Cultural Objects and Traditions as Tourist Attractions of Negeri Soya, Ambon City Bernadeta Resti Nurhayati
Faculty of Law and Communication, Soegijapranata Catholic University
Abstract
Ambon is one of beautiful cities located at Maluku Islands. Beside the old fort and the church left by the Portuguese and Dutch colonialism, Ambon City has some negeris. A negeri is a unit of customary law community tied in a village. One of the traditional lands is Negeri Soya which is one of 22 negeris in Ambon City that remains maintaining the cultural traditions and customs passed down by their ancestors both in the forms of cultural objects (tangible) and traditions (intangible).
The data gathering technique of this study was carried out by in-depth interviews with Mr. Raja (King), Ms. Raja, several Saniri members and people of Negeri Soya. Besides, the writer also visited directly the existing cultural objects.
The results of the study showed that the culture and traditions of Negeri Soya have been preserved since their ancestors came to the land. These cultural objects include Teung Stones that are scattered in the territory of Negeri Soya. The stones are believed to be the embodiment of the boat that brought their ancestors from their negeri of origin at Seram Island to the land of negeri they live today. In addition there are Baileo, the King^s house, Soya church, Sirimau old jars, and various other cultural objects. One of the traditions that is still maintained today is Cuci Negeri ( washing the negeri, a tradition held in the second week of December. This cultural and traditional wealth needs to be managed better in order to become one of the Ambon^s tourism attractions.
Keywords: traditional negeri, Negeri Soya, cultural objects, the richness of Indonesian traditions.
