Symbolism in the Customary LawLar Vul Nga Bal of the Kei Tribein the Southeast of the Moluccas

The majority of tribes around the world follow a set of oral or written traditional customary laws to manage their tribal lives. These laws have been followed by the tribes for a very long time—in some cases, since the beginning of time. In addition to abiding by national law now that many tribes are constituents of specific contemporary nations, these people continue to abide by their tribal laws in matters pertaining to tribal life. This is also true with the Kei tribe in the Southeast of the Moluccas with their customary law called Lar Vul NgaBal. The Lar Vul Nga Bal law includes seven fundamental principles as opposed to the Pancasila, the national philosophy of Indonesia, which has five. This hascertain symbols with both universal and tribal meanings. The questions to be answered in this article are 1) What do the symbols refer to?, and 2) Into what types of specific categories are these seven principles divided, and what are their functions? Categories and functions are discussed together.The symbols will be discussed using structural semiotic criticism, and the seven principles will be classified into categories based on the results of the signification. Additionally, concise explanations of each principle in each of the categories, including their purposes, are given.