Strengthening Customary Law Through the Mosehe Peohala Owose Ceremony: The Construction of Identity and Conflict Resolution in Tolaki Society

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-613-0_30How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Conflict Resolution; Mosehe Peohala Owose; Tolaki Traditional Institution

Abstract

This study aims to examine how the Tolaki Customary Institution (LAT) addressed a perceived customary violation resulting from administrative negligence by the Southeast Sulawesi General Elections Commission (KPU Sultra). The omission of LAT from the invitation list for the plenary session that determined the elected Governor and Deputy Governor, although not constituting a legal violation, was perceived as a breach of Tolaki customary norms. In response, LAT conducted the mosehe peohala owose ceremony on February 23, 2025, which was attended by government officials, community representatives, and KPU commissioners. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the researchers observed the ceremony and conducted interviews to document and analyze the ritual process. The findings reveal that the ceremony reconciled the perceived violation, imposed customary sanctions on KPU Sultra officials, restored social harmony, and reinforced the authority of Tolaki customary traditions. Key elements of the ritual included offerings of a white buffalo, a kaci cloth, and a water kettle, accompanied by prayers and ritual mantras. This study highlights the enduring role of indigenous rituals in conflict resolution and the maintenance of community cohesion.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Abdul Jalil
AU  - Ansar Arifin
AU  - Sarlan Adijaya
AU  - Wawan Cahyadin
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/04
TI  - Strengthening Customary Law Through the Mosehe Peohala Owose Ceremony: The Construction of Identity and Conflict Resolution in Tolaki Society
BT  - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Linguistics and Cultural Studies (ICLC-6 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 369
EP  - 384
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-613-0_30
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-613-0_30
ID  - Jalil2026
ER  -