Bergerian Analysis of “Rukun Kematian” (A Community Self-Funded Donations for Muslim Funerals): Reflecting Social Virtues

Abstract

The present study was conducted in Pajeng Village, Gondang District, Bojonegoro Regency. It sought to highlight the relevance of Rukun Kematian (RK) as a societal virtue, define the process and impacts of institutionalizing RK, and assess its influence on local village development projects. The study also tried to examine the communicative acts of RK initiators and their respective institutions. A qualitative approach was applied, with phenomenological approaches. Documentation, participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to collect data. The study used theoretical, purposive, and snowball sampling techniques to gain a thorough understanding. Data processing included bracketing, reduction and deletion, thematic clustering, validation, and a personalized texture analysis. The findings demonstrated that societal virtues are formed by the interaction of personal-transcendental and social-reciprocal meanings, the quality of representation, collective purpose for social and economic advantages, and the presence of generative conversation. The validity claims discussed in public spaces shape the institutional model for societal virtues. This model influences local initiatives and citizen innovations in village development. The communicative actions of RK initiators focus on building mutual understanding through generative dialogue, fostering a discursive process of societal virtues, and creating a collective intention for social and economic benefits. The study also established a “Constructionist-Communicative Analysis Model for Rural Communities” and a mathematical formulation to identify the generative self-governance model in rural communities.