Vigilant signage and the ephemeral in the magical landscape of the Moluccas: an analysis of Nuaulu scare charms

Scare charms, in Ambonese Malay matakau, have long been a feature of the Moluccan landscape, but are little documented. They are erected by landowners or resource-owners either in response to infringements and thefts of property or to protect property from interference and theft. The sanction that makes them effective is the threat of spirit or some other kind of supernatural revenge or punishment. This article’s systematic treatment of Nuaulu matakau from the island of Seram shows how scare charms work as part of a system of sanctions. Particular emphasis is placed on a landscape perspective that permits us to see them as a spatially distributed set of material objects in relation to other physical signs and spiritually supported institutions involved in both resource and environmental management and social control.