The Alune (sometimes Sapalewa or Sapolewa) people are one of the long-established ethnic groups of

Seram Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent i ...

Island,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. They number about 21,300 and live in 27 villages of the western-central area of the island. Like the Wemale, they originated in a common group called Patasiwa. The Alune speak a language of

Malayo-Polynesian The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...

origin. It is also known as Sapalewa or Patasiwa Alfoeren and, despite the small number of speakers, it has a few dialects. The most prestigious dialect is the Rambatu speech variety. The Hainuwele legend is an origin myth from the Alune and Wemale folklore. It was recorded by German ethnologist

Adolf Ellegard Jensen Adolf Ellegard Jensen (1 January 1899 – 20 May 1965) was one of the most important German ethnologists of the first half of the 20th century. Jensen's main research interests were myth, ritual and cult. He furthered the theory of Cultural Mor ...

in a 1937–8 expedition to the Maluku Islands.

Description

Like other ancient human groups living in interior

, the Alune traditionally lived off forest products. Their diet was based on the

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

palm and they also practiced

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

.Sachse, F. J. P., "Het Eiland Seram en zijne Bewoners". Leiden, 1907 Both men and women wore little clothing because of the humid environment. In daily life the Alune adults had a short

loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and sometimes the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or breechclo ...

from the waist down made of bark-fibre, similar to the Polynesian

tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

cloth. This loincloth reached above the knees and it often had decorative patterns. Women wore also necklaces. On special occasions, Alune men wore elaborate warrior clothes and carried long swords. The Alune males used to engage in warrior activities against neighboring groups. Women used to spend most of their day collecting products from the forest children often accompanied them. As with the Wemale, the coming of age celebration for Alune girls was an important occasion. Like the Wemale, the Alune were also skilled carpenters. The ancestral Alune houses were large and elaborate and built of wood, sticks and palm leaves. The Alune culture and lifestyle has changed very much during the last few decades because of the impact of

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

. Also the political and religious restlessness and the resulting conflict in Indonesia affected many islands of the Maluku area.

References

Seram Island Ethnic groups in Indonesia {{Indonesia-stub

Description

See also

References