Local Religions and Contested Civic Space in Indonesia: A Case Study of Sunda Wiwitan Community in Cigugur, West Java

Asserting civic space of micro religious minorities: Evidence from Indonesia

“…Although in the case of Madraism, some studies refer to the Madrais teaching as a blend of nationality values in Javanese and Sundanese spiritual tradition (Komarudin, 2017), or a combination of the elements of Islamic values and early Sundanese culture (Qodim, 2017;Rosidin, 2000;Syukur & Qodim, 2017). Due to its unique characteristics of teaching and history formation, scholars refer to the Sunda Wiwitan in different terms, including local religion (Hurriyah, 2022;Ismail, 2015;Muttaqin, 2013), indigenous religion (Maarif, 2017;Rosidin, 2000;Swazey, 2017), religious group/sect (Aripudin, 2020;Qodim, 2017;Waluyajati, 2017), and even religious-sectarian and ethnonationalist group, asserting that it is a new type of religious-based movement combining the elements of syncretism and nationalism (Kartodirdjo, 1973;Komarudin, 2017).…”

“…Despite popular condemnation of the siege as a violation of religious freedom, the local government chose to overlook the siege and instead, put a halt on the construction (FGD Civil Society, September 9, 2021; FGD Sunda Wiwitan, September 25, 2021; Interviews with Sunda Wiwitan member September 24, 2020). Even after the halt was lifted due to pressures from national activists, politicians, and human rights defenders, the government insisted that the structure of the tomb not resemble a monument (Hurriyah, 2022).…”

“…As one study showed, big data analysis on news coverage related to local religions and discrimination against these groups has shown that the Sunda Wiwitan received the most media coverage in Indonesia. Further examination also revealed the contestation of narratives between the local government and the Sunda Wiwitan: although the first tends to frame the Sunda Wiwitan issues as either cultural expression or administrative barriers, the latter tries to counter such narrative and emphasizes the issue of religious freedom, civil rights, and discriminations (Hurriyah, 2022). In this regard, the Sunda Wiwitan also utilized the issue of pluralism, human rights, and socio-cultural issues to contest the local government's narrative, while simultaneously hoping for public acceptance.…”

“…Even in the democratization era, their religious expressions are still met with governmental restrictions and religious mobilization. In addition, their effort to obtain state recognition as the indigenous community has been strongly rejected by the local government (Hurriyah, 2022; Hurriyah et al, 2020). Despite facing relentless discrimination, this group remains resilient.…”

Sanduk-Sanduk Papalaku in Daily Life of Akur Sunda Wiwitan Community

“…Adat Karuhun Urang (AKUR) Sunda Wiwitan as one of indigenous community that is still persistent in practicing their Sundanese local religion (Anggraeni & Hidayat, 2020;Hurriyah, 2022;Sutarno et al, 2023), has prayer rituals namely sanduk-sanduk papalaku.…”