Navigating tensions in inter-ethnic marriages in Indonesia: Cultural, relational, spatial and material considerations

Abstract

Despite histories of considerable conflict between particular ethnic groups in Indonesia, inter-ethnic marriages are increasingly commonplace. This article explores how Javanese and Chinese couples conduct their everyday lives together and manage various inter-cultural tensions within and across various locales, and with reference to particular material objects and adapted cultural practices. We draw on fieldwork conducted over a 10-week period with four inter-ethnic married couples in the city of Nganjuk in East Java, which was subsequently extended through further online interactions. To interpret the resulting qualitative materials, we draw insights from the social psychology of place, urban mobilities, the conduct of everyday life, social practice theory and cultural hybridity. We begin with a tour of the key sites (e.g., domestic dwellings, schools, workplaces, markets, churches, streets) that participants weave together through various socio-cultural practices into their own relation-scape. We then explore their mobile practices that span particular places and the ways in which couples manage the inter-cultural tensions that can emerge from broader familial relations and competing cultural expectations. This article demonstrates the utility of a spatial-orientated analysis for psychological research into inter-ethnic marriage in general, and in particular how inter-cultural tensions can be managed through mundane and material spatial practices.