Building Local Values and Religious Beliefs through Traditional Poetry: Insights from Pantun Baantaran of the Banjar People in South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Banjarese Community in South Kalimantan, Indonesia is a unique vernacular community known for poetry. Research on their poem, "Pantun Baantaran" requires a comprehensive approach to comprehend how the local values and religious beliefs are established in this traditional Banjar poem. This research explores how Pantun Baantaran reflects and articulates the religious ethos of the Banjarese community. It requires identification of various aspects of religious reflections as well as moral values, religious practices and cultural beliefs. The research includes the analysis of how Pantun Baantaran reflects society's religious beliefs, identifying themes and recurring religious values, and comparing religious depictions in the form of other traditional Banjar literature. The data collection methods are textual analysis of Pantun Baantaran literature collection; recording and interviewing poets; field research, which includes discussion with community and practitioners with broad knowledge; and ethnographic observations on pantun shows in community environments. It employs content analysis to expose repeated themes and symbols, comparative analysis with other Banjar literature, and contextual analysis to get the idea of how historical and cultural factors affect religious reflection. These analyses identify and categorize the religious themes in Pantun Baantaran and interpret how the themes express values and norms of the Banjar community. The interpreting process involves highlighting pantun's role in expressing and preaching religion. The findings show that Pantun Baantaran reflects and represents religious values in the Banjar community. They reveal that Pantun Baantaran is a significant cultural medium to express and reinforce religious practices and beliefs in this community. It therefore concludes that Pantun Baantaran serves as a significant cultural medium for expressing and reinforcing religious beliefs and practices among the Banjar people through the themes and symbols found within the verses.