Niwelehu

The highest ranked political figure in the Niwelehu village government is the Raja, which is Bahasa Indonesia for ‘king’. Because of this, Niwelehu technically operates under a monarchic political system. However, the king is still elected by the people and there is a village government. The current Raja is Boys Rotasouw. He has been in power since 2013.^[when?]

Because of the historical past of the village, only people with the last name Rotasouw or Latumakulita are eligible to be Raja. The Raja position is also open to women. The first Raja, Arleka Rotasouw, ruled during the colonization by the Portuguese in the 1800s. Layin Patty Rotasouw was the first Raja after the independence of the Maluku Islands.

The king of Niwelehu is the most important political figure in the village. However, there are village institutions that allow the government to be balanced. As of 2017, there are ten village government institutions that vary from the parliament to women entrepreneurship and youth. At the head of every village institution, there is a responsible who represents the institution at the village parliament. The ten institutions are: Village parliament; Women and family empowerment institution; Youth Institution; Farmer Institution; Fisherman Institution; Art Institution; Health Care Management Institution; Economic Enterprise Institution; Community Empowerment Management Institution; and the Women Entrepreneurship Institution.

When it comes to religion, Niwelehu villagers believed in animism until the year 1901. Nature is a very important part of Maluku culture. However, in the 20th century, Christianity became the dominant religion in the village. Historically, there have been many religious wars in the Maluku Islands. For this reason, the Muslim villagers of Niwelehu live in a neighbouring village, Wee village. Nowadays, relationship between Christians and Muslims in Niwelehu is very friendly and they accept and co-live with each other.

Niwelehu is a Protestant village. Religion is a very important part of the culture. After the King, one of the most important and influential figures of the village is the pastor.

Niwelehu is at the north-west of West-Seram Island, which is one of the main islands of the famous Maluku Islands, also known as the Spice Islands. The territory of the village is 101.15 km². This figure includes the surrounding forest that villagers use for farming. The village itself is very small and only contains 69 houses.

Niwelehu is part of the sub-district of Taniwel which is located in the North Seram District. The village is 12 km from Taniwel and 60 km away from Piru, which is the capital city of West Seram. At the north of Niwelehu is the Seram Sea, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. South of Niwelehu, there is the West Seram Jungle. West of Niwelehu is the Nikulukan village, which is a Christian village. Finally, east of Niwelehu there is the Nuniali village. The 'Muslim' Niwelehu village, Wee, is located around 5 kilometres from Niwelehu. It is nicknamed that way because it is populated with people from the same history as Niwelehu, who decided to follow the Muslim faith.

Tona waterfall: 30-meter waterfall. A popular swimming spot for children.

Wairera waterfall: 15-meter waterfall reached by walking through the river, small villages and the forest; it also has caves.

Tomarala beach: beach on the Seram Sea popular for swimming. The village company, Tomarala Sun, is named after it.

Wee beach: a more private beach than Tomarala, with rocks and corals in the water. From time to time, dolphins can be seen jumping here.

The economical system in Niwelehu is still based on bartering, although money is also used. With 80% of the working population working as farmers or fishermen, agribusiness is the main source of income for the village.

The agribusiness system in Niwelehu is separated into three types of commodities that allow harvests all year round. All the fishing is done in the Seram Sea north of Niwelehu, while all the farming is done in the forest south of Niwelehu. The first part of the agribusiness is based on agriculture of chilis, cassava plants and other plants. The second commodity is based on gardening of other crops such as mangoes, coconuts, coffee, cocoa, durian, cloves, and nutmeg. Finally, the farmers also gather products from the forest, such as wood, sago and kenaris (pili nuts). The villagers practice crop rotation.

The harvested crops are exchanged between villagers or sold to businessmen who come bi-monthly to buy the harvest and re-sell for profit in Piru or Ambon.

The provincial government of Maluku and the federal government based in Jakarta finance every village depending on the size, population, and development needs. According to the medium-term village development programs, Niwelehu is set to receive 5,837,500,000 billion IDR (around 450,000 US $) between 2015 and 2019. The money is divided into categories, some of the main ones being health, education, social-cultural and agriculture.

Niwelehu depends on government funding in order to develop the infrastructure of the village. Villagers are not legally obligated to pay taxes to the government, as annual incomes are deemed too low.

In comparison to the neighbouring villages of Niwelehu such as Nikulukan and Nuniali, Niwelehu has more developed infrastructure, including a primary school, clean water pipes, and even volleyball and football field. The construction and maintenance of this infrastructure is made possible by yearly government funding. However, there are still some key things missing or broken, namely a health centre or a clinic, a village office and a clean water well.