Nyoman Suwarta (1), Listiyono Santoso (2), Edi Dwi Riyanto (3)
General Background: The Bromo Mountains constitute both a conservation area and a sacred cultural space where the Tengger Indigenous community maintains ritual relationships with the natural environment. Specific Background: The core sand-sea zone functions as a center of customary rituals and worship but is increasingly recognized and managed as a major tourism destination by Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS). Knowledge Gap: Previous studies have addressed conservation policy, commodification, identity, education, tourism, and Tengger rituals, but the contemporary cultural meaning of the Bromo Mountains for the Tengger community has not been specifically examined. Aims: This study analyzes the cultural meanings attributed to the Bromo Mountains through qualitative ethnographic inquiry using observations and interviews in Probolinggo, Pasuruan, and Malang and interpretation based on social and cultural reproduction. Results: Seven meanings were identified: the origin of human civilization; hila-hila, perdikan, sacred, prohibited territory; ancestral territory that may be reclaimed under certain conditions; a sacred site governed by unwritten customary law; customary territory maintaining spiritual ecological balance; a location associated with particular unusual phenomena; and a site for Kasada rituals and offerings. TNBTS governance was also interpreted as communal symbolic domination producing doxa through regulatory symbols. Novelty: The study connects Tengger cultural meanings of the core sand-sea zone with power contestation, symbolic domination, and doxa. Implications: Legally recognized Tengger representation in TNBTS governance and early culture-based education are proposed to sustain customary identity, cultural values, and Bromo conservation alongside tourism development.
Highlights:
Keywords: Tengger, Traditional Rituals, Hila-Hila Land, Symbolic Domination, Sociocultural Reproduction
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