Religion, Tradition and Transcendental Communication of Coastal Communities: Formulation of Religion and Culture in the Nadran Ritual

Abstract

One of the traditions of coastal community is nadran which is also known as larung laut or sedekah laut. This ritual uses to express gratitude to God Almighty on seafood and a prayer for asking prosperity and safety by fishermen. This ritual is begun by a puppet show, the slaughter head of male buffalo, then floated into the sea along with other substances. Coastal communities believe the buffalo head float procession is as sacred and holy that must require meeting the circumstances before and during the ritual. Otherwise, a supernatural consequence will occur. Even though the symbols use in the ritual do not imply the Islamic concept, the transcendental meaning of the symbol in a ritual philosophy interpret as the power of God. However, in the Islamic concept, it does not require the symbol to express it. Thus, based on the theological, those symbols contradict with the Islamic concept. Despite, it is it is understood that the ritual is a cultural reflection only and fluidity or flexibility of culture and religion. Therefore, there is also a mystical dimension and local belief in this tradition. The Nadran ritual shows an acculturation between local tradition and religion is harmony. The symbols used in this tradition are pre-Islamic heritages that are inherited from generation to generation. However, the meanings of such symbols refer to the transcendental meanings based on the theology and Islamic concept that express the culture. This article is a result of field research using the ethnographic method with the descriptive qualitative design based on anthropological perspective. The structural-functional approach is employed for analyzing the data. Library research, participant observation, and in-depth interview are used to collect the data.