The ritual calendar of South Acèh, Indonesia

This publication addresses the manner in which Islam manifests itself in the culturally specific representations and actions of the society of Aneuk Jamee of South Acèh, Indonesia. Based on long-term socialanthropological field research it explores the relations between the so-called normative Islam - as that has been laid down in the canonical texts of the Qur’an and hadith- and the ways in which these normative ideas, locally understood and valued, are expressed in the rituals conducted. The research has revealed how in local perception these ritual actions generate a reproduction of the social relationships and the moral foundation that make up this society. The meticulous examination of the village ritual calendar shows that three different perspectives on this social and moral order prevail: a traditional adat perspective, the historical Islamic perspective, and the modernist Islamic perspective. This attributes to Aneuk Jamee a complex dynamic socio-religious identity within the field of Indonesian cultures.