Melo’a: Sebagai Instrumen Pemulihan Duka dalam Masyarakat Adat Pamona

Abstrak

The Melo’a tradition is a cultural heritage of the Pamona indigenous community, practiced as part of funeral rites and the mourning period to respond to the experience of loss. This study aims to explore the role of this tradition as a medium for grief recovery in both individual and collective contexts. Using a qualitative autoethnographic approach grounded in Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief theory and contextual pastoral care, the author reflects on personal experiences and supports the data with interviews from several informants who continue to practice the tradition. The findings reveal that the Melo’a tradition functions as a means of emotional expression, strengthens communal solidarity, and provides a safe space for processing grief collectively. Additionally, it contributes to preserving cultural values and helps individuals and communities in understanding and giving meaning to the experience of loss. These insights are expected to contribute to cultural studies and enrich grief recovery approaches rooted in local wisdom.

Kata kunci

• Local culture
• Pamona indigenous community
• communal solidarity
• grief recovery
• melo'a