The Dynamics of “Ethnic Boundary”: In the Identity of the Tengger Community of Madurese Descent

Abstract

Tengger people are known as those who are very obedient in carrying out traditional ceremonies and highly uphold honesty. The research problem in this dissertation is that people of Madurese descent prefer their main identity as Tengger people. Data collection uses observation methods involved and in-depth interviews. The results of the study concluded that the “ethnic boundary” or Tengger people’s social boundary was to have attributes, such as sarong, Tengger language, farming communities, and obediently carrying out traditional ceremonies, and having the value of those living in the Tengger region, hardworking, egalitarian, peace-loving and always doing good, obeying the leader and obeying the customary rules, maintaining family ties and being close to the spirit world. Madurese people carry out the process of “becoming Tengger” to get various accesses whose legality is owned by the original Tengger people. These accesses are social identity, market, capital, knowledge, through negotiations from other social relations, a better life and authority for the original Tengger people. The Tengger’s strong efforts to maintain “ethnic boundary” resulted in a social construction that depicted the Tengger region as a sacred area that only certain people could live in, which ultimately gave Tengger people full autonomy to manage their territory with minimal outside intervention.