THE beat of the Sumbawa traditional drums marked the opening ceremony. The procession began. There was pride and excitement in the faces of people, amid the spiritual atmosphere at the Ete Ai Kadewa sacred ritual—the beginning of a series of rituals marking the inauguration of the Sultan of Sumbawa. On that bright April morning, a new leader, Muhammad Abdurrahman Kaharuddin, had just ascended the Sumbawa throne.

The ceremony began in Bala K