The fourteen domains of Palu’é are distinguished by their adherence to one of two ceremonial systems. The seven domains employing pigs as their main sacrificial animals are referred to as “domains of pig blood” (tana laja wawi) whereas the seven domains practicing the sacrifice of water buffalo are referred to as “domains of water buffalo blood” (tana laja karapau) (Table 1). The domains of Palu’é are listed here according to their adherence to a ceremonial system (for their respective locations refer to Map 1). The present investigation is mainly concerned with relations among the first three of the “domains of water buffalo blood” — Tana Ko’a, Tana Cawalo and Tana Tomu.

Blood offerings that accompany every major ceremonial event are ranked according to the ritual potency of the blood employed. In such a ranking only the blood of the water buffalo is considered to be “big blood” (laja ca), that is, of the highest ritual potency. The blood of pigs and chicken and in some cases the blood of dogs is also considered to have ritual potency, but only to a lesser extent. On the basis of this ranking all of the “domains of water buffalo blood” consider themselves to be superior to the domains practicing the sacrifice of the pig.

The killing of the main sacrificial animals takes place at the two central ceremonial courtyards (tupu) of the domain, each of which usually consists of a number of named monoliths set on top of a circular mound at the centre of each of the two main villages. In terms of cosmology the central ceremonial courtyard is the place of connection with the multilayered universe. From here access can be gained to both the terrestrial layers and to those of the firmament. By sacrificing the “big blood” of the water buffalo at the central ceremonial courtyard the Supreme Being can be reached. In ritual speech the Palu’é Supreme Being is referred to by the couplet sun-moon, stone-earth (era-wula, watu-tana). The sacrifice of water buffalo ensures the support of the Supreme Being for the well-being of the people, the proper sequence of the seasons, a plentiful harvest and good fortune in warfare. Establishing contact with the Supreme Being by sacrificing “big blood” thus results in prosperity for the domain. This in turn ultimately reflects upon its status among the other “domains of water buffalo blood”.

The ceremonial cycles of both groups of “father people” of a domain run parallel to each other. Each group purchases its own sacrificial animal, raises it in the domain and stages the sacrifice on its respective ceremonial courtyard. However, every stage of the cycle is always initiated by the group of the main priest leader. Different ceremonial offices are assigned to individual Houses of each group. The location of the dwellings of their holders surrounding the ceremonial courtyard reflects the order of these offices. A number of Houses located at the upper half of the circle are referred to as “uphill people” (hata réta) as opposed to those of the lower half who are called “downhill people” (hata lau). The latter are in charge of the purchase of the animals and in that context they are also referred to as the “purchasing people” (hata puané), whereas the former who carry out the final sacrifice are called “sacrificing people” (hata patiné).

A complete cycle ideally extends over a period of five years. The “purchasing people” initiate the cycle by the exchange of yearling animals against golden ear-pendants, ivory tusks and harvest goods with allies of the sacrificing domain on the neighbouring island of Flores.^[12] The purchasing voyage is highly structured and begins with the construction of the “large sitting platform” (woga ca) next to the ceremonial courtyard. For the duration of the cycle ceremonial gongs and drums are hung from the ridgepole of its roof. At night the water buffalo is usually tied up in the space beneath the raised platform. This structure is also referred to as “the House of the water buffalo” (nua kerapau).

During the voyage all members of the fleet of the purchasing party are subject to strict rules of conduct. Participants are not allowed to sit in the shade, no food or drink is consumed on the boats, and smoking and chewing of betelpepper and areca-nut is only permitted at brief moments between chants. The voyage across the straits to Flores follows a prescribed route, each stage of which is marked by the chanting of a fixed set of ritual chants. Most of these chants contain sexual allusions that refer to a man coming to Flores for the purpose of finding a spouse. At the end of the fifth chant the purchasing party lands on Flores where it is received by its allies. A stall for the buffalo is built on one of the boats of the purchasing fleet. After the exchange with the allies has taken place the animals are taken aboard and penned up. On the return trip another set of five chants is recited.^[13] Some of these are addressed to the sacrificial animal which, in order to keep it calm, is told (lied to, as it is put) about the life of abundance it will be leading back on Palu’é. The landing is marked by a metaphorical inversion. As soon as the animal lands at the shores of the domain the metaphor of its being a bride which is brought back to the island to be wed changes to one whereby the animal becomes the groom who will be married to one of the daughters of the priest leader of the purchasing party. During the five-year period preceding the sacrifice she is responsible for his welfare. At the end of this period the animal is handed over to the “sacrificing” people. There again an unmarried woman takes charge of the buffalo. After the sacrifice both ceremonial virgins are subject to restrictions similar to those applied in mourning for a spouse.

The sequence in the handing over of the tether of the sacrificial animals serves to illustrate the precedence the main priest leader takes over the lesser priest leader. Upon disembarking the holder of a ceremonial office whose group of Houses is said to “stand in the middle” (téi rora), i.e. in a position serving both ceremonial courtyards, takes the ropes from both priest leaders. He leads the animals along a specific path up the mountain to the boundaries of the village of the main priest leader. There he hands over both animals to the main priest leader who then enters the main village. After his animal has been installed in the “house of the water buffalo” he leads the second animal up to the boundary of the village of the lesser priest leader where he hands it over to him. At every stage at which the rope changes hands the recipient reciprocates with a prestation of gold or ivory.^[14] Throughout the entire cycle this precedence of the main priest leader is expressed by his “going first” (nolo). Any ceremonial activities are first carried out by him or by officiants associated with his ceremonial centre. Although these activities are paralleled at both centres, there is always a brief delay between the two.

The arrival of the animals on the island and their naming is honoured by all the allies of the purchasing domain by their attendance at the circular dances at the ceremonial centres. These dances extend over a period of several weeks and during this time of celebration everyday rules governing sexual relations are considerably loosened. At both ends of the cycle, at the purchase and at the final sacrifice, the whole network of social relations of every House in a domain is fully activated and relations are acknowledged and reinforced by the exchange of pig meat and harvest goods.

The passage of each year after the purchase of the water buffalo is marked by a ceremonial dance which is again attended by the allies of the sacrificing domain. During a five-year period the economic activities of the Houses of a domain are directed towards accumulating the large number of pigs and harvest goods required for the ceremonial exchanges that accompany the final sacrifice and for the feeding of the numerous guests. Because undertakings within the domain that involve large-scale ceremonies and ceremonial exchange, such as the construction of houses and boats or the setting of mortuary monoliths, must be completed before the sacrifice, a concerted effort must be directed towards finalizing these matters. Following the sacrifice the skull of the buffalo is tied to a wooden pole which is then erected on the ceremonial mound. Until this pole has decomposed and fallen over no new sacrificial animal can be purchased and no large-scale undertaking can be commenced. Thus the five years devoted to raising the buffalo are characterized by a great economic effort by every House of the domain to meet the demands entailed by the final sacrifice. After the sacrifice the domain is virtually stripped of resources.

Five years after the purchase of the buffalo, at the beginning of the rainy season, the preliminary ceremonies for the sacrifice begin. Once again the allies come and dance. A fixed set of traditional chants are recited, an important one of which is referred to as the “carrying and dragging (of) the black patola stone” (titi céi watu mité patola). In this chant the voyage of the mythical ancestors of the domain is recounted. The chant consists of a chain of hundreds of paired place names marking stages of the ancestral voyage through symbolic space from a mythical place of origin in the far west. It tells of how the ancestors carried with them on their boat “the stone and the soil” (tana watu), a metaphor which stands for the island. Once they had reached their destination this primordial “stone and soil” grew to become the island as we know it now. In the last section of the origin chant actual place names of the domain (tana ngarané; lit. the names of the domain) are evoked, beginning at the four corners of the domain and leading to its centres, towards the two ceremonial courtyards (Map 2). Then in a ceremony called “erecting the ceremonial courtyard” (kota tupu) a large stone is set on each of the two ceremonial mounds and soil is taken from the lower and the upper part of the domain and placed around it. This “stone and soil” is then believed to grow in size just as the mythical “stone and soil” from which the island originated.

Following the fixed set of ceremonial chants both allies and hosts create new chants in poetic language which allude to any unsolved conflicts or outstanding debts between the participants. Those targeted then attempt to settle the issue by chanting a response. The chanting and counterchanting goes on until a satisfactory solution has been found. In every cycle a different allied domain is chosen as the guest of honour of this final stage. All members of the sacrificing domain travel together to the domain of the chosen guest and in a mock battle they conquer their ceremonial centres. On the day before the sacrifice the guest domain in turn attacks the sacrificing domain and in turn conquers its two centres. The actual day of the sacrifice is referred to in ritual speech by the couplet “to make the trunk fall, to cut off the tip” (poka bu’u, supo ngalu). Here the botanic metaphor describes the life of the buffalo which is to be sacrificed to the Supreme Being. Most of the population of the allied domains as well as numerous individual groups from all over the island come to attend the sacrifice. A sacrifice is said to have been good if the cuts of meat offered to the guests are large and the palm gin flows copiously. Another criterion is that of how long the cutting down of the buffalo is drawn out by skilful slashing before the animal finally collapses.^[15] This is referred to as “the dancing of the water buffalo” (coka kerapau).

Finally, an important criterion of the success of the sacrifice is that of reciprocity in exchange. At a number of stages of the ritual cycle ceremonial exchange takes place. Prestations and counterprestations of raw pig-meat against rice and harvest goods (mung-bean, cow-pea, tuber, maize) reach their grandest scale during the days preceding the sacrifice. This is a time in which the total social network of each House is activated. Not only do the various groups of Houses of wife-givers and wife-takers engage in exchange but individual Houses of quasi-consanguineal kin status from all over the island also participate. The specifics regarding the amount and kind of exchange are based on exchanges effected on similar occasions in the past and great care is taken to reciprocate accordingly. Finally, on the last day before the sacrifice, members of the allied domains and large numbers of individuals visiting from all other domains make prestations of harvest goods that must be reciprocated with pig-meat. At that stage the reputation (ngara ca, lit. the big name) of each House of the sacrificing domain hinges on whether or not it was capable of reciprocating to all of these prestations. The larger the cuts the more the recipients will praise the individual Houses and the sacrificing domain as a whole upon returning to their villages.^[16]

Before the animal is entirely disposed of^[17] there is a final night of chanting attended only by the sacrificing domain. In these chants the history of the animal is recounted from the initial purchase through the years during which it was raised on the island to its final sacrifice. In the early morning the ceremonial objects, gongs and drums are put back into storage until the next cycle can be opened. The closing of the cycle is marked by the setting of offerings along the boundary lines of the domain. This is said to be the most auspicious moment to make war on a non-allied domain.

Any one of the “domains of water buffalo blood” can lose its ability to sacrifice the “big blood” of water buffalo. When it does, a general decline in its prosperity is believed to follow. According to one myth the first water buffaloes were brought to the island by a domain called Awa located near the volcano. Awa had purchased eight animals from its allies in the Lio region on the island of Flores. These yearlings were to be raised in Awa and then sacrificed. However, shortly after their arrival, the animals fled Palu’é and swam back to Lio. Since that time Awa has never again attempted to reinitiate a water buffalo sacrificing cycle but has resigned itself to the sacrifice of pigs. By supplying pigs and rice it now actively supports the water buffalo sacrifice of Ko’a, a domain to whom it stands in a relationship of younger to elder sibling (ka’é-hari). This classification by Ko’a is a metaphor for Awa’s subordinate position within the political and ceremonial alliance between the two domains. Its population has remained small and its territory has continuously been encroached upon by its neighbours so that now Awa virtually perches at the edge of the volcano. Unlike Awa the domain of Téo actually used to sacrifice water buffalo, but when several animals died during the prescribed period preceding the sacrifice Téo renounced its claim to be a “domain of water buffalo blood” and has since only sacrificed pigs. Like Awa, Téo has become small and insignificant and now supports in a subordinate position the sacrifice of the neighbouring domain of Ndéo. However, Awa and Téo are the only two of the five “domains of pig blood” that stand in a relation of ceremonial alliance to any “domain of water buffalo blood”.