Religious conflict in Ambon, Indonesia: Reconciliation through the pela gandong system

On January 19, 1999, a street fight involving two Ambonese, a Christian and a Muslim, took place in Ambon city, located in the Province of Maluku in the eastern part of Indonesia. This personal clash soon became a mass conflict between Christians and Muslims. The conflict that began with economic, political, ethnic, and religious undertones, quickly polarized to become an ongoing Christian-Muslim conflict. The conflict led to thousands of deaths and various kinds of physical and psychological damage. Moreover, the situation has deteriorated, relationships were damaged, and people became suspicious of each other. The Ambonese people, who for centuries have been bound by the pela gandong pact, despite their ethnic and religious differences, are fighting each other in the name of religion. The focus of this study was to identify a means that may help resolve the conflict. This study considers that the pela gandong cultural system in the Ambonese society is still relevant today for two reasons; first, it creates a group identity, and second, it promotes mutual assistance among the Ambonese. Therefore, this system can be utilized as a tool to reconcile people through the musyawarah or dialog process and the more formal ceremony of warming up the pela. Resolving religious conflict in Ambon using the pela gandong tradition, however, was found to be only a part of the solution. Overall, this study dealt with the reestablishment of the damaged relationships among the Ambonese.