Twelfth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Fondrako is the name of the religious text of the Nias tribe, which was born from the perspective of animism and dynamism. This text is an oral utterance that is then written down and becomes a religious belief and a guide for people to act in everyday life. Even though Christianity has become the majority religion on the island of Nias, the strength and values of the fondrako text are still very strong in influencing the paradigm, mindset, and actions of the Nias people. In practice, fondrako texts and values regulate the social and religious behavior of Nias people more than Christian texts. As a result, Christianity developed within the influence and power of tradition so that mixed teachings were unavoidable. Nias people prefer to refer to traditional values and heritage of tribal religious texts rather than Christian teachings, which often lose out in cultural practice. This study examines how Fondrako has become a non-canonical religious force and impacts social change in contemporary Nias society. To that end, I discuss four critical issues: (a) what is fondrako; (b) the social function of fondrako in social change; (c) fondrako as religious teaching; and (d) the hybridity of fondrako with Christian teachings for contemporary Nias people. The theories that I use in this literature research are various approaches in the sociology of religion.