Social resilience of indigenous community on the border: Belief and confidence in anticipating the spread of COVID‐19 through the Besamsam custom in the Dayak community

Abstract

The Dayak indigenous community has belief and confidence in taking a stance and taking actions towards a situation and circumstances that affect their social life. This belief is based on their customs and traditions passed down from generation to generation until now. The Dayak traditional custom is a form of social resilience for the community on the border to anticipate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, which has become a problem in all aspects of community lives. Despite facing various issues and difficulties in dealing with the pandemic, the indigenous Dayak community in Indonesia has managed to survive and resolve these problems. In dealing with the social impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Salako Dayak indigenous community on the Indonesia‐Malaysia border carried out a traditional ritual called Besamsam . The indigenous Salako Dayak community believes this ritual boosts the social and psychological resilience of the Salako Dayak indigenous community. The research findings showed that the Besamsam ritual had changed people's beliefs about lifestyle, behaviour and perceptions in dealing with the COVID‐19 pandemic. The Besamsam ritual can specifically affect the community's personalities, attitudes and actions towards the spread of COVID‐19. Indigenous peoples have become easier to organize, dynamic, empowered, resilient, motivated to meet their needs, and capable of facing various challenges and social problems during and after the COVID‐19 pandemic. These findings prove that indigenous communities psychologically have strong confidence in their customary beliefs rather than cautionary advice from outside their community. The social impact of the Besamsam custom can serve as a model of awareness and a driving force for indigenous peoples' elements to work cooperatively to break the chain of COVID‐19 spread.

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