Huaulu Cidaku Ceremony Protects the Salmon-crested Cockatoo

On Seram Island in eastern Indonesia, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony once meant that young men had to hunt one of the rarest cockatoos in the world.

The ritual now relies on feathers naturally moulted by the birds. The shift has helped safeguard the cockatoo without ending the tradition.

For many generations, the Huaulu people have marked a boy’s transition to adulthood through a ceremony known as the Cidaku.

A pink crest feather from the Salmon-crested Cockatoo is a crucial ritual element, as the Huaulu regard the bird as sacred.

Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) spent several years working alongside the Huaulu community to develop an answer. Scientists from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Indonesia were also involved.

Perkumpulan Konservasi Kakatua Indonesia (KKI), a conservation organisation dedicated to protecting cockatoos, joined the initiative as well.

They collectively agreed that the ceremonies could use naturally shed feathers from rescue centres and zoos, rather than feathers taken from hunted birds.

The meaning behind the ceremony

To the Huaulu, hunting represents much more than obtaining food. It is a sacred exchange with forest spirits, in which taking the life of a wild animal is a perilous act that has to be deserved.

The Cidaku sits at the heart of this belief system. To be recognised as a man, a boy had to demonstrate himself through a hunt carrying deep spiritual significance.

The cockatoo has a distinct role in this process. Community members view the bird’s life as a parallel for that of a young man, because cockatoos leave their parents at maturity to establish territory of their own.

During the ritual, young men wear red headcloths with an ornament fashioned from the bird’s crest feathers.

Its white feathers symbolise peaceful communal living, while the pink crest represents strength.

Rare cockatoo in steep decline

The salmon-crested cockatoo is currently classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

It is found nowhere else in the world except Indonesia’s Maluku islands.

According to BirdLife International, its population dropped dramatically during the 1990s, by between 20 and 40 percent. The species has also disappeared from three islands close to Seram: Haruku, Saparua and Nusa Laut.

Indonesian legislation now prohibits capturing, keeping or killing the bird for any purpose. Although intended to curb wildlife trafficking, the law also put at risk a ritual central to Huaulu identity.

Blamed for the wrong crisis

The Huaulu were keen to make one point clear: their ceremony is not the chief factor driving the cockatoo towards extinction; the illegal pet trade is.

In 2018, the regional conservation agency seized or rescued a notable range of animals across Maluku. Birds accounted for 84 percent, with parrots making up almost all of those birds.

Cockatoo feathers have also been sold online. On one marketplace, vendors offered individual feathers for roughly 1.30 USD each, with worldwide delivery, before the advertisements were reported and taken down.

Huaulu informants drew a firm line between their own use of the bird and the commercial poachers’ activity, which they described as “theft”. They believed they had been held responsible for a decline caused by others.

A bank of shed feathers

The solution followed a straightforward observation from the elders. Provided a feather was genuine, it fulfilled the ceremony’s spiritual requirements, meaning no live bird needed to be killed.

This principle developed into a formal agreement signed in 2019 and subsequently approved by Indonesia’s forestry ministry. Rather than hunting birds, the community would use a “feather bank” containing naturally shed plumage.

The supply has already begun to arrive. In September 2024, the conservation agency gathered around 50 moulted feathers for a ceremony, while zoos and rescue centres contributed a further 400 in early 2026.

Spiritual integrity of the species

Dr. George Olah, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society, was the senior author of the study.

“We found that for the contemporary Huaulu, the spiritual potency of the Cidaku ritual relies less on the violence of the hunt and more on the inherent spiritual integrity of the species itself,” Dr. Olah said.

“Through a series of participatory focus group discussions, the community co-designed a solution that respects their oral customary law and practices, while ensuring the survival of the wild cockatoo population.”

Initially, some older members of the community had concerns. They worried that abandoning the hunt could remove the courage the ritual was intended to demonstrate.

The elders addressed this concern in their own terms. They said that the essential quality was becoming a truthful adult who rejected falsehood, while the feathers themselves had to be authentic rather than imitation.

Younger men supported the change. Wild cockatoos had become so uncommon that meeting the former condition was almost impossible, leaving initiations postponed because no bird could be found.

Guiding conservation efforts elsewhere

“This agreement does more than just protect a species; it validates the community’s role as the rightful stewards of their environment,” said Dwi Agustina, who co-led the research.

“It shows that when we move beyond freezing culture in the past and instead support its evolution, we can achieve outcomes that benefit both biodiversity and Indigenous identity.”

The researchers hope that the model can inform conservation work in other places.

Comparable substitutions have succeeded previously, including artificial feathers for a Bolivian macaw and more durable headdresses in Papua New Guinea.

The project also brings a caution. Making public the value placed on these feathers might increase their appeal to outsiders, so the feather bank is combined with renewed local taboos against all commercial trade.

For Agustina, the message extends far beyond a single island. “Saving the salmon-crested cockatoo requires saving the culture that reveres it,” Agustina said.

“This study proves that you don’t have to choose between cultural continuity and ecological survival – you can have both.”