WALAGARA: the hybrid ritual of Tengger mountains ethnic wedding

Abstract

Tengger is a peripheral region in the Bromo mountains that has attracted the interest of scholars, especially in the context of customs and religion. They have long-held beliefs since the Majapahit empire. The ‘Tengger Religion’ became their guide and spread to lowland Java, Bali, and other areas. The arrival of Muslim missionaries to the Tengger region created the assimilation of new norms, which they called ngaluri and cara. This article explores the Walagara marriage process due to two legal products: Tengger custom and Islam. This study found several essential aspects: First, the Walagara grassroots placed Tengger and Islamic traditions in one shared liturgy based on the principles of ngaluri and cara. Second, this composition is not found in other areas, such as the lowlands (ngare), making the Walagara tradition an affirmation of the ‘Tengger People’ identity. We argue that these two aspects form the Tengger community with a ‘hybrid composite’.