Moraa, Oral Tradition of Rice Harvesting in Central Sulawesi

On Sulawesi Island, the lalaeyo ethnic group inhabits a region in the middle. Some of them reside in Uekuli Village in the Central Sulawesi region's tojo una-una regency (Tojo District).

Poso and Banggai Regencies border the area on its western and eastern sides, respectively. A fertile landscape can be found in the Laleyo ethnic region.

As a result, farming is the primary occupation of the majority of people. On the various farms owned by the Lalaeyo ethnic group, a variety of crops including rice, cacao, coconuts, and others flourish.

This ethnic group will celebrate a rice harvest party called Moraa in the third week of October 2022. A traditional ceremony known as moraa is held to celebrate a successful rice harvest.

The Moraa traditional ceremony, according to Moh Arsyad, head of the tojo una-una regency Tourism Office, is the culmination or end of a protracted process of planting rice that starts with the ritual of choosing land for agricultural use, followed by the period of clearing the land, the ritual of choosing seeds, the planting period, and the period leading up to the harvesting period. A distinctive custom of the lalaeyo ethnic group is to plant crops in the morning.

Rice seeds are not just planted straight away. They go through a number of stages.

Let's start with the custom of clearing land for farming. The tradition of growing rice from seed to harvest is the second.

For a successful harvest, there are third-generation ceremonial customs. Moraa is the name of the third tradition.

This ceremony is treated as a harvest celebration or a meal of thanksgiving for a plentiful harvest. In response to the protracted process of cultivating crops until harvest, Moraa came to represent gratitude.

For the Lalaeyo ethnic group, planting rice seeds cannot be done carelessly. Even before rice is planted, they have a unique way of doing things.

The method of preparing land for farming provides an illustration of this. Rice seeds are not simply planted after the land has been prepared.

Farmers of rice who belong to the Laleyo ethnic group must perform a number of customary steps. Mampo'ole Yopo is the first stage, followed by motila Yopo (dividing the land), bakati Yopo (marking the land), mevafu (cutting down small trees), monovo (cutting down large trees), monipo (pruning branches), monunju (burning the land), mongkuasi (cutting branches that are not burned), moruru (collecting branches and branches for burning), mokavo (clearing.

The aforementioned twelve steps represent a collection of the expertise and local knowledge of rice farmers from the Laleyo ethnic group. This local knowledge and wisdom has been passed down continuously, guided by the entire Lalaeyo ethnic community, and turned into a recorded oral tradition and the local community's collective memory.

The first step in preparing the land for farming is for a traditional leader with the necessary authority to recite a prayer. Farmers always begin with a prayer to ensure that the land they are planting is fertile and produces an abundance of fruit.

In order to receive blessings from the land used, farmers offer homage to the land that will be planted. That is how farmers from the lalaeyo ethnic group create a harmonious relationship with the natural resources that will support their way of life.

In the event that the land is actually prepared for planting, rice seeds will be planted. This indicates that the process of sowing rice seeds will continue if the agricultural land has successfully completed all necessary preparation stages.

The stages are: 1) momuya (planting rice seeds), 2) momanangi bingka (stimulating rice to produce grains), 3) momota (harvesting rice), 4) mosampe (drying rice), 5) moteyo (transporting rice), 6) mopariyala (storing rice in the barn), and 7) mombaju (pounding rice). The Moraa traditional ceremony is an agricultural harvest success ceremony. It is performed by farmers.

It is customary to perform this ritual as a way of expressing gratitude to the Creator, other Lalaeyo ethnic communities, and the land for producing an abundance of crops. Residents participate in this customary ceremony by collaborating to joyfully prepare for and celebrate the party.

The Kayori Moganci Gasing Kuntao dance-stages are quite numerous, despite the fact that the Moraa traditional ceremony marks the conclusion of the agricultural cycle. As part of the procedure, male and female chickens are killed and their blood is poured onto a mound of rice grains. This practice is known as motompo.

Additionally, there are a variety of kid-friendly games like moganci, a top game, and motela, a traditional game played with bamboo. In addition, there is the modoa ritual, which entails communal prayer under the direction of a religious leader, which is followed by mangkoni safi afi a, or communal dining, where participants eat a variety of Lalaeyo ethnic cuisine.

This ceremony also includes matoro, or a unique dance performed for the audience's entertainment. The same is true of ethnic songs called makayori, which are reciprocated like rhymes, as well as malolita, which are songs sung to welcome visitors or members of the public who travel from afar.

The year 2022 ritual of Moraa is over. The Lalaeyo ethnic community's language, literature, culture, and religion are all incorporated into this oral tradition.

Agriculture will continue to thrive in their lands as long as this oral tradition is upheld during that time. Farmers and Moraa go together like peanut butter and jelly.

They work together as a team to implement and recognize the success of rice planting. There is a beginning, and there will undoubtedly be a conclusion.

That is the essence of the Moraa oral tradition: a place for expressing gratitude for the success of rice planting as well as a way to preserve the unity of the lalaeyo ethnic group in the island of Sulawesi. The 2022 ritual of Moraa (M-3) has concluded.

The Lalaeyo ethnic community's language, literature, culture, and religion are all incorporated into this oral tradition. Agriculture will continue to thrive in their lands as long as this oral tradition is upheld during that time.

Farmers and Moraa go together like peanut butter and jelly. They work together as a team to implement and recognize the success of rice planting.

There is a beginning, and there will undoubtedly be a conclusion. That is the essence of the Moraa oral tradition: a place for expressing gratitude for the success of rice planting as well as a way to preserve the unity of the lalaeyo ethnic group in the island of Sulawesi.

The 2022 ritual of Moraa (M-3) has concluded. The Lalaeyo ethnic community's language, literature, culture, and religion are all incorporated into this oral tradition.

Agriculture will continue to thrive in their lands as long as this oral tradition is upheld during that time. Farmers and Moraa go together like peanut butter and jelly.

They work together as a team to implement and recognize the success of rice planting. There is a beginning, and there will undoubtedly be a conclusion.

That is the meaning of the Moraa oral tradition: a space for giving thanks for the success of planting rice as well as a means of caring for the togetherness of the lalaeyo ethnic group in the center of Sulawesi Island. They work together as a unit to carry out and acknowledge the accomplishment of planting rice (M-3).

There is a beginning, and there will undoubtedly be a conclusion. That is the meaning of the Moraa oral tradition: a space for giving thanks for the success of planting rice as well as a means of caring for the togetherness of the lalaeyo ethnic group in the center of Sulawesi Island.

They work together as a unit to carry out and acknowledge the accomplishment of planting rice (M-3). There is a beginning, and there will undoubtedly be a conclusion.

That is the essence of the Moraa oral tradition: a place for expressing gratitude for the success of rice planting as well as a way to preserve the unity of the lalaeyo ethnic group in the island of Sulawesi. (M-3).

The Moraa traditional ceremony, according to Moh Arsyad, head of the Tojo Una-Una Regency Tourism Office, is the culmination or end of a protracted process of planting rice that starts with the ritual of choosing land for agricultural use, followed by the period of clearing the land, the ritual of choosing seeds, the planting period, and the period leading up to the harvesting period.