Loravianti, et.al., Resital: Journal of Performing Arts (2024), Vol 26. No. 2 Agustus 2025
https://doi.org/10.24821/resital.v26i2.17136

Performing Cosmology: Sound, Movement, and
World-Making in the Turuk Lagai Ritual of
Mentawai
Susas Rita Loravianti1, Alfalah 2, Iswandi3, Emri4, Katia Chaterji5, Eva Y6
1

Art Creation and Art Studies, Faculty of Graduate School, Indonesian Institute of the

Arts Padangpanjang, Indonesia.

E-ISSN 2338-6770

2

Department of Karawitan, Faculty of Performing Arts, Indonesian Institute of the Arts

Submitted date : August 2nd, 2025
Revised date

: September 22nd, 2025

Padangpanjang, Indonesia.
3

th

Accepted date : November 17 , 2025

Art Education, Faculty of Graduate School, Indonesian Institute of the Arts

Padangpanjang, Indonesia.
Correspondence Address:

4

Dance Study Program, Faculty of Performing Arts, Indonesian Institute of the Arts

Eva Y.
Fa c u l t y o f Fi n e A r t s a n d D e s i g n ,

Padangpanjang, Indonesia.

Indonesian Institute of the Arts

5

Padangpanjang. Jln. Bahder Johan No.

Asian and Asian American Studies, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, Loyola

35, Padangpanjang, West Sumatra

Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, United States.

27128, Indonesia.

6

Email: evay@isi-padangpanjang.ac.id

Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Indonesian Institute of the Arts Padangpanjang,

Indonesia.
Abstract: : This research investigates Turuk Lagai, a central ritual of the Mentawai
people in West Sumatra, Indonesia, as a performative act that enacts and sustains
their cosmological worldview. The study aims to understand how this ritual reflects
belief and constitutes reality through embodied and relational practices. Using a
qualitative ethnographic approach, the study draws on long-term fieldwork, in-depth
interviews, and thematic analysis assisted by QualCoder. Data were coded and
interpreted through a theoretical framework combining Victor Turner's ritual process,
Catherine Bell's ritualization theory, and Tim Ingold's concept of relational ontology.
The analysis identified three overarching themes—Embodiment, Spiritual
Correspondence, and Relational Ontology—demonstrating how bodily movement,
chants, offerings, and environmental elements co-produce a cosmological order.
Rather than symbolizing cosmology, Turuk Lagai brings it into being, renewing social
and spiritual relationships between humans, nature, and ancestral forces.
The study concludes that Turuk Lagai is a dynamic system of knowledge production
and cosmological maintenance. It recommends greater recognition of indigenous
ritual not as static tradition but as an active and vital mode of world-making with
implications for cultural preservation and ecological ethics.
Keywords: Cosmological World-Making; Ritual Performativity; Mentawai
Cosmology; Relational Ontology; Turuk Lagai.

© 2023 The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative
Common Attribution 4.0 International License
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1. Introduction
In the forested archipelago of the Mentawai Islands, rituals are not merely symbolic
representations of cosmological order—they are the very means through which such
an order is enacted and made real. Among the most vital ceremonies in Mentawai
society is Turuk Lagai, a ritual that serves as a conduit between the human and spiritual
realms, mediating relationships among the living, the dead, the forest, and ancestral
spirits. Performed during significant life events such as birth, house-building, healing,
and death, Turuk Lagai consists of complex sequences of dance, chant, offering, and
communal labor. Central to the ritual is the figure of the sikerei (shaman), whose
embodied performance, vocal expression, and rhythmic correspondence animate the
connection between humans and the spirit world. The ritual unfolds in and around the
uma (communal house) over several days, engaging multiple families and invoking
cosmological forces through movement, sound, material offerings, and sensory
discipline.
Sound and rhythm play a crucial role in sustaining the ritual's energy and
cosmological correspondence. The sonic environment is shaped by the interplay of
traditional percussion instruments such as gajeuma' (hand drums), tuddukat (wooden
slit drum), and gong, producing cyclical rhythms that accompany the uliat dance. Over
these pulsations, the sikerei's chants—part invocation, part mantra—form a dialogic
bridge between the human and spirit worlds. The alternation of low, grounded
drumming and high, wavering vocal tones mirrors the dynamic exchange between
earthly and ancestral realms. These sounds are not merely musical accompaniment
but an essential component of ritual efficacy, orchestrating the participants'
movements, focus, and spiritual receptivity.
Turuk Lagai is thus both a religious event and a performative act through which the
Mentawai people make and maintain their world. Through its integration of bodily
movement, chant, rhythm, and sensory awareness, relations between humans, spirits,
animals, and the forest are realigned and affirmed. Far from being a static tradition,
Turuk Lagai is a living system of knowledge transmission, ecological engagement, and
cosmological renewal (Chrismenta Siritoitet & Sarjoko, 2024; Aragon, 1991; Nasution
et al, 2022). The relationship between ritual and cosmology is not one of
representation, but of mutual emergence—the ritual does not describe cosmology; it
performs it into being (Puspita & Asrani, 2025; Balogh, 2021; Butterworth, 2008).
Within anthropology and ethnomusicology, ritual has long been recognized as a
central element of cultural expression. Classical theories, such as those of Émile
Durkheim and Victor Turner, framed ritual as a means of social cohesion or symbolic
transformation. More recent scholarship has moved beyond symbolic and

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representational models to examine ritual as a form of practice, performance, and
ontological world-making. As Catherine Bell (1992) argues, ritual should not be viewed
merely as a system of symbols to be decoded but as a form of embodied practice that
actively shapes social and cosmological realities. Similarly, Tim Ingold (2011) invites us
to consider how humans do not act upon the world from a distance but engage with it
from within—through movement, sound, correspondence, and relational dwelling.
This research situates Turuk Lagai within this evolving theoretical landscape by
asking: how does ritual function as a performative mode of enacting Mentawai
cosmology? Rather than treating ritual as a symbolic expression of belief, this study
approaches it as a lived, sensory, and embodied process through which participants
“become with” the world around them (Ingold, 2011). It investigates how bodily
gestures, rhythmic structures, vocal intonations, spatial arrangements, and material
practices serve not only to mediate between worlds but to materialize cosmological
relationships in the here and now (Rahman, 2015; Malik, 2023, 2024).
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and phenomenological
observation, the study focuses on how the ritual is experienced by those who enact
it—particularly sikerei and community members who inhabit the cosmological logic of
Arat Sabulungan, the indigenous Mentawai belief system (Nasution et al., 2022; Y et al.,
2023; Juliardi, 2024). Attention is given to how ritual performance engages the forest
as a spiritual soundscape, how rhythm and chant bring ancestral presence into being,
and how the interplay of music, movement, and offering reinforces relational bonds
between humans and non-humans.
By engaging with Turner's concept of ritual process, Bell's theory of practice, and
Ingold's relational ontology, this study contributes to a growing body of scholarship
that foregrounds the sonic, performative, and ontological dimensions of ritual. It offers
a localized, culturally grounded example of how ritual acts communicate with the
spirit world and sustain it moment by moment. Ultimately, this research aims to show
that Turuk Lagai is not simply a reflection of Mentawai cosmology—it is one of its
primary modes of production. In this way, the ritual becomes a space where
cosmology is not spoken about but performed—and sounded—into existence,
enacted through bodily movement, rhythmic correspondence, and relational
connection with spirits, ancestors, and the natural world.
2. Theoretical Framework
This research is grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that brings
together ritual theory, performance studies, sound anthropology, and relational
ontology to examine how Turuk Lagai, a key ritual among the Mentawai people, serves

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not merely as a symbolic act but as a performative process through which cosmology
is enacted and sustained.
A central concept guiding this study is ritual as process and transformation, as
developed by Victor Turner. In The Ritual Process (1969), Turner reconceptualizes ritual
as a structured, dynamic sequence involving phases of separation, liminality, and
reaggregation. The liminal phase, in particular, represents a space of ambiguity and
transformation, where ordinary roles and boundaries are suspended, allowing
participants to undergo significant ontological and social change. This framework
helps to understand how Turuk Lagai functions as a threshold event—when the
boundary between the human and spirit worlds is temporarily dissolved, allowing for
the reconfiguration of relationships within the cosmological order. Turner's emphasis
on communitas, rhythm, and embodied transformation provides a lens through which
to analyze how ritual produces not only social cohesion but also spiritual realignment
and ontological renewal (Turner, 1982).
Beyond Turner's model of ritual process, scholars in ethnomusicology have long
explored the interrelation between music, rhythm, and ritual transformation. As
Gilbert Rouget (1985) argues in Music and Trance, sound plays an essential role in
structuring ritual time, inducing altered states of consciousness, and enabling
participants to move between cosmological domains. Similarly, John Blacking (1973)
emphasizes that musical performance is a social and spiritual act, not merely an
aesthetic one—it mediates relationships between individuals, communities, and the
metaphysical world. These perspectives illuminate how the sonic dimensions of Turuk
Lagai—its drumming, chanting, and cyclical rhythms—function not as
accompaniment but as agents of transformation, guiding the bodies and perceptions
of participants through ritual space.
To extend this analysis beyond process and symbolism, this study draws on Tim
Ingold's theory of relational ontology and his concept of correspondence. In contrast
to representational models of knowledge, Ingold (2011) proposes a dwelling
perspective, wherein beings do not act upon a pre-given world but grow with it through
relational entanglements. According to this view, knowledge and reality are not built
but lived through movement, sound, and sensory engagement (Ingold, 2011, 2018). In
the context of Turuk Lagai, this approach allows us to see how participants are not
merely enacting cultural meanings, but becoming with the forest, the spirits, and the
cosmological landscape. The ritual thus becomes a form of sonic and bodily worldmaking, in which cosmology is not described but materialized through lived, rhythmic,
and vocal interaction with the more-than-human world (Feld, 1990; Stoller, 1997).

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This relational and performative view of ritual is further supported by Catherine
Bell's theory of ritualization, which shifts the analytic focus from symbolic decoding to
strategic, embodied practice. Bell (1992) emphasizes that rituals are not static
containers of meaning but practices that produce and negotiate power, knowledge,
and cosmological order. Through ritualization, actions become distinguished from the
ordinary and charged with significance not through symbolic representation alone, but
through how they are enacted, by whom, and in what context (Bird, 1999). In the case
of Turuk Lagai, this perspective helps explain how ritual authority is constructed, how
specific gestures and sounds become sacred, and how cosmological legitimacy is
established through embodied and sonic action rather than belief alone.
Together, these theoretical approaches enable a reading of Turuk Lagai that
highlights its performative, generative, and sonic-ontological functions. Rather than
reducing ritual to mere tradition or symbolic expression, this framework positions it as
a dynamic, embodied encounter in which cosmology is lived, heard, and sustained. By
engaging with Turner's ritual process, Ingold's relational ontology, Bell's practice
theory, and key ethnomusicological insights (Rouget, 1985; Blacking, 1973; Feld,
1990), this study aims to illuminate the multiple dimensions through which Turuk Lagai
enacts Mentawai reality—not as an abstract worldview, but as a lived, resonant, and
ongoing practice of being in the world.
3. Methods
This study applied a qualitative ethnographic approach to examine how the ritual of
Turuk Lagai performs and enacts cosmological reality in Mentawai culture.
Ethnography is particularly appropriate for this research, as it allows for an in-depth,
immersive exploration of cultural practices, beliefs, and lived experiences through
long-term engagement and reflexive interpretation (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007).
Over the past three years, the researcher has conducted sustained fieldwork in the
Mentawai Islands, building relationships with ritual participants, observing ceremonial
processes, and documenting everyday interactions that frame the ritual in its broader
cosmological and ecological context.
Research Design
The study is grounded in an interpretivist paradigm, aiming to understand how
meaning is produced through lived practice, bodily performance, and relational
engagement rather than universal or measurable truths (Rapley, 2018). Turuk Lagai is
investigated as a symbolic system and a performative, embodied practice that
materializes Mentawai cosmology.

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The research design integrates participant observation, semi-structured
interviews, sensory ethnography, and qualitative textual analysis to explore the
ritual's ontological and experiential dimensions.
Field Site and Duration
From 2021 to 2025, fieldwork was conducted in the Sikaliou tribe on the Mentawai
Islands, West Sumatra. The research focused on a community that continues to
actively perform Turuk Lagai within the framework of Arat Sabulungan, the indigenous
belief system. Over three years, the researcher participated in and observed multiple
iterations of the ritual, conducted follow-up interviews with key actors, and embedded
themselves in the daily rhythms of community life.
Data Collection Methods
a. Participant Observation
The researcher engaged in extended participant observation, attending and
documenting Turuk Lagai rituals in their entirety. Particular attention was given to
bodily movement, gesture, and rhythm; the spatial and material arrangements of the
ritual setting; and the interactions between humans, spirits, and the surrounding
environment. Fieldnotes were recorded in real time and subsequently expanded after
each ritual event to capture additional reflections and contextual details. In addition,
audiovisual documentation—including photographs, sketches, and sound
recordings—was collected with the consent of the community.
b. Semi-Structured Interviews
In-depth interviews were conducted with ritual participants, including sikerei
(shamans) such as Teteu Lala, family members of the deceased or honored individuals,
community elders, and a Mentawai cultural observer, Yosep Sagari. The interviews
explored several key themes, including cosmological beliefs and worldviews, the role
and meaning of the ritual, sensory and emotional experiences during the ceremony,
and participants' perceptions of change or continuity in ritual practice.
c. Sensory Ethnography
Inspired by Pink (2015), the study also employed sensory ethnography to document
how smell, sound, temperature, and texture contribute to the atmosphere of the ritual,
recognizing the non-verbal, embodied knowledge present in performance.

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d. Artifact and Space Documentation
Important ritual objects (e.g., offerings, tools, clothing) and spatial arrangements (e.g.,
ritual sites, forest paths) were recorded through photos and sketches to support
analysis of material-symbolic correspondences.
Data Analysis
Data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis, supported by QualCoder, an
open-source software for organizing and coding qualitative data. While QualCoder
managed and segmented the transcripts, the interpretive analysis was conducted
manually, guided by a codebook that integrated theoretical constructs and themes
emergent from the fieldwork.
The analysis followed several key stages. First, the interview recordings and fieldnotes
were transcribed to enable systematic textual analysis. This was followed by an open
coding process in which significant patterns and meaningful segments were labeled
with descriptive codes, such as Turuk as sacred performance, animal mimicry, ancestor
presence, chant harmony, and ritual hunting. These initial codes were then
categorized into three overarching analytical themes (Fig. 1): Embodiment, which
included elements such as ritual movement, bodily alignment, and sensory discipline;
Relational Ontology, encompassing ideas of nature as an active agent, ancestral
presence in the forest, and ecological entanglement; and Spiritual Correspondence,
which addressed aspects of chanting, offering, divination, and spiritual alignment.
Finally, the thematic clusters were examined through interpretive analysis, drawing
upon key theoretical frameworks including Victor Turner's theory of ritual process and
liminality, Tim Ingold's concept of relational being and correspondence, and Catherine
Bell's theory of ritualization as embodied practice.
Throughout the analysis, reflexivity was maintained through analytical memos
and positional reflections, allowing the researcher to remain attentive to the cultural
context and aware of their interpretive position. This reflexive approach ensured that
meaning was not imposed on the data but allowed to emerge through engagement
with participants' lived experiences.
To enhance analytical transparency and traceability, a visual representation of the
coding structure was developed (see Figure 1). This Analytical Coding Framework
diagram illustrates how descriptive codes were clustered into higher-order themes,
showing the connections between ritual elements, cosmological concepts, and
embodied practices in Turuk Lagai. It also demonstrates how the coding strategy
bridges field data with theoretical insights, supporting a rich, layered interpretation of
ritual performativity and Mentawai cosmology.

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Figure 1: Analytical Coding
Framework of Turuk Lagai ritual

4. Results
This section begins with a visual representation of the coded data gathered through
thematic analysis to provide clarity and transparency in the analytical process. The
table and accompanying bar chart (see Figure 2) illustrate the frequency with which
specific codes appeared during qualitative analysis of the interview data and
fi e l d n o t e s . T h e c o d i n g f ra m e wo r k i s d i v i d e d i n t o t h re e o ve ra rc h i n g
themes—Embodiment, Spiritual Correspondence, and Relational
Ontology—consisting of finer-grained subcodes.

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While qualitative research does not aim to quantify meaning, presenting the
frequency of codes offers valuable insight into the salience and emphasis of particular
ideas within participant narratives. Codes such as Ritual Movement and Dance, Ritual
Chant and Vocation, and Nature as Active Agent emerged frequently, suggesting that
participants consistently referenced and experienced these elements as core aspects
of the ritual. Therefore, the frequency data helps justify why specific themes were
prioritized in the discussion, without reducing qualitative meaning to numerical value.
Figure 2. Analytical Coding
Framework of Turuk Lagai:
Themes, Codes, and Frequency
Distribution

Theme
Embodiment

Relational Ontology

Spiritual Correspondence

Code
Ritual Movement and Dance
The Body as Medium
Sensory Discipline
Nature as Active Agent
Animal Communication
Ecological Entanglement
Ancestral Presence through Nature
Ritual Chant and Vocation
Offerings and Negotiation
Divinatory Reading
Spiritual Alignment

Frequency
14
11
8
13
9
10
12
13
11
7
8

The bar chart provides a visual summary of the distribution of analytical codes
derived from thematic analysis of qualitative data related to the Turuk Lagai ritual.
Each bar represents the number of times a specific code appeared across interview
transcripts, reflecting how often participants emphasized key ritual elements. Notably,
"Ritual Movement and Dance" and "Nature as Active Agent" emerge as the most
frequently referenced codes, highlighting the centrality of bodily performance and
ecological entanglement in the ritual. Other widespread codes such as "Ritual Chant
and Vocation", "Ancestral Presence", and "The Body as Medium" further emphasize
the embodied and relational character of Turuk Lagai.

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This frequency data contributes to the research by offering empirical support for
the interpretive structure of the study. While qualitative research does not aim to
quantify meaning, the recurrence of specific codes offers a grounded indication of the
most salient themes within participants' narratives and ritual practices. These
frequencies guided the organization of the findings and discussion into five
interpretive subheadings—Ritual Structure, Embodied Practice, Spiritual
Correspondence, Relational Ontology, and Symbolic Materials and Sensory
Atmospheres—which together illustrate how Turuk Lagai enacts Mentawai cosmology
through embodied, performative, and ecological modes of being.
Ritual Structure: Performing Social and Temporal Order
The ritual of Turuk Lagai unfolds as a structured and communal process that mirrors
the social and cosmological order of the Mentawai people. Rather than a single event,
it spans several days or even weeks, encompassing a sequence of ceremonial acts
deeply woven into community life (Barraud, 1990). The duration depends on the
ritual's purpose—whether connected to Uma (house construction), sikerei (healing),
birth, or death—each carrying varying degrees of complexity (Rifalrik & Sandra, 2023).
As one informant explained, rituals tied to house-building may last up to three weeks
due to the number of preparatory and performative stages involved.
The structure of Turuk Lagai can be broadly divided into three temporal phases:
preparation, ritual performance, and post-ritual closure (McWilliam, 2009). Each stage
holds symbolic and spiritual significance (Yulianti et al., 2013). During the preparatory
phase, the community repairs ritual spaces—replacing decayed wood, fixing roofs,
and cleansing the environment both physically and spiritually. Taboos are enforced,
such as refraining from eating sour foods or engaging in conflict, to maintain harmony
among participants. This collective discipline ensures a state of readiness conducive to
ritual efficacy.
Family coordination plays a central role in the preparation. The Uma (communal
clan house) becomes a center for planning and negotiation (Schefold, 2008). Extended
family members convene to determine the ritual's schedule, assign roles such as
hunting and cooking, and prepare offerings (Ardhanari et al., 2021). These gatherings
serve not only practical purposes but also reaffirm kinship ties and social cohesion
(Derung et al., 2023; Elfiondri et al., 2021; Kusbiantoro et al., 2016).
As the ritual transitions into its performative phase, activities become more
formalized, including gatherings of sikerei, purification rites, and musical-dance
performances that continue through the night. This progression aligns with Turner's
(1969) model of separation, liminality, and reaggregation, culminating in post-ritual

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feasting and, in some cases, ritual hunting—acts that symbolically return participants
to daily life, renewed and spiritually realigned.
Figure 3. Top: A sikerei (shaman)
prepares to lead the Turuk Lagai
ritual (photo by Ivan Saputra).
Bottom: Community members
repair an Uma (traditional
house) as part of ritual
preparation (photo by Andro Dwi
Putra).

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The ritual structure of Turuk Lagai serves as a performative framework through
which Mentawai society reorders itself in alignment with both ancestral expectations
and cosmological principles (Wahyuni, 2025; Delfi, 2013). The ritual stages are not
arbitrary but reflect a deep indigenous understanding of how time, action, and social
relations must unfold to maintain balance between the visible and invisible realms
(Schröter, 2000). Through this structure, the Mentawai people do not merely
commemorate cosmology—they perform it into being.
Embodied Practice: Movement, Music, Dance, and the Role of Sikerei
The ritual of Turuk Lagai is fundamentally an embodied and musical practice, where
the body and sound together serve as central media through which cosmological
relationships are enacted (Sari, 2016). Within the performance, the sikerei—spiritual
leaders and healers—play a critical role, using movement, chant, rhythm, and gesture
to bring into being the unseen relationships between humans, spirits, and the
environment (Fig. 4) (Porath, 2015). Music in this context is not a separate art form but
an intrinsic element of ritual communication: the rhythmic drumming, vocal
intonations, and cyclical chants provide both the temporal structure and spiritual
resonance that guide the dancers' bodily actions. The findings from interview data
reveal that Turuk Lagai involves a series of performative acts, particularly dance and
mimetic movement known as uliat, which imitate animals and natural gestures. These
sonic and bodily forms are not symbolic acts in the Western theatrical sense but ritual
technologies through which knowledge is activated, spirits are addressed, and the
cosmological order is maintained (Schieffelin, 1985).
Figure 4. Sikerei dancing during
the Turuk Lagai ritual. Photos by
Yuli Hendra (top) and Ivan
Saputra.

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The dance sequences are described as highly specific and contextually
meaningful. The uliat includes imitations of animals such as monkeys (bilou), snakes,
birds, and chickens, as well as everyday human activities such as hunting and fishing.
According to the informant, each movement must be consistent with the animal it
represents, and the accompanying chants or vocalizations are designed to entertain,
appease, or call forth the spirits of those animals. This bodily performance is more than
artistic expression; it is a relational act of becoming, where the performer temporarily
inhabits the form and spirit of the animal being mimicked (fig 5). Thus, the movement
is a form of correspondence with the non-human world, echoing Tim Ingold's
argument that we know the world through "being along with" rather than observing
from a distance (Ingold, 2011).
Figure 5. Dance as an act of
becoming by the Sikerei—photo
by Benny Kurniadi.

The sikerei are central to this process. Not everyone in the community performs
the most sacred parts of Turuk Lagai; the spiritual efficacy of the ritual depends on the
ritual integrity, musical alignment, and bodily discipline of the sikerei. Their dance is
accompanied by chants that often resemble mantras—not in the doctrinal sense, but
as rhythmic vocalizations that convey meaning through tone, repetition, and breath
(Fig. 6). These chants are inherently musical, merging rhythm, melody, and intention to
communicate with the spirit realm. Each vocal line is synchronized with corresponding
gestures and directed toward specific spiritual entities. As one informant explained, if
the chant and dance fall out of alignment—such as mismatching a chant meant for a

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monkey with a movement invoking a bird—the ritual harmony is disrupted, potentially
causing a spiritual rupture or “tumbang” (collapse) among the performers.
The musical accompaniment unfolds as a layered percussive texture,
characterized by steady, cyclical rhythms produced by tuddukat and gajeuma' drums
(Fig. 7). Performed at a moderate tempo of approximately

= 90 BPM, the pulse

provides a rhythmic foundation that supports the dancers' sustained movements. The
beat is not metronomic in the Western sense but fluid, allowing for subtle rhythmic
elasticity that responds to the dancers' shifting gestures and spatial arrangements.
Over this percussive base, intermittent vocal calls from the sikerei act as cues, guiding
both the pacing and emotional intensity of the dance. The structure of the music is
repetitive yet accumulative—the cyclic phrases generate a trance-conducive sonic
environment in which repetition dissolves temporal awareness, deepens physical
immersion, and aligns the embodied actions of performers with the ritual's
cosmological rhythm.
Rhythmically, the interplay between drum accents and vocal interjections is
designed to entrain the dancers' bodies into a shared temporal and spiritual flow. This
entrainment is essential in Turuk Lagai, as the sikerei's bodily gestures and rhythmic
footwork must correspond precisely with the music to maintain ritual coherence and
efficacy. Subtle dynamic shifts—such as accelerations, volume surges, and intensified
drumming—often coincide with heightened phases of the uliat dance sequences,
reflecting reciprocal feedback between musicians, dancers, and spirits.
In this context, music does not serve as mere accompaniment but as a
cosmological medium that enables communication between the human and nonhuman worlds. The combination of repetitive drumming, chanting, and movement
produces a state of sensory saturation in which both sikerei and participants become
receptive to spiritual presences. During such moments, the sikerei can discern whether
benevolent or malevolent spirits have entered the ritual space. This discernment arises
not from passive observation but from a deeply embodied act of musical and spiritual
correspondence—a resonance between rhythm, breath, and cosmological force. Thus,
the musical structure is not an aesthetic frame but an active agent of transformation,
facilitating the altered states and perceptual sensitivity through which the sikerei
enact their cosmological role.

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Figure 6. Transcription of the
percussion ensemble in the Turuk
Lagai ritual, featuring Gajeuma' 1
and 2 (hand drums), Tudukat (slit
drum), and Gong. The
interlocking rhythmic layers
illustrate the structured timing
and coordination that guide the
movements of the sikerei and
ritual participants.

What emerges from the data is a clear view of the body as a cosmological
instrument. The sikerei do not only perform for a human audience but also for a
spiritual one, whose presence must be summoned, calmed, and respected. The role of
bodily discipline, memorization of chant, and sensory alignment is essential. This
supports Catherine Bell's theory that ritual is not a passive enactment of tradition but a
strategic practice, deeply embedded in the body and repeated over time to produce
meaning and structure (Bell, 1992).
Turuk Lagai is an embodied cosmology. Through movement, voice, and gesture,
the sikerei and other ritual performers activate a relational world in which humans and
spirits interact directly. The body becomes a conduit through which knowledge, spirit,
and ecology are made visible and alive—ritual becomes not just a reenactment of
belief but also the enactment of being itself.
Figure 7. Gajeuma (above) and
Tudukat (below) a traditional
percussion instruments used in
the Turuk Lagai ritual. Photo by
Benny Kurniadi.

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5. Discussions
Spiritual Correspondence: Chants, Offerings, and Ancestral Presence
The ritual of Turuk Lagai is deeply grounded in the Mentawai people's cosmological
understanding of the world as a spiritually inhabited and responsive domain. At the
heart of the ritual is the belief that spiritual beings—particularly ancestral spirits and
the spirits of animals—must be engaged through specific acts of correspondence (Fig.
8). These acts are neither symbolic abstractions nor passive representations but active,
relational gestures that sustain harmony between the visible and invisible realms. The
interview data reveal that within Turuk Lagai, this spiritual correspondence is most
vividly expressed through music, chanting, and offerings, all mediated by the presence
of the sikerei, whose roles extend beyond performance into spiritual negotiation and
cosmological maintenance.
Figure 8. A sikerei performs a
ritual to request permission from
ancestors and the spirits of all
hunted animals before the
hunting procession, as part of the
Turuk Lagai ritual—photo by
Benny Kurniadi.

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Music is the primary medium through which these interactions occur. The sonic
field—composed of rhythmic drumming, chanting, and vocal calls—forms the ritual's
temporal and emotional structure. Chanting, or vocalization by the sikerei, functions as
a communicative bridge between the human and non-human worlds (Fig. 9). These
vocal expressions are often mischaracterized as songs or mantras, but as one
informant clarified, they are tailored ritual texts that align with the intention and focus
of the dancer's movements (Tulius & Burman-Hall, 2022). For instance, if a dance
mimics a monkey (bilou), the chant must entertain or appease the spirit of that specific
animal. A mismatch—such as dancing meant for a bird while chanting a monkey's
song—is considered spiritually inappropriate and can lead to ritual failure or
disruption. This expectation of alignment underscores that music is not simply
accompaniment but a ritual technology that synchronizes gesture, intention, and
cosmological order. The chant is not ornamental; it is a spiritual utterance that
embodies presence, respect, and acknowledgment toward the spirit world.
The sikerei mantra is delivered in a steady, measured tempo, with phrases that
follow a cyclical rise and fall in pitch (Fig. 9). The vocal tone is slightly nasal and
projected forward, producing a penetrating sound that carries across the forest
landscape. Sustained notes at the ends of phrases, microtonal bends, and subtle
vibrato evoke tension and release—musical gestures that mirror the ebb and flow of
communication with spirits. Ornamentation is minimal but deliberate, as slight pitch
slides or rhythmic variations mark transitions of meaning and intensity. The collective
yet individual delivery of the sikerei voices suggests a form of heterophony: a shared
melodic contour where each voice introduces personal inflection, reflecting the
communal yet fluid nature of ritual agency.
The musical notation of the Turuk Lagai chant (see Fig. 9) reveals that its structure
is not governed by a fixed metric pulse but by the fluid pacing of the sikerei's breath and
vocal phrasing. Written in B♭ Major for reference, the parenthetical pitch markings
indicate that the notated tones are approximations, aligned with the closest Western
scale degrees rather than fixed tunings. This flexibility reflects the embodied and
improvisational essence of Mentawai musical cosmology, where rhythm and tone
emerge from breath, intention, and interaction with the environment rather than from
rigid compositional rules.
The melody consists of short, cyclical motifs repeated with subtle variation,
ornamented by slides, wavy tones, and occasional falsetto passages. These sonic
gestures function as spiritual indicators: upward slides gesture toward
invocation—calling upon spirits—while downward slides and vibrato-like waves
signify descent or presence. The falsetto, with its distinct timbral contrast, often marks

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moments of heightened spiritual contact, signaling the arrival or acknowledgment of
a spiritual force.
Within the ritual, such features reveal the power of music as an agent of
transformation. The cyclical repetition and microtonal movement induce altered
states of consciousness, allowing both the sikerei and participants to enter a
heightened awareness. The power of the chant lies not in its lyrical content but in its
vibrational quality—its ability to resonate physically and spiritually, tuning bodies and
minds into cosmological frequencies. This sonic resonance creates a shared emotional
and spiritual field that enables communication with the unseen world. In these
moments, the sikerei becomes a conduit, perceiving signs—through sound, sensation,
or rhythm—that reveal whether benevolent or malevolent forces are present.
Thus, in Turuk Lagai, music is not simply an aesthetic element but a cosmological
force. It organizes time, movement, and affect; it mediates relationships between
humans, spirits, and the environment; and it enables transformation by dissolving the
boundaries between the physical and spiritual realms. In doing so, music enacts the
very principles of Mentawai cosmology—embodiment, correspondence, and
balance—making it both the structure and substance through which the world is
continually made and remade.
Figure 9. Transcription of the
Turuk Lagai Ritual Chant by
Sikerei

Musical
symbol

Notes
Parentheses on the key — A reminder that the pitches in this transcription are not fixed in
absolute accuracy but are transcribed according to the closest pitch in the B ♭ major scale.
Swing line from bottom to top — Indicates that a note is produced by gliding upward from a lower
pitch toward the target note.
Swing line from top to bottom — Indicates a note produced by gliding downward toward the
notes below it.
Wavy line — Denotes a note produced with a wavering or oscillating vocal technique.
Upward arrow — Marks that a note is produced using a falsetto vocal technique.

In addition to vocal correspondence, offerings play a significant role in mediating
relationships between humans and spirits. Flowers such as ailepped and leaves like
daun pendingan (a sacred leaf symbolizing unity) are ritually distributed to the sikerei

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before the core performances begin (fig 10). These botanical gifts unite the ritual
actors' hearts, minds, and spirits, enabling them to act with a singular purpose
(Couillard & Laderman, 1991). This ritual phase is often followed by the sacrifice of a
black rooster, which is not only symbolically important but functionally critical. The
rooster is sacrificed after the sikerei's spiritual alignment, and its internal organs—the
heart and liver—are examined to interpret omens and decide whether the ritual may
proceed.
Figure 10. Leaves collected from
the forest are essential to the
Turuk Lagai ritual. During the
ceremony, sikerei enter the
forest to search for and gather
specific leaves used in ritual
practices. Top: photo by Yuli
Hendra, Bottom: Ivan Saputra
(Left) and Benny Kurniadi (right).

The interviewee describes the reading of animal organs as an act of
divination through which the offering reveals the state of cosmological
balance (Fig. 11). Favorable signs allow the ritual to proceed, while unfavorable

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ones require purification or delay. This interpretive act represents a negotiation
with ancestral forces—a way of listening and responding to the unseen. Such
correspondence reflects Ingold's notion of relational becoming, where
humans and non-humans co-create reality through rhythmic engagement. In
Turuk Lagai, spirits are not spectators but co-actors whose presence sustains
the ritual's very possibility.
Figure 11. In this ritual, a black
rooster is sacrificed to determine
whether the ceremony can
proceed. The decision is based on
interpreting the bird's internal
organs—photo by Yuli Hendra
(top) & Benny Kurniadi (bottom).

Relational Ontology: Nature as Agent, Kin, and Cosmological Partner
A key finding from the interview data is the deeply relational and animistic worldview
of the Mentawai people, in which the environment is not seen as a backdrop to human
life but as a living network of sentient beings. Within the context of Turuk Lagai, this
relational ontology is affirmed and enacted. The informant described how all aspects
of the natural world—plants, water, soil, animals, and even weather patterns—are
perceived as spiritually alive and cosmologically significant. This worldview is
embedded in the Mentawai belief system known as Arat Sabulungan, which considers
all moving elements, especially leaves, as sacred indicators of life and spirit (Hanani &

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Nelmaya, 2022; Wahyuni et al., 2025). As such, the forest is not simply a setting for the
ritual—it is a participant in it.
The ritual of Turuk Lagai reflects this relational understanding through practice
and material expression (Wahyuni et al., 2024). The use of leaves in costume and
dance is not merely decorative; it is a gesture of kinship and alignment with the forest
(fig 12). Every ritual component—from selecting leaves and flowers to interpreting
animal behavior—functions within a logic that assumes interdependence among all
beings. For example, the sikerei relies on specific plant materials for physical healing
and spiritual activation. Certain leaves are used in ritual bundles to purify the space or
the bodies of participants, indicating that plants are not passive matter but
collaborators in spiritual work.
Figure 12. The use of leaves in the
Turuk Lagai ritual is not merely
decorative, but deeply connected
to the Mentawai belief system of
Arat Sabulungan—photo by Yuli
Hendra.

One revealing aspect of the interviews concerns how natural signs are read as part
of Mentawai cosmological knowledge. The cries of animals—particularly birds and
primates—are interpreted as omens signaling illness, fruiting seasons, or
environmental transitions. The call of the bilou (a type of monkey), for instance, is
believed to mark spiritual disturbances or shifts in natural cycles. These interpretations
are not “superstitions” in a Western sense, but expressions of an ontological worldview
in which animals are communicative subjects. Such readings exemplify a longstanding dialogue between humans and the more-than-human world, sustained

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through ritual practice and lived experience.
This relational logic is embodied in the closing phase of Turuk Lagai, when ritual
hunting honors childbirth or house completion. Skulls of previous game—monkeys,
pigs, or deer—are adorned with leaves and offerings to request permission from the
animal spirits (Fig. 8). This act is a genuine negotiation with the unseen realm,
renewing interspecies relationships (Darmanto, 2025).
This worldview aligns with Ingold's (2011, 2018) relational ontology, which
conceives the world as a field of correspondences rather than objects. Through Turuk
Lagai, humans, spirits, and animals coexist in rhythmic reciprocity, making ritual a
means of sustaining and renewing life itself.
Symbolic Materials and Sensory Atmospheres
Beyond its performative and spiritual dimensions, the Turuk Lagai ritual is
distinguished by its use of symbolic materials and sensory orchestration that mediate
between the human and spirit worlds. Objects such as flowers, leaves, animal
offerings, and musical instruments are not decorative but active agents in a
multisensory system linking body, environment, and cosmology. A central example is
the black rooster sacrifice, in which the sikerei reads the rooster's heart and liver to
determine whether the ritual may proceed—a divinatory act viewed as direct
communication with ancestral forces (Fig. 11) (Daugey, 2018).
Other materials, including ailepped flowers and daun pendingan leaves, are
distributed to unify the hearts and intentions of participants, creating a state of
emotional and spiritual harmony. Meanwhile, sound plays a vital role: the gajeuma'
drum, tuddukat percussion, and gong produce cyclical rhythms that guide dance, mark
transitions, and call spirits into presence. These sounds form a living
atmosphere—vibrations that bridge visible and invisible realms. As Bell (1992) argues,
ritual operates through embodied engagement with space and materiality. In Turuk
Lagai, sensory materials and music are not representations but forces that make
cosmology perceptible and lived.
6. Conclusions
This study has explored Turuk Lagai, a ritual practiced by the Mentawai people, as a
performative and ontological process through which cosmology is enacted, not merely
represented. Drawing from ethnographic interviews, this research demonstrated that
Turuk Lagai is a holistic ritual system that structures time, social relations, and spiritual
engagement. The ritual sustains relational balance between humans, spirits, and the
natural world through its carefully staged structure, embodied performances, chants,

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offerings, and material-symbolic practices.
The findings reveal that ritual in the Mentawai context is not a fixed cultural
tradition but a dynamic and adaptive process that functions as a mode of knowing,
being, and becoming. Each movement, object, chant, and gesture correspond with the
more-than-human world, emphasizing a relational ontology where humans do not act
upon nature but act with and through it. The sikerei's role, sensory experience
integration, and ecological actors' involvement confirm that Turuk Lagai is not a
symbolic performance but a cosmological enactment.
This study contributes to broader anthropological and performance theory
discussions by showing how indigenous rituals not only preserve belief systems but
also perform and reproduce worldviews in lived and embodied ways. By focusing on
performativity and relationality, this research affirms the importance of viewing ritual
not as a mirror of society, but as one of its primary modes of production. Turuk Lagai is
not only about cosmology—it is a means through which cosmology continues to exist.
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