The Madurese Bongso Wetan Tribe and the Existence of Hindu Identity

Abstract

The history of Hinduism in Bongso Wetan began in 1910. The intensity of interaction caused residents to become interested in converting to Hinduism, and the Sudhi Wadhani ceremony was performed as a system to baptize someone into the Sanathana Dharma faith. Initially, there were only 27 Hindus in Bongso Wetan. Until finally, it grew to 223 households. Coming from Bangkalan, Madura, the Hindu community in Bongso Wetan still maintains the culture of their origin. This research aims to analyze the social background or stimuli of the Hindu Bongso Wetan community in their efforts to maintain their religious identity as well as their social background. This research uses a qualitative method, selecting a location in Pengalangan Village, which is located in Menganti District, Gresik Regency, East Java Province. If we look at the relationship between capital accumulation and social acceptance, it was ultimately used by Bongso Wetan to form a ‘social hub’. The weaving that leads to the knot is read as the result of internalizing the values, ideas, and ‘capitals’ maintained by the relevant group. The acceptance of non-Islamic communities in the region signifies that the Bongso Wetan group has undergone aggregation. Aggregation in this context means the efforts of minority groups or immigrant groups to create ‘social ties’ with the native population. The effort to create this connection has implications for the formation of ‘social glue’, or the bonding of two social elements that actually have different backgrounds. Contextually, it can be explained that the presence of the Hindu Bongso Wetan community is positioned as the 'agent' and the East Java community with an Islamic religious base as the ‘incumbent’. These two social groups are in the social arena, where they play the ‘game’ exchange, and negotiate.