Geographical context and natural environment preservation in local culture (A study on the ritual of Penti in Manggarai, Flores NTT)

Abstract

Indonesia has a great number of local cultures. Such local cultures exist along with the values, norms, and thoughts of society. One of the local cultures in question is Penti ceremony that is conducted annually by Manggaraian people in the west of Flores. This study was an attempt to reveal the geographical context found in the ritual of penti ceremony. To collect the data, interviews and observations were carried out and were analyzed in some stages, namely data reduction, data display, and verification. The results have shown that the geographical context in the penti covers both natural spatial and social aspects. The natural spatial aspect is concerned with the selection of the locations where the ritual of penti is carried out. The selected locations were regarded as media for communication and reflections of interpersonal relations and the cosmological view of the Manggarain community towards nature. Meanwhile, the social aspect regulates the community's social relations, manifested in the form of norms, ethics, and prohibitions. In conclusion, the geographical context in the ritual of penti is closely related to natural environment preservation and social life sustainability.