This ethnographic study examines how the Ruwat Rawat practice (2003-present) sustains the spiritual ecosystem of the Borobudur Temple amid tourism globalization. Through participant observation (12 ritual events), interviews (20 key informants), and visual documentation, we reveal how Brayat Panangkaran's rituals – from Sedekah Bumi to Karmawibangga performances – materialize Indonesia's Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) through three mechanisms: (1) interfaith collaboration (Muslim-Buddhist ritual co-creation), (2) ecological spirituality (banyan tree totemism aligning with Durkheim's collective effervescence), and (3) digital-physical hybridity (50,000-view YouTube rituals engaging youth). Contrasting with Angkor Wat's monastic-tourism model, we demonstrate how state-led heritage management initially marginalized these practices, causing a 40% decline in youth participation (2015-2023). Nevertheless, community-led revival efforts now offer a blueprint for "ritual-first" tourism, where guided spiritual tours precede temple access, with 20% revenue funding cultural transmission (cf. Dieckhoff and Gutiérrez's territorialized governance). The study advances theories of living heritage by showing how Geertzian "thick" traditions can simultaneously resist homogenization and reinvent national identity. Our findings need policymakers to: (1) nominate Ruwat Rawat as UNESCO intangible heritage, (2) institutionalize community-benefit tourism models, and (3) develop digital platforms that translate relief narratives into moral pedagogy.
Siswayanti et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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