaila. Then the rimata distributes some to all the other puliaijat participants. Straight after this the aggaret takes place. This is the first of the puiringan events involving the ancestral lulag (platters). Here the rimata opens a coconut, part of which he presents to the bakkat katsaila, and, depending on the suku, also to the gong or gongs, the uma, and then the ancestors (saukkui). The coconut pieces are laid out upon the premier lulag, the irik, which gives the puiringan events their names. The other events, the pusikebbukat and the kokoman sikebbukat each have their own lulag by means of which they are conducted. The left-over pieces are given to the rimata’s grandchildren, or if they are not in attendance, any other children who are present. Once the aggaret is completed the lia goukgouk takes place. A chicken is presented firstly to the bakkat katsaila, then to each of the puliaijat participants, then it is killed, bringing to an end the first group of events. Following this one or more pigs are killed. Along with the chicken they are cut up, most of the meat going towards a communal meal. However specific parts of the anatomy of the chicken and the pig(s) are prepared separately since these are used in the upcoming irik, pusikebbukat, and kokoman sikebbukat events. Just prior to the meal itself, the rimata enacts the irik, once again utilizing the irik lulag. This marks a hiatus in proceedings for, straight after the irik event, everybody disperses to their huts (sapou) to eat. After the meal the pusikebbukat is carried out: a meal of chicken eaten in front of the bakkat katsaila by the rimata’s eldest grandson. Then the kokoman sikebbukat event, a meal eaten by the rimata and his wife in front of the bakkat katsaila, takes place. These are the core events around which every puliaijat is constructed. In this context the extent of the bakkat katsaila’s significance as the "foundation" of the suku or uma faction, its defining principle as reflected in the name, bakkat ("base; source; foundation") katsaila, cannot be underestimated

Out of all the ancestral heirlooms we encountered in chapter four, apart from the bakkat katsaila, three categories are of primary importance in the puliaijat context: the gong, or gongs; the lakuk (bowl) and its sisip (ladle); the three lulag, the irik, pusikebbukat, and kokoman sikebbukat. Where an uma possesses only the irik and the pusikebbukat, the Dutch plate is used in place of the kokoman sikebbukat. In some cases an ordinary dish, stored up with the Dutch plate, is used in lieu of the plate itself. The tudukat drums are only used on the fourth day of a three-day puliaijat following the taking of a monkey in the hunt (uroro). The gajeuma hand-held drums are used briefly as accompaniment to three of the six events forming the core of the puliaijat.

During the course of the puliaijat all participants face certain restrictions (keikei). They may not eat except at appointed times when they are all together. Nor may they engage in sexual intercourse. In fact on this point, during a puliaijat lasting more than one day, men sleep in the uma, or in nearby huts (sapou), on the laibok/tenganuma. The women and children sleep in the batnuma (inner sanctum). Neither the rimata nor his wife may eat at all during the day until the final event, the kokoman sikebbukat.
 
 

The Puiringan

The puiringan events constitute the core of the puliaijat. Each event, the sogi katsaila, the aggaret and so forth, takes place in the inner sanctum, where it reproduces its particular piece of time-space, a reproduction which takes place within the general context provided by the simaeruk (positively valenced) half of the uma—the reproduction of these specific spaces reproduces the simaeruk aspect of the space of the uma which produces a habitable sociospatial cosmos(2). The door is closed having the effect of restricting access to an area, the batnuma, through which people move freely in carrying out their duties and activities at other times in the puliaijat. The space (re)created outside, on the laibok, is, ideally, a space of silence and muted voices, in contrast to the normal situation of uproar and mayhem in between events, at which time the only evidence that a puliaijat is taking place is in the amount of people gathered at the uma. One’s suspicions would only be confirmed if one waited long enough to observe whether or not any events took place inside the inner sanctum, signalled by the attendant gong beats and drum rhythms. The ultimate object of each event is the enhancement of the ability of the bodies (tubu) of the suku or uma faction members to create a space for themselves safe from the threat posed by the dead of the Other, the sanitu, once the puliaijat is over. The enhancement of these abilities achieves the overall goal of producing a generally habitable cosmos through this detailed production of person-specific spaces, where each person is in a better position to repel the advances of the sanitu than they were prior to the puliaijat.

In the puiringan events, the role of the ritual phrases addressed to the simagere, gaud, simatei ketsat, sanitu, and saukkui respectively is crucial. They form an integral part of each event coupled with the particular activity defining it. The metaphors drawn upon in these must be viewed as actively instrumental in bringing about the effects that are expressed as their content. Indeed to gloss the images produced within these phrases as ‘metaphors’ or even simply as ‘images’ downplays their active role in producing outcomes. Similar to the phrases accompanying the application of the various types of gaud we encountered in chapter 7, the effect described is presented as a fait accompli—a desired state of affairs presented as an objective description of the present state of affairs.

These phrases—variously constructed by each suku or uma faction rimata out of a range of stock phrases—invariably differ from suku to suku, and often between uma factions within a suku, although these differences were not consciously identified by my informants as elements of what I have called the ‘ideology of identity’( see article 6) in which each suku defines itself in opposition to every other. The activities carried out within the puiringan events, however, are constructed as different and, indeed, turn out to be different in many cases, regardless of the type of puliaijat being carried out, although upon investigation these differences are not, empirically, so great as represented within the ideology which constructs them as suku specific. The contradiction here is that nobody really knows whether or not the various puiringan events as executed by other suku are different or not since they have rarely, if ever, had occasion to witness them. They could only do so if the rimata or the pamuri—his partner in the puiringan events—of their suku died suddenly without passing on this knowledge to anyone else in the suku(3). In this case they could "purchase" (saki—ie. give paroman ["help"] for) the knowledge from another suku. Yet this is not an issue for them at all. The differences are assumed to exist and thus form a crucial aspect of the creation and expression of suku identity.

The ritual phrases articulated during these events, along with the general activities involved in their production, are structurally similar in all the puliaijat for which I have data. Nevertheless specific details within this general structure vary amongst the suku. It is these that are the focus of the ideology of identity. The way in which suku construct the boundary between them and other suku, or, more generally, create a habitable space in a cosmos brimming with the forces of the Other (the sanitu or the deceased members of other suku) forever looking for a chance to inflict damage through invading this space, is at the heart of the puiringan events. I was under strict instructions wherever I witnessed these events not to reveal anything about what I observed in the batnuma (inner sanctum) to other suku in the interests of not jeopardizing purimanuaijat mai ("our life"). To reveal these to the Other (in this case, members of other suku) was conceived to negate the efficacy of the puiringan events. Yet I was always under pressure from each suku or uma faction within a particular suku to reveal details of how other suku conducted their puiringan events! My data on puliaijat, based on attending 16 different puliaijat as performed by five suku, indicate that different activities coincide with the different suku and not different puliaijat. The puiringan in a panegetpuliaijat and an eeruk simaerukpuliaijat carried out by Samwonwot are the same. However the puiringan in a Samwonwot paneget are not the same as the puiringan in a Salolosit paneget for example. In order to illustrate the mechanisms where suku identity is actively produced through these activities aimed at crafting a habitable world, I propose to compare and contrast the ways in which several suku practice their puiringan events.
 
 

Buka nia

Shortly after sunrise the day the puliaijat is to be held, the rimata sounds the gong, or gongs if there are more than one, several times. This segment has no set name, and I induced much reflection on the part of my informants when I asked for it. After much deliberation the term "buka nia" ("its opening") was suggested. This encapsulates the activity’s function which is to firstly officially "open" the event whilst simultaneously broadcasting to all other suku in the dusun that a puliaijat is about to take place in that particular suku or uma faction. People need merely to hear the gong and note its tone and direction in order to pinpoint whose suku is holding a puliaijat. The second function this serves is to inform the suku members’ simagere a puliaijat is about to get under way that they ought to attend. It involves a series of ritual phrases spoken either before, during, or after sounding the gong(s).

For example the rimata of the uma faction of one particular suku stands in front of the gongs at around 6 am(4):

This passage is more complex than others I recorded for this segment. I include it here since it provides an initial good example of the way metaphors are used to (re)produce the gulf that must exist between the entities of life and those of death in order that the former not be overwhelmed by the latter. It also demonstrates the redundancy that is at the heart of this ‘technology’. As with other segments it draws its power through the same devices—the redundancy of image functioning to achieve the same effect through different means.

"Fine meat by the side of the sapou" refers to pigs gathered near to the small huts (sapou) erected on people’s particular area of their suku’s land (pulagajat) as a focal point for feeding the pigs, where people often spend several days or sometimes weeks. These are, furthermore, described as "fine bodies of life", that is as healthy, living beings. This association with "life" (simageret—"they who move") leads in the next phrase to the summoning of the simagere of the suku, who the rimata constructs as his "children", and who are invited to "enter" the uma for the puliaijat. Thus just as healthy pigs gather around the safe haven of the field-hut (sapou) on the suku land (pulagajat), safe from sanitu (ghosts) or humans harbouring evil intent towards them, so too will the simagere be safe gathering within the uma.

This is the focus of the next several lines where the simagere are exhorted to both keep away from the entities of death, the sanitu, variously represented as the "foul-mouthed ones", the "angry ones", the "ketsat that cling", and the "dead ones", as well as avoid the consequences of their ill intent towards the living, the "broken things", "alalatek"—a stinging nettle—and "thorns". "Broken things" might include a branch breaking under someone scaling a durian tree. "Sharp things" refers to sharp objects lying inconspicuously on the path where a member of the suku may inadvertently tread on it cutting his or her foot. The simagere are requested to keep away from all these since a simagere’s contact with any could bring illness or death to the suku member whose simagere it is. The "illness from other laggai" (bolo laggai) has two connotations. It firstly refers to illness afflicting the pulaggajat, that is, the whole suku and possibly its livestock as well. Or, second, sickness which has its origins in another laggai/pulagajat, the Other, sirimanua. At base the illness comes from sanitu, which are by definition the dead of another suku; every suku’s own dead are the saukkui, the ancestors. This expression usually appears in the puiringan events where sanitu and their influences are actively repelled with gaudsikataik. In the current context it serves to emphasize the separation of the entities of life, the simagere, constructed as the rimata’s "children’, from those of death through highlighting the existential gulf between them.

In contrast to the suku from which these phrases were taken is yet another suku's version:

The piece begins with an appeal to the salo of the lauru, the spots (salo) appearing on the transparent membrane lining different areas of a chicken’s intestine (lauru), inspected after the lia goukgouk segment in a puliaijat. The configuration of these spots is examined in order to be able to gain an indication on the efficacy of the activities carried out in the puiringan. This is also linked to the taking of forest meat (iba leleu; simatei ketsat) in the activity the day after a puliaijat series has come to an end, the uroro. Generally these phrases uttered in the buka nia segment draw from the stock of ritual phrases used in the main puiringan events. They function here to set the stage for these more specific activities. Having completed this first activity the rimata goes to the forest nearest the uma to collect the gaud which will be utilized in the puiringan events.
 
 

Sogi Katsaila

Two or three hours after the initial call to the simagere the main events begin with the first manipulation of gaud. Although the gaud collected earlier is used in other events throughout the course of the day, nearly all is used in the sogikatsaila. The specific types, drawn from a limited range, vary from uma to uma. The sogi katsaila, as with all events, is performed in a casual, matter-of-fact sort of way, with the rimata taking himself off to the batnuma (inner sanctum) when he feels the time is right. In fact most of his time during the puliaijat is spent talking with other puliaijat participants since it is also a festive occasion(5). As with all the others, the event is conducted by the rimata who enters the batnuma, closes the door to the tenganuma/laibok tengah, or, if it is a type 5 uma, he closes the door to the room housing the bakkat katsaila and other heirlooms. He squats down in front of the bakkat katsaila facing the left of the batnuma, remembering that directions are calculated from an observer’s viewpoint looking into the uma from the front (laibok). The bakkat katsaila is thus on the rimata’s left.

With the gaud lying by his feet the rimata begins. The first type he deals with is polak. I omitted to include this variety under the discussion of gaud in the last chapter since it is specific to this segment of the puliaijat, and is not applied anywhere else. It takes the form of a fibrous shoot of a new leaf sprouting from the top of a young doro/roro tree. Its power comes from its "hardness" (makelak kulit) and, thus, the resilience of this type of tree. A one-metre length is cut off at its base from the plant in the forest to be used in the sogi katsaila. In the event the rimata grasps it at its base, holding the tapered end away from him in either his left or right hand—it varies with the individual. In repeated movements he runs the other varieties of gaud he intends to utilize along the polak towards the tapered end, uttering the ritual phrases which vary from suku to suku, and from rimata to rimata—similar to the phrases uttered during the buka nia segment—both in length, detail and content. However certain elements are universal. Each type of gaud mentioned is directly followed by its purported consequences. The rubbing action is described as poporot which marks the commencement of the speech:

The event so far can be understood as treating the bakkat katsaila through association with the polak, firstly with gaud sikataik: engeu and sikulu. This clears the way for the application of gaud simaeruk which outnumbers the varieties of gaud sikataik: soga ("summon"), daba/kararaiba ("sated"), and sibukak ("open"). "Doro" refers to the polak length itself. At work here is the characteristic redundancy of images reinforcing the replacement of things sikataik, the sanitu that is, appearing as "those who curse us", "those harbouring ill will"—which refers not just to sanitu but also to living members of other suku who would seek to entice suku members’ simagere away from them thus causing illness—and "sickness", with "life", otherwise equated with obtaining a favourable reading of the intestinal membrane (lauru) belonging to the chicken that will be killed in the lia goukgouk to take place after the aggaret segment.

The rimata then turns his attention to the length of polak to be placed up in the bakkat katsaila. He separates the fibres at the very tip of the tapered end, addressing it (as ‘doro’) as he does so. The sikataik beings are exclusively focused upon here:

The nuances of the usage "poporot" become clearer here. Just as the bakkat katsaila is "caressed", coaxed, or even courted by the rimata, so the bakkat katsaila will "caress" the backs of the sanitu, coax them away from the living. It will "fold up" their legs so they are unable to approach the living even if they still had the desire to after all the previous supplication. This is linked to the chicken’s intestinal reading (lauru), constructed as demonstrating a successful outcome to the hunt (uroro) as the conclusion to the puliaijat. Any monkey or deer taken here is presented, in accordance with the paroman ("help") ethic, to the bakkat katsaila. It is also interpreted as a sign that the puliaijat is successful.

Since these phrases are all spoken extremely rapidly, the speech and its attendant activities thus takes just a few minutes. In this particular puliaijat, I witnessed the most elaborate production of the sogi katsaila event from the many I was able to observe. Most of the others were nowhere near as involved as this one. However the structure is the same. The difference is in the distinctive style that each rimata brings to the event’s production. Varieties of gaud sikataik and gaud simaeruk are presented in different order, or some are used in place of others. Variations in phrases are also common:

In thinking about an appropriate interpretation for this event I initially favoured an explanation which envisaged gaud as a life-giving or life-preserving property to be transferred from the bakkat katsaila, mediated by the polak and the agency of the rimata, to the puliaijat participants ("my children") in the form of the individual katsaila stalks. However, my informants were not taken with this when I put it to them. In reflecting upon their practice they corrected me saying that what was given was "life" (purimanua), not gaud. Gaud ("power’) then is important as a means(7) for obtaining "life" understood as a property. A general point might be made here: it is important not to read too much into practice through analytical, discursive overkill. As a practice, the nature of gaud, or purimanua, in terms of a discursively articulated definition, is not only inconsequential, but simply irrelevant. Purimanua is the goal, gaud the medium(8).
 
 

Aggaret toitet

I now turn to an examination of the aggaret segment as performed by two suku in order to highlight the differences between them, differences drawn upon in the ideology of identity. I also refer to several other suku in the interests of comparison where differences in execution are significant. Once the katsaila stalks have been delivered to the puliaijat participants, the rimata returns to his place in front of the bakkat katsaila to initiate the aggaret, the first of the puiringan events. He is often accompanied by his son or the senior male member of the suku/uma faction for this event, referred to in this context as the pamuri. All doors are closed apart from the right side door, left open to let in light. The rimata begins by fetching the irik lulag down from where it hangs close to the bakkat katsaila. He places it in front of the bakkat katsaila with the end by which it is suspended when in storage, pointing towards the bakkat katsaila. The other end points towards the rear of the uma. The rimata squats down on the lulag’s right side facing the uma’s left wall, the position he assumes for each event. The pamuri squats down at the end pointing to the uma’s rear thus facing the bakkat katsaila. His title derives from his position relative to the irik along with the rimata’s and the bakkat katsaila’s position relative to it. "Muri" simply means "rear; behind". "Mata" means "face; front" hence the appellation rimata, or in its complete form, sirimata, the "one to the front". "Mata" here also implies that is the rimata who "faces" the bakkat katsaila throughout the whole puliaijat: he is the only one who may address and touch the bakkat katsaila on behalf of the other participants.

This first aggaret segment is that carried out by the rimata of one of the uma factions within the suku Samwonwot. The pamuri in this case is his eldest son. Two relatives locate themselves just behind the rimata and his son, each holding a hand-held ancestral drum (gajeuma) which they will play during the first phase of this ritual. Holding a coconut, the rimata occupies his usual position on the irik lulag’s right side in front of the bakkat katsaila. The pamuri brings up the rear. The rimata takes up a machete. Just before he proceeds to work on removing the coconut’s husk he utters the first ritual phrase:

Once the shell has been chipped away the flesh is cut and the coconut water allowed to run out into the bowl (lakuk), located over on the left side of the irik opposite to the rimata. Its ladle (sisip) is placed inside it. The rimata reaches up to the bakkat katsaila, takes a duruk leaf from amongst the gaud varieties that he placed there in the earlier sogikatsaila, then places it on the irik with each tapered end aligned to the uma’s front and back. He then cuts a small 4cm x 2cm strip from the flesh which he divides into three equal pieces. Each is placed on the duruk leaf. One piece is placed directly behind the first along this same axis. The first piece nearest to the bakkat katsaila is for the rimata’s household (lalep) and, by extension, all the members of the suku affiliated to this uma faction. The second is for the rimata’s second and youngest son’s lalep. The third is for the pamuri. Next the rimata takes three fine slices in succession from the first piece. Each slice is placed one after the other in front of this leading piece. The rimata then picks up the first slice in his left hand and begins the major ritual speech. Simultaneously the two gajeuma players strike up a slow beat accompanied by one other person striking the largest of the three gongs:

In both phases of this segment, ritual phrases are linked to activities performed upon the coconut slices and upon the lulag itself. In the first this involves manipulating the three slices taken from the pamuri’s coconut piece. The first slice is for the bakkat katsaila, presented to it whilst it was simultaneously being made aware that there was an offering for it in the opening sentence of the ritual speech. The second slice, picked up and held during the second sentence (Teteu mai...), is for the ancestors who are conceived to be attending the event below the uma. The third slice, held momentarily during the third sentence, is not for the lauru (chicken intestine) per se but its simagere. This turns the context from death—the ancestors (saukkui)—to life, setting the scene for a call to the simagere of the "forest meat", leading in turn to a summons to the living suku members’ simagere. Once the slices have been dealt with, the lulag itself becomes the focus of, firstly, manipulations in the form of hand gestures accompanying the ritual phrases, and secondly, as a medium of exchange between the rimata and the pamuri.

The structure echoes that of the sogikatsaila segment. First the bakkat katsaila is addressed in its role as, not only the "foundation katsaila" but as the "foundation" (bakkat) of the suku or uma faction. Next the sikataik beings are addressed, the sanitu ancestors (saukkui). They are, however, not being driven away as were the "ordinary sanitu" (tubud sanitu) in the sogi katsaila. Rather their assistance is obtained. As with gaud this assistance is not requested so much as considered, and thus constructed, as a fait accompli in keeping with the way ritual phrases present such "requests" as givens. The rest of the passage reaffirms the separation of the sikataik (unfavourable/death) from the simaeruk (favourable/life) affirming "life" and rejecting death in the form of (tubud) sanitu which appear variously as "anger", "shadows", and "sickness", beginning with the setting down of the third slice on the irik—the separation of the rimata’s hand from it has efficacious "power" in bringing about the separation of death from life. Important here are the consequences resulting should there be no separation, described as bolo laggai, the "sickness from other laggai" or simply the Other (sirimanua). Sanitu are the dead members of other suku and must be distanced, unlike the saukkui whose active assistance and protection is solicited.

The whole ritual is essentially aimed at the Other through the suku-specific reproduction of a technology deployed against them; the specifics of these events are at the core of uma/suku self identity. The coconut draws its "power" through its life-giving properties contained and protected within the very difficult to penetrate shell and outer husk. Indeed, it provides a ‘power’-ful metaphor for the function of this segment as a whole. The number of coconut pieces varies with the importance—whether it is makeppu ("thick") or not—of the puliaijat. The "thicker" the puliaijat, the more pieces of coconut. A puliaijat for a suku/uma faction’s new uma, for example, might include every household (lalep) in its aggaret event, which would mean ten coconut pieces on this uma faction’s irik.

The variable and suku specific elements, as constructed within the ideology of identity, focus on (1) the arrangement of the pieces, (2) the manipulation of the slices and the irik itself. Nevertheless from what I could gather, the arrangement of pieces was largely the same in all the suku/uma for which I have data. What did differ was the placement of the slices, their manipulation, and the manipulation of the irik. The particular uma faction’s activities which are described here are constructed by the rimata and the pamuri as specific to their suku. Anyone wishing to know about these, and provided they had a good reason for wanting to know about them—for example, in order that they be able to conduct puiringan events in conjunction with their own bakkat katsaila should they not know (the rimata might have died prematurely without formally instructing anyone how to execute the event)—must give paroman ("help") to the rimata. Even the rimata’s son had to do this in order to be able not only to witness the event but, more importantly, to be able to actively apply this knowledge himself as rimata in the future. Other (male) members of the uma faction have some idea of what goes on if they have been gong or hand-drum (gajeuma) players during the first phase at some time. However, they would never be in a position to legitimately apply their knowledge without having presented the rimata paroman.

The next aggaret event we will consider was conducted by an uma faction in the suku Sakukuret-Sagorojo, which followed on from the first sogi katsaila event we examined above. The rimata takes the same position vis-a-vis the bakkat katsaila and the irik lulag. Notable in this event is the differential treatment of the slices and the irik relative to the previous example. The gaud base (pereman) for the coconut piece is duruk as it is in most of these events, although taibeleki or soga are also used, either by themselves or in combination in other aggaret events for which I have data. Squatting down the rimata takes up a coconut in one hand and a machete in the other. Just before striking into the coconut he begins the ritual phrases:

The rimata takes three "pinches" (ektik) from the first piece. He places these in front of it on the duruk leaf protruding from beneath. He takes up one in his left hand then touches it to the bakkat katsaila:

The ancestral items, including their storage place, the uma itself, are requested to assist in the uma member’s pursuit of life, to actively intervene and ensure that each member live out the full measure of their years, until they are "old" and "white-haired" and so forth, although, again, this is presented as already accomplished. The bakkat katsaila is constructed as asking what all the fuss is about, to which the rimata replies, giving the purpose of the puliaijat, which in this example was about inducting a new wife into the suku. Not all rimata mentioned the specific purpose of the puliaijat in similar speeches I recorded in other aggaret events, nor in the other puiringan events for that matter. Following this the rimata equates the bakkat katsaila, as an embodiment of "life", with the uma members—the bakkat katsaila delivers "life" to them. The ancestors are the final beings to be co-opted to this purpose. Then the simagere of "forest meat" are summoned in order that they can be successfully hunted at the conclusion to the puliaijat, meat which supports "life" since it comes to be shared with the ancestors (saukkui) and the bakkat katsaila. In return for this paroman ("help") the ancestors and the bakkat katsaila assist in the uma members’ pursuit of "life’. The profusion of metaphors for these as for the sanitu is characteristic, where each (sipuaggak, sipumaggok) monkey species is identified by the particular noise it makes. The deer (sipurere) is identified by the tracks its feet (rere) leave in the earth. This leads to the characteristic summons to the suku/uma faction simagere in order that they be unambiguously separated from sanitu, including the latter’s harmful activities, such as leaving sharpened sticks (teteket sikataik) where people might step on them, weakening branches of fruit trees which may break should someone be harvesting fruit up there, or causing snakes or wild pigs ("things that bite") to create havoc. The active agency of the irik lulag as it connects with the agency of the rimata, the bakkat katsaila, the aggaret, and the other heirlooms, is emphasized through the various movements performed upon the lulag itself. Things sikataik are waved out the back of the uma. The power of the rimata’s hands in conjunction with the irik in holding both ends, forms a boundary (sikera-"forbid") against sanitu. With the separation of the rimata’s hand from the irik, sickness/sanitu are carried away from the uma members. Even the fireplace, as the space where the new wife will spend a lot of her time, is incorporated into the multi-faceted complex of interacting agencies invoked to affirm and preserve life in the face of death.

The second phase proceeds in a way similar to the analogous segment in the earlier example of aggaret. However here the rimata lifts the irik up onto his knees, a standard practice with nearly all such segments. He takes the coconut piece in his right hand:

The movements accompanying the ritual phrases uttered during the aggaret event, the leaf base, along with the variable number of coconut pieces, indicating the relative importance (makeppu) of the particular puliaijat, are standard elements in all puliaijat in all suku, although some rimata do not gesture over the lulag very much at all. However, the particular way in which the aggaret coconut slices are handled and the manipulation of the irik in relation to the pamuri do differ. Where the pamuri is involved (in the more important puliaijat), in some cases, there is no reversal of the irik. The pamuri and any other males from the other household (lalep) units present simply pick their pieces up off the lulag as it lays on the floor at the end of the first phase. Yet in some, the rimata has no elaborate series of pre-arranged pinches taken from the aggaret pieces. He simply takes them as he needs them. The first goes to the bakkat katsaila. Then he presses it against, whilst simultaneously addressing, each of the three gongs, then the uma, and then a monkey skull hanging next to them (simatei ketsat). The second goes down to the ancestors (saukkui). He lifts up the third briefly when summoning the simagere of the uma members. This is placed down on the lulag with "guruk, guruk" just prior to the second phase. Then, in this phase, he takes up the first piece of coconut with the duruk base in his left hand, placing the lulag on his knees. Having finished his speech, the rimata then passes the piece with the duruk leaf in his right hand across to the pamuri’s left hand, although on some occasions he hands the lulag to the pamuri who places it at right angles to its original position on his knees:

Lia Goukgouk/ Liad Tubu/ Lia Bakkat Katsaila

Straight after the aggaret, the rimata takes a chicken into the bakkat katsaila. The gajeuma drum and gong players once again assemble in the same positions they were in during the first phase of the aggaret segment. The stage is thus set for the next event, the lia goukgouk, alias the lia tubu ("body [of the chicken] lia"), or the lia for the bakkat katsaila. This is not a part of the puiringan events as it does not involve any of the lulag platters. However it is intimately linked to the structure of the puliaijat as a whole, aiming to achieve an analogous effect through different means. This event is focused on the chicken’s ketsat, which is exhorted to preserve "life", directly and indirectly. It is conceived to directly benefit "life" by actively distancing sanitu and their consequences for the living in the same way as gaud sikataik. It does this indirectly through contacting the simagere of ‘forest meat’, convincing them not to flee the hunters, making them easier to capture in the hunt (uroro) as the conclusion to a puliaijat.

In the first phase of this segment, with the gajeuma players playing a fast rhythm, the rimata, facing the bakkat katsaila, touches the chicken’s tail feathers or back feathers to it:

The rimata continues in this vein whilst taking the chicken around to all puliaijat participants, briefly touching its tail feathers to their bodies:

Squatting down in the same position he occupies for the sogi katsaila and the aggaret, with the tail of the chicken facing towards the bakkat katsaila, the rimata proceeds, once again, to exhort it to distance sanitu and then bring "life" in the form of ‘forest meat’. Again, the length of the exhortation, along with the specific images incorporated into it, varies amongst rimata. Nevertheless, as is the case with the ritual exhortations in sogikatsaila and aggaret, there is the familiar basic structure, a movement from the sikataik (death) to the simaeruk (purimanua—"life"). This is revealed in the following excerpt:

Then attention turns to the killing of one or more pigs (teinungakek) each of which is assigned similar tasks to the chickens by the rimata and the pamuri. This does not involve any of the ancestral heirlooms, although gaud is applied to facilitate the task. Each variety, beginning with the sikataik, is applied in succession before an offsider kills the pig by cutting its throat. The rimata begins, laying a katsaila stalk against the pigs body:

Then the pamuri takes over with a dauk sainak: an assemblage of gaud doused in water, hence dauk, from rauk meaning to "bathe".

The heart (teinung) gives an indication of what success the pig’s ketsat will have in fulfilling its task. The heart is divided into a right (simaeruk) half and a left (sikataik) half along a large blood vein running from top to bottom (bakkat) on one side. Should there be any fat, visible as white against the magenta of the heart towards the base (bakkat), then the planned excursion to the leleu in search of meat in the hunt must be postponed, although this also depends on the interpretations of the other teinung from any other pigs that were killed at the same time. This is an indication that death in the form of a sanitu inspired accident may be waiting for one of them there. The closer to the base of the heart the fat is perceived to be, the more dire the peril for the suku. On the other hand the further away towards the top, the less the risk to the suku. Furthermore, the likelihood of whether or not forest meat will be taken is indicated in the configuration of the small veins converging on the central vein on the right side. Should these converge, then meat for the puliaijat participants and the bakkat katsaila, and thus "life", is in the offing.

As with the lauru (chicken intestine), the relative significance of such a sign is widely discussed, resulting in often quite contrary readings. Should there be a consensus of sorts that misfortune of this type is indicated, then the option remains to kill another pig and ‘remake’ the teinung—similar to the lauru, the teinung is not simply a passive register of ‘fate’ but is, rather, an active player in the producer of a favourable future. However normally a lauru or a teinung is simply declared "acceptable, okay" (maeruk). It may not indicate success but if it also does not indicate misfortune then there is no cause for concern.

The lia goukgouk and teinungakek events are a standard part of every puliaijat, enacted similarly with minor variation amongst suku. They are essentially preparatory events for the most important puiringan events the irik, the pusikebbukat, and to a lesser extent the kokoman sikebbukat.

Once the pigs and chickens have been dismembered, specialized meat preparation for the upcoming puiringan events can go ahead. The pamuri takes up position on the right side of the laibok—or the forward section adjacent to the laibok of the tenganuma if the uma has one, in short one space removed from the batnuma where the ancestral heirlooms are stored—on the right side of a large wooden tray. The pamuri’s task under the supervision of the rimata—reversing the positions they respectively occupy in the aggaret in the batnuma—is to prepare the chicken liver and then the thigh meat from the right half of, firstly, the chicken the rimata presented to the bakkat katsaila in the lia goukgouk, then the meat from the pig’s back right leg (iba simaeruk). The significance of the liver is in its location. When the chicken is cut in half in order to obtain its intestines, the liver is found to be lodged in the positively valenced right half. Along with this, similar to the coconut, it is contained within the chicken and is therefore protected from damaging influences from the outside. These two characteristics define the liver as containing gaud.

The pamuri places a few slices of liver together with a little of the chicken’s tail-fat into one bamboo container (ogbuk), uttering a ritual phrase as he does so. This makes use of the ‘power’ of the tail-fat which is referred to as kurug: "When we pass by, when my children pass by, distance sickness, sickness is behind us, the shadowy ones are behind us/Panabau kai tatogaku, areuakek oringen, aipakurug kai oringen, aipakurug kai sipuailiggo." Then the pamuri places meat from the chicken’s right thigh, or as is often the case, the whole right leg into another ogbuk by itself, for the pusikebbukat event. Any meat left over is added to the meat taken from the right legs of the other chickens and placed in one ogbuk. Then meat from the pig leg is put into yet another ogbuk. Together the contents of these two ogbuk are consumed by the rimata and his wife in the kokoman sikebbukat event. The remaining meat, along with the left halves of the chickens, is chopped up by other men of the suku. This is cooked on the central fireplace or, if the uma does not have one, on a fire prepared on the ground in front of the uma. The rimata’s wife cooks the puiringanogbuk over a low fire on the right fireplace at the rear of the batnuma. When these are ready the irik event is executed.
 
 

Irik goukgouk

When the bamboo cooking vessels (ogbuk) containing the puiringan meat have been over the fire for some time, the rimata enters the batnuma, closes the door, then fetches down the irik lulag, the lulag used in the aggaret segment earlier. He sets himself up in exactly the same position, in front of the bakkat katsaila on the right side of the lulag. In there with him is the pamuri occupying the same position as in the aggaret, together with the gajeuma and gong players. In the smaller one-day puliaijat the rimata conducts the aggaret, lia goukgouk, and irik by himself—neither the pamuri nor the others are involved in the pusikebbukat or the kokoman sikebbukat. The ritual phrases uttered in the irik are virtually identical to those articulated in the aggaret event. The important difference is to be found in the execution of the event itself as constructed in the ideology of identity. However, once again, the differences are not as radical as their representation in the ideology leads us to expect. In the following analysis I highlight the ways in which the irik event differs from the aggaret as a whole, and then the particularities of specific irik events as executed in several suku.

Having sounded the gong three or four times the rimata places one or more dumplings (subbet) made from mashed taro rolled in grated coconut on the irik, one after the other if there is more than one. He splits open the irik ogbuk (bamboo vessel) containing the pieces of cooked liver and tail-fat, uttering phrases similar to those accompanying the opening of the coconut at the beginning of the aggaret segment. The way in which the dumplings are arranged differ amongst suku consistent with participants’ constructions of their events as contrasted with the irik segments of other suku. The differential arrangement is focused on the placement of the tail-fat. Manipulation of the irik and the organization of the "pinches" (ektik)—of, in this case, subbet—as per the aggaret remain the same.

There are some minor variations in technique amongst uma factions. In one that I observed the rimata firstly opens the irik ogbuk. He then pours the juice from the cooked morsels inside into the lakuk (bowl) which is located across from him on the left of the lulag. Whether there are many dumplings or just the one, he places the tail-fat in front of the dumpling nearest the front. He presses the piece, or pieces, of liver into the top of the dumplings, one for each. The rimata takes up a "pinch" of liver and then of coconut, then commences the ritual phrases. The first pinch goes to the bakkat katsaila:

The rimata of another faction, whose aggaret we examined earlier, strikes four beats on the one gong in order to commence his irik. However, the tail-fat is pressed into the top of the first dumpling just behind the liver, which he pressed into the front of the dumpling. Should there be several dumplings, the tail-fat is pressed into the top rear of the last dumpling, the pamuri’s dumpling, just behind the piece of liver also pressed into the top. Furthermore the rimata here takes each pinch as he requires it. None are prefabricated. The first one goes to the bakkat katsaila, to the gong, the uma, and then to the ancestors. A second one is for the simagere of the forest meat, with a third for the simagere of the uma members. With the commencement of the second phase he places the irik lulag on his knees holding the dumpling in his hand. The rimata of one other uma faction placed his tail-fat on the front dumpling regardless of how many dumplings there are, although all other aspects are similar.

The aggaret and the irik events can be viewed as two halves of a whole since they are both based on the utilization of the irik lulag. Indeed the former is often referred to as the irik aggaret. The latter, the irikgoukgouk, complements this through introducing meat into the equation. There is firstly "raw" coconut, then cooked "meat". The irik goukgouk must be seen in relation, furthermore, to the lia goukgouk event through making use of the liver enclosed within the chicken, similar to the way the coconut lining is enclosed within the shell. Building upon this it makes further use of the chicken, specifically its tail (soroi), referred to in the phrases as kurug (nia). Just as a chicken passes by on its daily meanderings, taking what is and what is not useful to it, in the same way, through harnessing this ‘powerful’ characteristic, humans are able to ‘leave behind’ the things that are injurious to them, the sanitu. It is no problem if sanitu approach humans from behind because it is where they are able to revile us with bad language to our faces that sanitu are potentially dangerous. This is complemented by its simaeruk aspect, the "multiplicity" characteristic of chicken reproduction as invoked through the term situkakkara. At a fundamental level this is the multiple replication of "life". It is this which is harnessed and transferred to the uma members. Very significantly the bakkat katsaila gets to "eat" not simply before anyone else but eats meat in the form of the liver. Thus, once the irik is complete, the cooked meat (iba siberikabaga—"general meat") is divided up into piles according to households (lalep). All uma factions within the suku, whether or not their members are attending the puliaijator not, are included provided they are sufficiently close. For example each of the Sakukuret uma factions sets aside meat for every other. This is delivered to them, or conversely they may come and get it themselves during the event themselves. However, the two Samwonwot factions no longer exchange meat in this way since they regard themselves as separate and no longer have anything to do with each other. Following the meat division, everyone partakes in the general meal, apart from the rimata and his wife who may not eat until the kokoman sikebbukat segment, the final puiringan event in the puliaijat.
 
 

Pusikebbukat

The pusikebbukat and kokoman sikebbukat events following the irik and the general meal see a shifting of focus from the relationship between the bakkat katsaila and all the puliaijat participants as mediated by the rimata, to the relationship between the bakkat katsaila, the younger members of the uma faction, and the rimata. Within the event following the meal, the pusikebbukat, they effectively constitute his "substitute", pusikebbukat being the abbreviated form of punu sikebbukat. Punu means "representative/substitute"; sikebbukat is derived from the root kebbuk meaning "elder sibling". On its own it is a synonym for the rimata. Thus pusikebbukat can be conceived as the "substitute for the rimata" event.

This event is the most private and perhaps, therefore, the most important in relation to the existential perpetuation of the suku or uma faction and its reproduction as distinct from all other suku. As in the aggaret and irik events there is a basic structure which is subject, however, to a wide variation both in the elements included within this structure and their particular arrangement. Whilst the bakkat katsaila is actively engaged in both the aggaret and irik events, neither it, the gong, nor the uma are generally prevailed upon to actively intervene in this event—they have already done this indirectly with regard to the younger members of the uma, who consume the coconut and the dumplings in the aggaret and irik events respectively. Even in the one instance in my data where these items are prevailed upon, they nonetheless occupy a peripheral position compared with the entities directly addressed in the pusikebbukat, the ancestors and then, depending on the rimata, the simagere of the ‘forest meat’ (simatei ketsat), followed by the simagere of the uma members. Whether or not the ‘forest meat’ simagere are summoned here, there is, at base, the usual sikataik-simaeruk structure.

The rimata of one particular faction begins with three beats on his gong. He does not possess an actual pusikebbukatlulag, so he uses the irik as a substitute. He places one elongated dumpling on it on top of a taibeleki leaf in distinction to the rounded dumpling used in the irik event, its ends aligned with the ends of the lulag which is, in turn, aligned with the front and back of the uma as in the aggaret and irik. Just to the right of this, relative to the uma, the rimata places a 5cm length of lead (bulau) simultaneously uttering the ritual phrases: "Our gaud, gaud of my children, taibeleki, we are not diminished, my children are not diminished in life. Cool bulau, our bodies, the bodies of my children are cool/Gaud mai tatogaku, taibeleki, kailek taibeleki tatogaku purimanua. Bulau simanene, kailek manene tubu tatogaku". He takes up the pusikebbukat ogbuk, cooked earlier with the other puiringan ogbuk. As he opens it: Jilai (to brush against, touch) sele, sickness is diverted, the angry ones are diverted/Jilai sele, sele oringen, sele simagoluk baga ka tubu mai. He pours juice from it into the lakuk (bowl) located in its usual position across on the left side, then extracts the piece of chicken meat which he places immediately to the right of the lead. The ritual phrases are, once again, exactly the same as those in the aggaret and irik events apart from certain words substituted as appropriate for this event.

Having prepared his "pinches" of meat (silimen) and dumpling, the rimata begins with the first which he touches to the bakkat katsaila: "For you your silimen, katsaila. Bring us to old age. The silimen has sent sickness away from us, it has sent away thunder, lightning/Anai ka ekeu silimennu kina katsaila. Bajakakeklek ita, kukuilukakeklek ita. Aisilimen kai oringen, aisilimen kai lelegu, aisilimen kai matat bilak." He then repeats this for the benefit of the gong which appears as "sereming" in place of "katsaila". He leaves this smeared on the boards just to his left. Then the uma members’ simagere are summoned. Whilst in the second phase the lulag is not lifted up, the usual hand movements are still carried out over on the lulag itself. Having completed the ritual phrases, the rimata goes to the door to the batnuma to summon his wife and his son’s eldest son, the one who would be rimata after his son. He hangs back some distance from the lulag over to the left, observing events. His wife takes his place on the right side of the lulag; the boy takes the pamuri position. She enunciates a short ritual speech whilst performing basic operations upon the lulag in a simple sikataik-simaeruk structure: "Sickness has retreated (pulls lulag slightly towards the back), the shadowy ones have retreated. We open out to life (gestures over the lulag towards the bakkat katsaila), until we are old, until we are bowed over, until our hair is white/Aitupuputnan oringen, aitupuputnan sipuailiggo. Bela mata mai purimanua mai, purimanua ka babajak, ka kukuiluk, ka leleubad." The rimata’s wife hands the boy the meat then the dumpling for him to eat. He takes a drink from the juice poured into the lakuk earlier. Having finished the rimata hangs up the lulag then sounds the gong. They all exit.

In contrast to this is the organization and execution of the pusikebbukat event by one other uma faction's rimata. Following three gong beats he places the whole right chicken leg from the ogbuk to the right of an elongated dumpling on a base of duruk. There is no lead utilized here however. The rimata, furthermore, takes his pinches of meat and dumpling as he goes. He begins with the ancestors (saukkui) quickly moving on to the suku members’ simagere. When the boy has finished the meal, he places the chicken bone inside the bakkat katsaila.

Yet another uma faction rimata conducts his pusikebbukat event similarly to the above although he uses the gaud variety, taibeleki, for the dumpling (subbet) and meat (silimen) base. His ritual speech is also the most unelaborated of all versions I recorded. He begins with a pinch for the saukkui: "Ancestors, here again is your provenance .../Teteu mai simalose anai peilek ka kam subu mui ...’ One pinch goes to the uma: "For you again, your provenance, uma .../Ka ekeu peilek subunu kina uma ...’ The final pinch is for the uma members’ simagere. There is no second phase in this particular set of ritual phrases. Yet another faction also demonstrated their own arrangement of elements. In order from right to left on the lulag there is the subbet, a tairosi bell, a piece of lead, then a chicken leg. The bell is an object of "life" since movement causes it to sound—only live beings move and are thereby capable of making noise.
 
 

Kokoman Sikebbukat

Following very close behind the pusikebbukat is the final puiringan event, the kokoman sikebbukat, a meal of meat, dumplings and sago taken by the rimata and his wife inside the batnuma in front of the bakkat katsaila, a little further back however than was the case with the other puiringan events. Like the others, this event is an engagement with the bakkat katsaila and the other heirlooms—but it is also a distancing. The only ancestral item used in this event is the lulag kokoman sikebbukat, the largest of the three ancestral lulag. However even where an uma has a complete set, it is usually the Dutch ceramic plate that is used. At the conclusion to this event the puliaijat has come to a close, or in other words the participants no longer define themselves as in the state of mu-lia, "engaged in lia". The event is very similar in all the specific instances for which I have data, apart from some minor variation.

The rimata places three to four elongated dumpling on each end of the plate with their ends aligned with the ends of the plate and, therefore, the uma. The rimata and his wife sit on the right side of the lulag, the rimata directly adjacent to it, whereas his wife is level with the position the pamuri would take if he was involved with this event. Uttering ritual phrases analogous to ogbuk (bamboo vessel) opening in other puiringan events, he opens the two ogbuk containers in which the kokoman sikebbukat meat was cooked earlier. He places the meat in the centre of the lulag. A bowl of broth from the "general meat" (iba siberikabaga) cooked in the large vat earlier is placed on the left side of the lulag along with an ordinary sisip—the ancestral lakuk (bowl) and sisip (ladle) are not utilized here, in keeping with the general nature of the event as a distancing from the ancestral heirlooms. The rimata of only one of the faction's whose techniques I observed alone presents a pinch of dumpling to the bakkat katsaila before presenting one to the ancestors (Teteu mai ...). All the other rimata present one to the ancestors and then one to the simagere. Then he presents one to the simagere of the uma members. The usual hand movements and manipulation of the dish that apply in the other events are also a part of this event. The ritual speech finishes with the rimata inviting his wife to "receive" (doroi) their simagere. She responds "I receive them" (ngemet). With "ngemet" they both touch the edge of the plate with their right hands. The rimata takes up a little meat, eats some, then passes a little to his wife. This is repeated with the dumpling and then the broth in the pot. After this they eat freely from the plate. The rimata takes his dumplings from the end nearest to the bakkat katsaila whereas his wife takes her from the pamuri end. She also takes her meat from the left side of the plate whereas he takes his from the right side. The meal over, the rimata places the plate back up in its holder amongst the other heirlooms. Then, each with a small portion of meat retained from the meal they exit the batnuma giving the