Negotiating Faith, Ritual, and Ecology: Islamic–Hindu Acculturation and Interreligious Cohesion in the Petik Laut Ritual of Pengambengan, Bali

Purpose: This study examines how Petik Laut, a coastal sea thanksgiving ritual in Pengambengan, Jembrana, Bali, functions as a negotiated arena of Islamic–Hindu acculturation, interreligious cohesion, and coastal environmental ethics. It addresses the need to move beyond viewing coastal rituals merely as cultural heritage, syncretic practice, or one-way Islamization by analyzing how religious boundaries, shared participation, and ecological responsibility are produced within a multi-religious fishing community. Methodology: This study employed a qualitative ethnography of religion. Data were collected during the 2025 Petik Laut ritual cycle through participant observation, semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants, and visual documentation. Informants included religious leaders, civic leaders, committee members, senior fishermen, youth participants, and community members. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and Geertzian thick description to interpret symbolic transformation, boundary-making, interreligious cooperation, and ecological meaning. Findings: The study reveals three main findings. First, Islamic-Hindu acculturation occurs through symbolic relabeling, Islamic liturgical adaptation, and committee-based theological boundary-making. Ritual elements such as offerings, larung (the ritual release of offerings into the sea), decorated boats, and prayers are not erased but reinterpreted to remain culturally meaningful while reducing theological ambiguity. Second, interreligious cohesion is produced through gotong royong (communal mutual assistance), joint committee work, shared ritual space, differentiated participation, and collective maritime narratives such as the idea that “the sea belongs to everyone.” Third, ecological ethics are embedded through the understanding of the sea as rezeki (divinely granted sustenance or blessing), the use of biodegradable materials, plastic reduction, beach cleaning, youth monitoring, and informal social control. However, the ritual’s sustainability is challenged by declining youth involvement, tourism commodification, and debates over religious orthodoxy. Implications: The findings suggest that sustaining Petik Laut requires community-based ritual governance, stronger youth participation, ethical tourism management, and clearer environmental rules. The ritual should not be treated merely as a cultural festival, but as a local institution linking pluralism, maritime identity, and ecological responsibility. Originality: This study contributes to ritual studies by showing that a coastal ritual can simultaneously function as a mechanism of religious negotiation, an infrastructure of interreligious cohesion, and a medium of religious ecology. It challenges one-way narratives of Islamization by demonstrating that Muslim and Hindu actors jointly negotiate ritual authority, symbolic meaning, and environmental ethics within a shared ritual cycle.