E-Journal of Cultural Studies

DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015)

ISSN 2338-2449

Augst 2017 Vol. 10, Number 3, Page 6-12

https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

POWER BEHIND HARMONY: CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF RELATION BETWEEN CHINESE ETHNIC GROUP AND BALINESE ETHNIC GROUP AT PUPUAN VILLAGE, TABANAN, BALI

I Gusti Made Aryana AA Bagus Wirawan Nengah Bawa Atmadja email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The harmonious relation between the ethnic groups living at Pupuan Village can be evidenced by the inter-ethnic marriages. The problems of the present study can be formulated in three questions. They are why the Chinese ethnic people can live harmoniously with the Balinese ethnic people, how is the dynamics of the power behind the harmonious relation between the Chinese ethnic people and Balinese ethnic people at Pupuan Village, and how the educational model implemented by the Chinese ethnic people and Balinese ethnic people is developed to contribute to the harmonious relation between the two ethnic groups from the ethno pedagogic perspective. The descriptive and qualitative method was used in the present study. The data were collected through in-depth interview, observation, and documentary study. The data were analyzed using the interactive analysis method. The theories used include the Theory of Practice proposed by Bourdieu, the Theory of Discourse of Power/Knowledge proposed by Foucault, theory of Habernas Education, and so forth.

The result of the study shows that there are several reasons why the relation between the Balinese ethnic people and Chinese ethnic people has become harmonious. They use power and capital. The Balinese ethnic people use the spiritual capital (the capital of cultural power) through the values of the local genius. The Chinese ethnic people use the socioeconomic capital they have to make the domination of the Balinese people balanced. The dynamics of the power behind harmony shows that the relation between the two ethnic people at Pupuan Village is made to be diluted resulting from the power of the internal (local) people and the external (national) people which can be seen from the religious aspect, political aspect, socio-cultural aspect, and socio-economic aspect. The ethnopedagogic educational model is developed using different media such as the societal organization, the social activity in the forms of ngayah (doing voluntary religious things) and ngoupin (helping other people living in the neighborhood prepare and perform their traditional and religious activities).

Keywords: power, harmony, critical ethnography, ethnical relation between the Chinese ethnic group and Balinese ethnic group, ethnopedagogic

INTRODUCTION

Pupuan Village is one of the old villages in Pupuan District, Tabanan Regency, Bali

Province, where 113 Chinese families and 738 Balinese families live (Monography of Pupuan

E-Journal of Cultural Studies DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015) ISSN 2338-2449                                             https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

Village, 2015). There is a harmonious relation between the two ethnic groups, although they are different with respect to many aspects. The harmonious relation can be seen from the marriages between the two ethnic groups which are usually less common (Vasanty, 1987). The Chinese ethnic people also become the members of the traditional village ‘desa parakaman’ and this is welcome by the Balinese ethnic people. In addition, the Chinese ethnic people also have family temples referred to as sanggah kemulan, pelinggih Jro Gede and Taksu as the Balinese ethnic people do. They also perform religious rituals referred to as odalan using what is called banten (offering) similar to what is used by the Balinese ethnic people when they perform religious festivals. In the other areas of the country this behavior is seldom shown by the Chinese ethnic people. They are often discriminatively treated leading to physical coercion (Coppel, 1994: Purdey, 2013). Such a scarce social phenomenon is interesting to be explored (Habib, 2004). Apart from that, as far as the writer’s view is concerned, this phenomenon is getting more important and interesting to be explored as Indonesia, as a nation, is getting disintegrated and less unified. The matter pertaining to the integration among the ethnic groups in Indonesia has been a national issue. Therefore, this phenomenon is explored from the perspective of cultural studies.

Based on the reason described above, the scope of the present study includes (1) why the Chinese ethnic group and Balinese ethnic group at Pupuan Village, Tabanan Regency, Bali Province, can live harmoniously? (2) What is the dynamics of power behind the harmonious relation between the Chinese ethnic people and Balinese ethnic people at Pupuan Village, Tabanan Regency, Bali Province like? (3) How is the educational model implemented by the Chinese ethnic people and Balinese ethnic people at Pupuan Village, Tabanan Regency, Bali Province can lead to the harmonious relation from the ethnographic perspective?

This present study is intended to deconstruct the social phenomenon described above so that the reasons causing the Chinese ethnic people and Balinese ethnic people to be able to live harmoniously can be understood.

RESEARCH METHOD

The descriptive and qualitative method with the critical ethnographic approach within the perspective of cultural studies was used in the present study (Spradly, 2006). The data were collected through in-depth interview, observation and documentary study. The data

E-Journal of Cultural Studies DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015) ISSN 2338-2449                                             https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

were analyzed using the interactive analysis model proposed by Miles and Huberman (1992). The critical social theory was also employed so that the result would be a critical ethnography.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The result of the study shows that (1) power capital contributes to the harmonious relation between the Chinese ethnic people and Balinese ethnic people at Pupuan Village. The Balinese ethnic people use power as the capital through the local genius they have such as Tri Hita Karana (the harmonious relation between man and God, the harmonious relation between man and his fellow beings, the harmonious relation between man and his environment), Tat Twam Asi (everybody is equal), Penyamabrayaan (brotherhood), and so forth. The Chinese ethnic people use the socio-economical capital to compensate for the domination of the Balinese ethnic group so that the relation between them has become harmonious.

The Balinese ethnic people use the power they have to dominate the Chinese ethnic group using the ideology of Tri Hita Karana which is poured in the local law binding all members of Pupuan Traditional Village. A sanction is imposed upon those who break the law. The sanction functions as a social control leading to the social order and the harmonious life at Pupuan Village. The Chinese ethnic people use their socio-economic capital to compensate for the domination (hegemony) of the Balinese ethnic group.

The value of the local genius menyama braya (brotherhood) developed by the Balinese ethnic people through the teaching of Tat Twam Asi and the teachings of Khonghucu, Taoism and Buddhism support and develop the attitude of brotherhood (penyamabrayaan) among the two ethnic groups of people with different cultural backgrounds. They all form the pillars of the sense of belonging, respecting one another and the attitude of tolerance. They all lead to the harmonious relation among the people living at Pupuan Village and between the two ethnic groups. This is strengthened by the marriages between the two ethnic groups (amalgamation). The friendship between the two ethnic groups is also getting closer.

The capital the Chinese ethnic people have has also led to the harmonious relation between the two ethnic groups at Pupuan Village. The Chinese ethnic people are economically and socially established. Their socio-economic role is getting greater and more important. They are also the donators of the social and physical development at the village. The Balinese ethnic people also use the power capital they have for dominating the Chinese

E-Journal of Cultural Studies DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015) ISSN 2338-2449                                             https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

ethnic people with an expectation that they can maintain the superordinate position through the local law ‘awig-awig, dresta, pararem’ they have produced. In this way, the Chinese ethnic people, as the new comers and minority will always show fidelity and support the security within their families and the village.

The historical experience also contributes to the harmonious life at Pupuan Village. That is reasonable enough as the Chinese ethnic people who came to Pupuan Village in 1820s have considered that Pupuan is the village where they are born, although they have experienced independence era and reformation era. The sense of belonging has caused the two ethnic groups living at Pupuan Village to live harmoniously and keep brotherhood as a big family leading them to peacefulness.

Finally, the roles played by the central government and local government have also contributed to the harmonious life at Pupuan Village. The central government through the village government as its representative applies the nationally-prevailing law to regulate the life of every citizen, including every Chinese living at Pupuan Village, regardless of the ethnic groups they belong to. Similarly, the local government which synergizes with the traditional village ‘desa pakraman’, expects for a social order through the Local Regulation Number 3 of 2001 concerning Traditional Village ‘Desa Pakraman’ (Surpha, 2012). The traditional village produces the local law referred to as awig-awig, dresta and pararem to maintain the harmonious life among the local people.

The power behind the harmonious life between the two different ethnics living at Pupuan Village is dynamic and diluted resulting from the power which the local and national people have with their positive (constructive) and negative (descriptive) effects. Such dynamism can be viewed from (a) religious and belief aspect, (b) the dynamics of power in the political aspect, and (c) the dynamics in the socio-cultural aspect, and (d) the dynamics of power in the socio-economic aspect.

The educational model implemented by the Chinese ethnic group and Balinese ethnic group at Pupuan Village has contributed to the harmonious life from the ethno pedagogic perspective (Alwasilah, 2008). It can be implemented through different media; they are (1) the social organizational media such as the youth ‘Truna-Truni’ and ‘Karang Taruna’ organization; (2) social activities such as doing spirituality-related activities voluntarily ‘ngayah’ and helping the others living in the neighborhood ‘ngoupin’; (3) traditional games; (4) story telling tradition; and (5) cultural-ritual media in the public space, which can be used

E-Journal of Cultural Studies DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015) ISSN 2338-2449                                             https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

to implant the local genius values such as togetherness, helping one another, and brotherhood.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION

Based on the result of analysis several conclusions and novelties can be drawn from the present study. First, the interests, powers and capitals that the Chinese ethnic group and Balinese ethnic group have, tolerance, respecting one another and equality in diversity have contributed to the harmonious relation between them, meaning that the Pupuan society have been able to actualize the motto Unity in Diversity ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ and the doctrine multiculturalism in its social life. Thus, the harmonious life between the Chinese ethnic group and Balinese ethnic group at Pupuan Village, Tabanan, Bali has resulted from the positive or productive power as stated in the theory of discourse of power/knowledge proposed by Foucault.

Second, the diluted dynamics in the relation between the two ethnic groups, as the local and national ethnic groups, at Pupuan Village has resulted from the powers they have. That has led to the desired situation and condition, causing the stable and harmonious life to be able to be maintained. They have always struggled for their resources and positions to win the contestation taking place in the same arena and to maintain their stable harmonious social lives as stated by Bourdieu in his theory. The local genius which the two ethnic groups have requires them to negotiate and communicate through their agencies as proposed by Habermas in his theory in order to keep the condition at Pupuan Village harmonious and conducive. Thus, as far as the context of the dynamics of power is concerned, it can be stated that the hegemony between the Balinese ethnic group and Chinese ethnic group has not only taken place in one way but in two ways as stated by Gramsci in his theory that the majority will always dominate the minority. The Balinese ethnic group has dominated the Chinese ethnic group in several aspects and the Chinese ethnic group dominates the Balinese ethnic people. Thus, there is balance of power between the two ethnic groups in how they manage their existence to keep the situation harmonious.

Third, the ethnographic educational model implemented to maintain the harmonious relation between the two ethnic groups at Pupuan Village is considered the effective media for implanting the local genius values locally. The media include the social organizational media such as the youth ‘taruna teruni’ and ‘karang taruna’ groups; the ngayah and ngoupin activities; traditional games, traditional storytelling, and cultural ritual performed in the public

E-Journal of Cultural Studies

DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015)

ISSN 2338-2449                                             https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

space. They are all the media which can be employed by all the parties to be aware that togetherness, brotherhood ‘menyama braya’, full tolerance and appreciating one another are the key to the harmonious life.

Based on the novelties described above, it is suggested that (1) it is still necessary to conduct further research in order to enrich the studies of ethnicity in cultural studies; (2) the stakeholders should continuously nurture pluralism and multiculturalism so that unity can always be maintained.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In this opportunity the writer would like to thank Dr. I Gede Mudaha, M.Si for editing this article so it can be published in the e-journal of Cultural Studies. It is hoped that the article may be useful to us all.

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