Keywords:
Bantengan
cultural resilience
local wisdom
grounded theory
traditional performance

  • Abstract

    This study explores Bantengan, a traditional performance from East Java, as a dynamic cultural medium that preserves local wisdom, conveys historical narratives, and reinforces national identity. Adopting a qualitative, interpretive approach rooted in Grounded Theory, the research investigates how symbolic meanings within Bantengan are constructed, transmitted, and adapted across generations. Twenty-two purposively selected participants, including senior performers, community leaders, local historians, and younger apprentices, offered diverse perspectives shaped by their unique cultural roles and experiences. Data from interviews and field observations revealed three core thematic categories: Embodied Local Wisdom, Living Historical Consciousness, and Cultural Identity and Belonging. These categories formed a substantive theory conceptualizing Bantengan as a living cultural organism—a performative and pedagogical space where values, memories, and identities are enacted and negotiated. The findings highlight Bantengan’s role in fostering moral education, sustaining historical awareness, and affirming collective identity in contemporary Indonesian society. This study contributes to grounded theory research by demonstrating how traditional arts can serve as resilient systems of meaning-making. Practically, it underscores the need for community-led cultural preservation strategies that support organic adaptation while maintaining spiritual and symbolic integrity. It is recommended that policymakers and educators integrate traditional practices like Bantengan into cultural and educational frameworks to promote intergenerational learning, cultural resilience, and local pride.

  • References

    1. Ande, A., Utomo, S. S., Lehan, A. A. D., & Saefudin, A. (2025). Ritual Language in Korolele Ceremony: Local Wisdom, Cultural Identity, and Moral Education. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 13(1), 173-184. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853598609-014
    2. Blatt-Gross, C. (2023). Short-and long-term outcomes of community-based art education among students in higher education. Education Sciences, 13(2), 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020166
    3. Coldovero, N., & Aguila, A. A. (2020). Signs and Symbols in the Ati-Atihan Festival of Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines. JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research, 41(1), 116-141. https://doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v41i1.792
    4. Daly, P., Feener, R. M., Ishikawa, N., Mujah, I., Irawani, M., Hegyi, A., ... & Horton, B. (2022). Challenges of managing maritime cultural heritage in Asia in the face of climate change. Climate, 10(6), 79. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10060079
    5. Domínguez, G. (2022). Anatomy of a Social Crisis and Performance as Protest ritual in Postmodernity: The Chant of the Yellow Vests. Cuadernos de Música, Artes Visuales y Artes Escénicas, 17(1), 36-57. https://doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.mavae17-1.ascp
    6. Fadli, M., Widiarto, A. E., Puspitawati, D., Maharani, D. P., Liemanto, A., Arifien, Z., & Supriyadi, R. F. (2021). The legal construction of spirituality, ethical and sustainable tourism of temples in Malang Raya, Indonesia. GeoJournal of Tourism & Geosites, 35(2). https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.35232-679
    7. Huang, K., & Pearce, P. (2019). Visitors' perceptions of religious tourism destinations. Journal of destination marketing & management, 14, 100371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2019.100371
    8. Johnson, S. K. (2022). Crisis, Solidarity, and Ritual in Religiously Diverse Settings: A Unitarian Universalist Case Study. Religions, 13(7), 614. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070614
    9. Kashchenko, T., Akhaimova, A., Homon, O., & Ciepłucha, W. (2021). Synthesis of landscape and architecture as a means of expressing national identity. Landscape Architecture & Art, 19(19). https://doi.org/10.22616/j.landarchart.2021.19.03
    10. Kelly, L. M., Ware, A., Badry, A. I., Barton, G., & Ware, V. A. (2024). There are no gays in the village: youth perspectives of LGBTQIA+ people in Java, Indonesia. Journal of Youth Studies, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2024.2426470
    11. Khasanah, U., Bagea, I., Fatmasari, R. K., & Renawati, P. W. (2024). Cultural Semiotics Analysis of Traditional Bantengan Art: Exploring Function, Symbolic Meaning, Moral Significance, and Existence. RETORIKA: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa, 10(1), 101-112. https://doi.org/10.55637/jr.10.1.9336.101-112
    12. Kieven, L., & Antweiler, C. (2025). Controversial Intangible Heritage in Indonesia. Handbook on Intangible Cultural Practices as Global Strategies for the Future, 165. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72123-6_10
    13. Lorea, C. E., Mukherjee, A., & Roy, D. (2024). A Dalit religion online: clashing sensoryscapes and remote ethnographies behind the screen. Dialectical Anthropology, 48(1), 83-112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10624-023-09708-6
    14. Lukito, Y. N. H., Alkadri, M. F., Adiswari, N., Romadona, M. R., Kusnandar, & Suryadi. (2025). Revisiting fort heritage in Ternate, North Maluku: nostalgia, tourism, and community engagement. Built Heritage, 9(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43238-025-00181-4
    15. Oktaviani, N. A., Sabri, I., Yanuartuti, S., & Nurhadi, D. (2024). The Existence of The Garuda Jaya Pencak Silat and Bantengan Association in Lumbangrejo Village Prigen District Pasuruan District. MSJ: Majority Science Journal, 2(3), 68-77. https://doi.org/10.61942/msj.v2i3.193
    16. O'Neill, T., Finau‐Faumuina, B. M., & Ford, T. U. L. (2023). Toward decolonizing STEM: Centering place and sense of place for community‐based problem‐solving. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 60(8), 1755-1785. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21858
    17. Perera, A. A. L. C., & Geekiyanage, N. (2025). Preserving Cultural Riches: The Fading Ritual Legacy of Sri Lanka's Tank Cascade Systems. In Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka (pp. 57-72). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003516019-6
    18. Regina, B. D., Suharto, S., & Wibawanto, W. (2024). Bantengan Art and Ideology: The Independent Banteng Dance as a Spirit of Freedom. Satwika: Kajian Ilmu Budaya dan Perubahan Sosial, 8(2), 592-600. https://doi.org/10.22219/satwika.v8i2.37483
    19. Sahoo, A. K., & Surabhi K. (2022). Diaspora, religion, and identity: the case of Theyyam in the Indian diaspora. Asian Ethnicity, 23(1), 90-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2020.1737506
    20. Sopanah, A., Hermawati, A., Bahri, S., & Rusdianti, I. S. (2024). From Traditional-Ritual Activities to Financial Report: Integrating Local Wisdom in Bantengan Financial Bookkeeping. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 17(12), 529. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm17120529
    21. Susilo, R. K. D., Kusuma, A. W., & Wibowo, A. (2021). Wayang as local communication media in building public awareness of environmental crisis. The Journal of Society and Media, 5(2), 239-270. https://doi.org/10.26740/jsm.v5n2.p239-270
    22. Suwandana, E., & Supratno, H. (2023). Indonesian Local Literary Rituals in Magical Realism. International Journal Linguistics of Sumatra and Malay, 2(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.32734/ijlsm.v2i1.14367
    23. Turner, C., & Astin, F. (2021). Grounded theory: what makes a grounded theory study?. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 20(3), 285-289. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvaa034
    24. Utami, M. A., & Cindrakasih, R. R. (2023). Struktural Functionalism sebagai Proses Transmisi Kesenian Bantengan Kota Batu. Jurnal Komunikasi Nusantara, 5(2), 284-293. https://doi.org/10.33366/jkn.v5i2.400
    25. Yang, M., Fraser, S., & O'Sullivan, T. (2023). “I've already lived like There's a pandemic”: A grounded theory study on the experiences of people with a mobility disability. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 99, 104116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104116
    26. Yuwono, A., Zustiyantoro, D., Widodo, Widagdo, S., & Rokhim, M. N. (2025). The resilience of traditional communities in the modern era: a case study of kentrung art in Java, Indonesia. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), 2469464. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2469464
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors

How to cite

Suwandana, E., Supratno, H., Suyatno, & Kantina, S. (2025). Cultural storytelling through ritual art: Exploring <em>Bantengan</em> as a vessel of Indonesian identity. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 8(3), 2026168. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2026168
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
  • Article viewed - 502
  • PDF downloaded - 695