Nature and Tradition in An Ecological Reading of Roko Molas Poco In Manggarai Culture, East Nusa Tenggara

Abstract

Environmental degradation reflects an ethical disruption in the relationship between human communities and the ecosystems that sustain them. This study examines the ecological meanings of the Roko Molas Poco ritual in Manggarai culture and explains their relationship to the concept of universal brotherhood proposed by William Chang. The study used a qualitative ethnographic design supported by a literature review, participant observation, and in-depth semistructured interviews with seven traditional leaders, ritual practitioners, and cultural elders. Data were analyzed through condensation, thematic coding, hermeneutic interpretation, and triangulation. The findings show that the ritual treats the selected tree as a relational subject rather than a commodity. Its stages regulate communal deliberation, selective resource use, ritual permission, reconciliation, and shared responsibility for the forest. These practices express respect for nonhuman life, limits on exploitation, and moral accountability before God, the community, and nature. The findings also show that Roko Molas Poco gives a culturally grounded form to universal brotherhood because humans and other created beings are understood as originating from the same divine source. The ritual therefore provides a local environmental ethic that can strengthen conservation awareness and enrich contemporary discussions of relational and biocultural approaches to environmental protection.