Traditional Rites As A Hybrid Accountability Mechanism In Local Financial Supervision: The Relevance Of Bau Lolon In East Flores

Yosef Dionisius Lamawuran, Yasinta Yunrianto Palan Peten, Veronika Boleng Kelen, Elisabeth Date Masan Welin, Yohana Fransiska Medho

Abstract


The weakness of formal accountability mechanisms in local financial governance has led to the persistence of customary-based oversight practices in various local communities, including the Bau Lolon ritual in East Flores. Using an ethnographic qualitative approach, this study employs in-depth interviews, participant observation, and analysis of official documents and customary archives to examine how Bau Lolon functions as a hybrid accountability mechanism. The findings reveal that Bau Lolon functions as both a living law and a traditional integrity pact that binds public officials, contractors, and the community through a cosmic contract believed to carry non-negotiable spiritual consequences. Field findings indicate that this ritual is employed in oaths of office, oversight of development funds, and the resolution of accountability conflicts, thereby providing a moral infrastructure of governance that complements the shortcomings of formal law. This study concludes that Bau Lolon is an instrument of indigenous public administration that affirms the role of customary law in strengthening the integrity of public governance. This study recommends the need for further exploration through mixed-methods approaches and cross-cultural comparative studies to strengthen the empirical basis and expand the global relevance of the concept of ritual-based hybrid accountability.

Keywords


Bau Lolon; Hybrid Accountability; Legal Pluralism; Regional Finance; Indigenous Public Administration.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abolafia, Mitchel Y., Jennifer E. Dodge, and Stephen K. Jackson. (2014). "Clifford Geertz and the Interpretation of Organizations." The Oxford Handbook of Sociology, Social Theory, and Organization Studies: Contemporary Currents 346.

Anandya, Diky, and Kurnia Ramdhana. (2024). "Laporan Hasil Pemantauan Tren Korupsi Tahun 2023." Indonesia Corruption Watch.

Arndt, Paul. (2003). Agama Asli Di Kepulauan Solor.

Benda-Beckmann, Keebet von, and Bertram Turner. (2018). "Legal Pluralism, Social Theory, and the State." The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 50(3):255-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2018.1532674

Benish, Avishai. (2020). "The Logics of Hybrid Accountability: When the State, the Market, and Professionalism Interact." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 691(1):295-310. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220965905

Benish, Avishai, and Paola Mattei. (2020). "Accountability and Hybridity in Welfare Governance." Public Administration 98(2):281-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12640

Bernadus, Mikael Emi. (2024). "Penghormatan Kepada Para Leluhur Dalam Ritus Bau Lolon Dan Perbandingannya Dengan Devosi Kepada Para Kudus." Jurnal Adat Dan Budaya Indonesia 6(1):41-48. https://doi.org/10.23887/jabi.v6i1.69815

Boro, B. .. M. (2012). Bau Lolon: Ritus Sentral Adat Budaya Lamaholot. Larantuka: Sekolah Tinggi Pastoral Reinha.

BPK RI. (2024). "BPK Ungkap Permasalahan Pengelolaan Keuangan Daerah Dalam IHPS II Tahun 2023." BPK RI.

Buinwi, Ushena, Jumai Adama Buinwi, and E. Buinwi. (2024). "Challenges and Opportunities in International Trade Policy Implementation: Insights from the Cameroonian Ministry of Trade." International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research 6(7):2353-74. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijmer.v6i7.1329

Chala, Dejene Gemechu, and Nega Jibat Gemede. (2022). "Legal Pluralism, Gender and Justice: Women's Rights to Property under Marriage Dissolution among the Oromo in Jimma, Ethiopia." Legal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis 54(2-3):278-96.

https://doi.org/10.1080/27706869.2022.2115222

Cope, Kevin L. (2023). "Measuring Law's Normative Force." Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 20(4):1005-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12364

Cossu, Andrea. 2021. "Clifford Geertz, Intellectual Autonomy, and Interpretive Social Science." American Journal of Cultural Sociology 9(3):347-75.

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41290-019-00085-8

Creswell, John W. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. edited by H. Salmon. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Drechsler, Wolfgang. (2013). "Three Paradigms of Governance and Administration: Chinese, Western and Islamic." Society and Economy: Journal of the Corvinus University of Budapest. 35(3).

https://doi.org/10.1556/SocEc.35.2013.3.3

Elmaasrawy, Hamada Elsaid, Omar Ikbal Tawfik, and Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Rahaman. (2025). "Effect of Audit Client's Use of Blockchain Technology on Auditing Accounting Estimates: Evidence from the Middle East." Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting 23(2):617-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRA-08-2023-0499

Engle Merry, Sally. (1988). "Legal Pluralism." Law & Society Review 22(5):869-96. doi: 10.2307/3053638. https://doi.org/10.2307/3053638

Galbiati, Roberto, Emeric Henry, Nicolas Jacquemet, and Max Lobeck. (2021). "How Laws Affect the Perception of Norms: Empirical Evidence from the Lockdown." PLoS One 16(9):e0256624. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256624

Genbezo, Dubale Gebeyehu, Mellese Mada Gatiso, and Misrak Tenna Adafre. (2025). "Cultural Pathways to Reconciliation and Harmony: Indigenous Conflict Resolution Mechanisms and Peace Formation Practices Among the Dawuro Ethnic Group of Southwest Ethiopia." Conflict Resolution Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.70004

Ghosh, S., and Y. Kumar. (2024). "Transparency Laws, Corruption and the Quality of Government: Comparing India and China." Asian Journal of Political Science 32(1):77-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/02185377.2024.2351384

Graham, Mary, and Morgan Brigg. (2023). "Indigenous Public Policy Futures: A Manifesto for Relationalist Public Administration." Pp. 13-26 in. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9319-0_2

Griffith, Emily E., Jacqueline S. Hammersley, and Kathryn Kadous. (2015). "Audits of Complex Estimates as Verification of Management Numbers: How Institutional Pressures Shape Practice." Contemporary Accounting Research 32(3):833-63. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12104

Griffiths, John. (1986). "What Is Legal Pluralism?" The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 18(24):1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1986.10756387

Grossi, Giuseppe, and Daniela Argento. (2022). "The Fate of Accounting for Public Governance Development." Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 35(9):272-303. doi: 10.1108/AAAJ-11-2020-5001. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-11-2020-5001

Gustafsson, Mariana, Olga Matveieva, Elin Wihlborg, Yevgeniy Borodin, Tetiana Mamatova, and Sergiy Kvitka. (2025). "Adaptive Governance amidst the War: Overcoming Challenges and Strengthening Collaborative Digital Service Provision in Ukraine." Government Information Quarterly 42(3):102056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2025.102056

Hapsari, Aprina Nugrahesthy Sulistya, Intiyas Utami, and Yohanes Werang Kean. (2020). "Accountability in Governance: Will and Can Traditional Village-Owned Enterprises Achieve It?" The Indonesian Accounting Review 10(2):215-22. https://doi.org/10.14414/tiar.v10i2.2165

Hopper, T. (2017). "Neopatrimonialism, Good Governance, Corruption and Accounting in Africa: Idealism vs Pragmatism." Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies 7(2):225-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAEE-12-2015-0086

Hytrek, Gary. (2002). "Introduction." Latin American Perspectives 29(5):3-6. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X0202900501

Jeong, Dahyeon, Ajay Shenoy, and Laura Zimmermann. (2019). Are Transparency and Accountability Enough? Open Corruption and Why It Exists.

St. John, Freya A. V, Leejiah Dorward, Harriet Ibbett, and Martina Feilzer. (2026). "Using Lessons from Criminal Justice Research to Improve Conservation Law Enforcement Research and Practice." Conservation Biology 40(1):e70094. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70094

Jumiati, Jumiati, and Boni Saputra. (2019). "Indigeneous Public Administration: Public Administration Viewed from Local Wisdom Perspective." in Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Social Knowledge Sciences and Education (ICSKSE 2018). Paris, France: Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/icskse-18.2019.3

Kabelen, Paul. (2024). "Terpidana Proyek Talud Bayar Kerugian Negara Rp 884 Juta Di Kejari Flores Timur ." Tribun Flores.Com, April 5.

Kelsall, Tim. (2003). "Rituals of Verification: Indigenous and Imported Accountability in Northern Tanzania." Africa 73(2):174-201. https://doi.org/10.3366/afr.2003.73.2.174

Khlopina Anastasia, and Mykola Gnatiuk. (2013). " Sweden's Approach to Arctic Policy: Balancing Economic Interests, Security Concerns, and Indigenous Rights." Ukrainian Policymaker 12:38-48. https://doi.org/10.29202/up/12/4

Khorana, Sangeeta, Santiago Caram, and Nripendra P. Rana. (2024). "Measuring Public Procurement Transparency with an Index: Exploring the Role of e-GP Systems and Institutions." Government Information Quarterly 41(3):101952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2024.101952

Khusaini, Moh. (2018). Keuangan Daerah. Universitas Brawijaya Press.

Kurniawan, Teguh. (2022). "Discretion as a Factor in Corruption: A Case from Indonesia." Public Integrity 24(7):692-701. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2021.1975939

Kwon, Huck-ju, Yong Hyo Cho, Jong Sup Jun, and James Midgley. (2006). "IRPA Forum: Seeking Indigenous Theories of Korean Public Administration." International Review of Public Administration 10(2):1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/12294659.2006.10805065

Labik Amanquandor, Thomas Duke. (2024). "Limitations of the International Approach to Anti-Corruption: A Systematic Review of South Africa's Compelling Case of Failing Anti-Corruption." Crime, Law and Social Change 82(3):493-516. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10152-y

Lamawuran, Yosef, Kristianus Molan, Marianus Kleden, and Indriyati Indriyati. (2025). "Bau Lolon: Dari Ritus Ke Kebijakan Sebagai Strategi Anti-Korupsi Dalam Perspektif Adat Lamaholot." Jurnal Agregasi : Aksi Reformasi Government Dalam Demokrasi 13(2):198-214. https://doi.org/10.34010/agregasi.v13i2.17691

Levy, Charmain. (2013). "Working Towards TekojojÁ: The Political Struggles of the Paraguayan Left." Studies in Political Economy 92(1):29-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/19187033.2013.11674972

Lührmann, A., K. L. Marquardt, and V. Mechkova. (2020). "Constraining Governments: New Indices of Vertical, Horizontal, and Diagonal Accountability." American Political Science Review 114(3):811-20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055420000222

Lumban Gaol, Lasando, Eli Budi Santoso, and Agus Prasetyo. (2024). "Penguatan Tata Kelola Keuangan Publik Melalui Partisipasi Masyarakat Dan Transparansi Informasi." Jurnal Akademi Akuntansi Indonesia Padang 4(1):126-40. https://doi.org/10.31933/mwca7592

Mabweazara, Hayes Mawindi, Cleophas Taurai Muneri, and Faith Ndlovu. (2020). "News 'Media Capture', Relations of Patronage and Clientelist Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Interpretive Qualitative Analysis." Journalism Studies 21(15):2154-75.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1816489

Macdonald, Kate, Bahruddin, Annisa Sabrina Hartoto, Carla Unger, Paul Cisneros, Deborah Delgado Pugley, Dámaris Herrera Salazar, Poppy Sulistyaning Winanti, and Nanang Indra Kurniawan. (2024). "The Politics of Accountability in Global Sustainable Commodity Governance: Dilemmas of Institutional Competition and Convergence." Global Policy 15(5):838-54. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13426

Marnet, Oliver. (2014). "Explaining Governance Failure: Accountability Spaces in-between and Bias." International Journal of Critical Accounting 6(4):315. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJCA.2014.067237

Matondang, Matthew Mikha Sebastian, and Moody Rizqy Syailendra Putra. (2024). "Law Enforcement Against Corruption Crimes in Indonesia." AURELIA: Jurnal Penelitian Dan Pengabdian Masyarakat Indonesia 3(1):320-24. https://doi.org/10.57235/aurelia.v3i1.1502

Mensah, Linda. (2021). "Legal Pluralism in Practice: Critical Reflections on the Formalisation of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) and Customary Land Tenure in Ghana." The Extractive Industries and Society 8(4):100973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2021.100973

Merry, Sally Engle. (1988). "Legal Pluralism." Law & Society Review 22(5):869-96. https://doi.org/10.2307/3053638

Michael Boro Bebe. (2018). Mengenal Lebih Dekat Etnis Lamaholot Mengukuhkan Keindonesiaan Kita. edited by A. M. Mbete. Maumere: Carol Maumere.

Misztal, Barbara A. (2003). "Durkheim on Collective Memory." Journal of Classical Sociology 3(2):123-43.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X030032002

Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina. (2023). "Transparency and Corruption: Measuring Real Transparency by a New Index." Regulation & Governance 17(4):1094-1113. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12502

Oladinrin, Olugbenga Timo, Mohamed Arif, Muhammad Qasim Rana, and Louis Gyoh. (2023). "Interrelations between Construction Ethics and Innovation: A Bibliometric Analysis Using VOSviewer." Construction Innovation 23(3):505-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-07-2021-0130

Oljira, Haftee Wako. (2023). "The Role of the Gadaa Generational System of the Oromo in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building. An Account of a Research Implemented in Western Guji, Ethiopia." Antropologia Pubblica 9(1):79-93.

Oluwakemi Damola, Adejumo-Ayibiowu. (2024). "A Review of the Literature on Infrastructure Financing In Africa: Afrocentric Innovations for Nigeria." African Journal of Development Studies (Formerly AFFRIKA Journal of Politics, Economics and Society) 14(1):333-55. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3649/2024/v14n1a16

Orianne, Jean-François, and Francis Eustache. (2023). "Collective Memory: Between Individual Systems of Consciousness and Social Systems." Frontiers in Psychology 14:1238272. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1238272

Osiobe, Ejiro U., Sajid Al Noor, Safia A. Malallah, Rauf I. Rauf, Khairul Hafezad Abdullah, Davi Sofyan, Waleed A. Hammood, and Salah A. Aliesawi. (2025). "Commonalities or Variations among Dimensions: An Analysis of Regions Based on Hofstede's Six Cultural Pillars." Journal of Social and Political Sciences 8(1). https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1991.08.01.563

Pérez-Durán, Ixchel, and Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen. (2025). "Watching Care behind Closed Doors: Upward and Downward Accountability Mechanisms in Nursing Home Services." Public Management Review 27(5):1469-88. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2402351

Phiri, J., and P. Guven-Uslu. (2019). "Social Networks, Corruption and Institutions of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability." Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 32(2):508-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-07-2017-3029

Pülzl, Helga, and Oliver Treib. (2017). "Implementing Public Policy." Pp. 115-34 in Handbook of public policy analysis. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315093192-15

Purab, Yurgo. (2024). "Korupsi Dana Desa, Kades Di Flores Timur Jadi Tersangka-Ditahan." DetikBali, May 4.

Rahardjanto, Abdulkadir, Husamah, Atok Miftachul Hudha, and Tutut Indria Permana. (2025). "Ecocultural Practices in East Java, Indonesia: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study on 'Reresik Kali' as Local Wisdom for River Conservation." Social Sciences & Humanities Open 12:102176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102176

Rajala, Tomi, Petra Kokko, Harri Laihonen, and Elias Pekkola. (2024). "Manifestations of Hybrid Accountability in Horizontal Network Governance." Pp. 68-94 in Handbook of Accounting and Public Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing.

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800888456.00014

Rock, Ellen. (2020). Measuring Accountability in Public Governance Regimes. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108886154

Ruhulessin, John Christian. (2019). "Paradigma Etika Publik Dalam Kearifan Lokal Pela." Jurnal Filsafat 29(2):183-205.

Ryan, Cathal, and Michael Bergin. (2022). "Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Prisons: A Review of Extant Empirical Literature." Criminal Justice and Behavior 49(2):143-63.

https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211053367

Sohail, M., and S. Cavill. (2008). "Accountability to Prevent Corruption in Construction Projects." Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 134(9):729-38. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:9(729)

Suripto, Suripto, Torontuan Yeremias Keban, and Sri Harjanto Adi Pamungkas. (2021). "Indigeneous Public Administration: A Review and Deconstruction of the Idea, Concept, and Theory of Government and Governance." Jurnal Borneo Administrator 17(3):305-18. https://doi.org/10.24258/jba.v17i3.932

Syamsul, Syamsul, and Irwan Taufiq Ritonga. (2017). "Pengaruh Tata Kelola Pemerintah Daerah Terhadaptransparansi Pengelolaan Keuangan Daerah: Bukti Empiris Pada Pemerintah Provinsi Di Indonesia." Jurnal Akuntansi 21(3):448. https://doi.org/10.24912/ja.v21i3.251

Tamanaha, Brian Z. (2017). "Understanding Legal Pluralism: Past to Present, Local to Global." Pp. 447-83 in Legal theory and the social sciences. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315091891-17

Tan, David. 2022. "Revisiting Pound's Law in Action and Ehrlich's Living Law to Find the 'Gap': A Compilation of Lecture Notes." Journal of Judicial Review 24(2):225-38. https://doi.org/10.37253/jjr.v24i2.7220

Tokan, Frans Bapa, Yosef Dionisius Lamawuran, Maximianus Ardon Bidi, Mikael Thomas Susu, and Eman Kosat. (2025). "Local Wisdom: The Bau Lolon Rite as A Policy Model for Making Village Regulations in Witihama District, East Flores Regency." Jurnal Public Policy 11(3):347-52. https://doi.org/10.35308/jpp.v11i3.12869

Vakkuri, Jarmo, Jan-Erik Johanson, Nancy Chun Feng, and Filippo Giordano. (2021). "Governance and Accountability in Hybrid Organizations - Past, Present and Future." Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management 33(3):245-60. doi: 10.1108/JPBAFM-02-2021-0033. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-02-2021-0033

Vu, Thanh Thuy, and Bruno Deffains. (2013). "Formal and Informal Mechanisms of Accountability in Local Governance: Towards a New Authoritarian Governance Model." BUSINESS SYSTEMS REVIEW (ISSN 2280-3866) 2(2):330-67.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.33373/jtp.v10i1.8443

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


EDITORIAL OFFICE:

Department of Government Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences - Universitas Riau Kepulauan - Indonesia

Telp: (0778) 39275 | Email: jurnaltriaspolitika2017@gmail.com

Jurnal Trias Politika (JTP) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. © 2017-2025 Authors