This research studied Nusantara religion; the indigenous religion in Indonesia which is admitted as Kepercayaan or Belief in State legal system. This differentiation results in many discrimination acts by many contradictory laws that marginalized the indigenous communities. Through studied Uis Neno ma Uis Pah, The Nusantara Religion of Boti’s indigenous community in Kie sub-district, South Timor Tengah district of East Nusa Tenggara province; this research implemented in order to answer the main issue of the sustainability of the indigenous communities not merely as a group of society in Indonesia, but moreover as one complete unify which is included their Nusantara religion. Boti under this research is a religious community, as they explained, that preserve the religion of their ancestors.
This research implemented public anthropology as the research framework to study the gap between the state laws and the practices so as to propose certain recommendations for the state legal system. In doing the field research, ethnography is implemented by living in the Boti indigenous community for 13 months from October 2, 2021 to November 1, 2022. This method enables not merely huge amounts of information through interview, observation, and participation in Boti’s activities, but also enables them to catch their emotion and wisdom in order to understand their ancestors’ thoughts. As the guide method, this research implemented a decolonizing perspective. In doing the analysis, this research explored the position of Nusantara religions in Indonesia with various terms used and refers to the theories of religion which are told about the elements of religion, the history of the meaning of religion, and the definition of religion. This research is based more on the consideration that religion is culturally social construction with particular genealogy of its own (Richard King). So, the meaning has a broad chance to be reviewed, re-evaluate, and re-constructed in order to get the universal formulation without excluded any religion for good life. As a theory which is explained that religion as a complex of culturally prescribed practices, based on premises about the existence and nature of superhuman powers (Christian Smith).
This research explored the history and genealogy of the Boti indigenous community which nowadays has implemented three stoves system; government, religion, and adat (custom). In order to understand Nusantara Religion; the Ecosoc systems should be explained too, so enabled to formulate the system of Uis Neno ma Uis Pah as Boti’s Nusantara religion. Finally, the concept of Nusantara religion of One God, Two Manifestation is able to be constructed by understanding on how indigenous communities post God and Nature as the dual roles in human life and applied in rules and ethics to synergize with nature and environment. Indigenous communities who have lived in this country since a long time ago before western with modern life came into Indonesia are proven able to keep existing and moreover preserve nature. They are not merely part of the people, but assets of the state who have rights to get protection and legally recognized equally including their Nusantara religion.
Keywords: Nusantara religion, Boti, Uis Neno ma Uis Pah, indigenous community, indigenous relig