Soshum: Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora

The Lotus Flower and White Frangipani: Cosmological Meaning and Esthetic Practices in Balinese Hindu Rites

2026-07-17T12:52:14+00:00

Flowers are central to Balinese Hindu ritual practice, but previous studies have interpreted them mainly as ritual ornaments, symbolic offerings, or aesthetic complements to ceremonial performance. Much less scholarly attention has been paid to their role as embodied aesthetic media at the intersection of sensory perception, religious experience, and cultural meaning. This study addresses that gap by investigating flowers as integrative media in Balinese Hindu ritual, linking materiality, symbolism, ethics, and spirituality. It adopts a qualitative ethnographic approach based on field observations, in-depth interviews with Hindu priests and ritual practitioners, and textual analysis of the Agastya Parwa. The analysis is also informed by Hindu Aesthetics (Triguna, 2025), symbolic anthropology, and ritual studies. The results show that flowers are not merely aesthetic objects but ritual media embodied in four interrelated dimensions: material, ethical, symbolic-cosmological, and spiritual. Together, these dimensions transform sensory experience into sacred experience. The study reveals the distinctive symbolic roles of ritual flowers, including the lotus (tunjung) as a cosmological symbol of purity and cosmic order, and the white frangipani (Plumeria alba) as an aesthetic conduit of everyday devotion and cultural continuity. Based on these findings, this article proposes the Balinese Hindu Ritual Aesthetics Model, which approaches ritual aesthetics as a holistic religious experience constructed through the interaction of material objects, embodied practice, symbolic meaning, and spiritual consciousness. This model contributes to debates in the anthropology of religion, material religion, ritual studies, and embodied aesthetics by showing that flowers are shared cultural media through which religious values, cultural memory, and cultural resilience are continually reproduced in Balinese Hindu society.

Revitalisation of the Symbolism of the Altar (Batu Dolu) in the Socio-Historical Local Wisdom of the Alor Tribal Community

2026-07-17T12:59:34+00:00

Batu Dolu is a stone altar that historically represented social identity, customary authority, and communal life among the Alor people. This study examines its symbolic significance and the challenges affecting its revitalisation in Alor Regency. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, documentation, and thematic analysis. The findings show that Batu Dolu once marked centres of customary governance across Alor’s mountainous and coastal kingdoms and continues to appear in the official emblem of the Alor Regency Government. However, its contemporary use is largely ceremonial and administrative, while its historical and cultural meanings are becoming less familiar to younger generations. Revitalisation is constrained by weak intergenerational transmission, limited participation by women and young people, declining customary institutions, and insufficient integration into education, heritage conservation, tourism, and digital media. The study concludes that Batu Dolu should be revitalised as a living cultural symbol rather than preserved merely as an official emblem. This requires community-based initiatives that combine local education, physical conservation, inclusive participation, and creative cultural representation.

Forests, Lived Relations, and Dance Creation in Papua

2026-06-09T06:55:33+00:00

This study explains how forests are positioned as living spaces within Papuan worldviews and how disruptions to this relationship affect sources of artistic creation, particularly dance. The study adopts a conceptual approach grounded in literature synthesis, critical engagement with previous scholarship, and contextual reflection on cultural and artistic practices. The analysis shows that forests are understood as living spaces that shape sociocultural relations, cosmological orientations, and embodied experience among Papuan communities, while sustaining the continuity of cultural practice and dance creation. Disruptions such as pollution, deforestation, and land conversion affect not only physical ecology but also interrupt lived practices, embodied knowledge, and cultural meanings that underpin creative processes. The study clarifies that forests are not treated as a singular origin of Papuan dance but as one of several relational spaces within a network of lived experience that informs artistic creation. These findings contribute to performing arts scholarship by framing the forest as a relational and epistemic foundation for dance creation and by offering conceptual implications for creative practice and context-based choreographic education.

Analysis of Posyandu Advisory Team Role in Preparing Six Minimum Service Standards Transformation

2026-07-16T04:32:48+00:00

The transformation of Posyandu based on the six Minimum Service Standards (SPM) is a strategic initiative to strengthen integrated community-based public services. However, its implementation in East Kalimantan Province remains at an early stage and faces challenges related to institutional readiness, human resource capacity, and cross-sectoral coordination. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of the Posyandu Development Team in supporting the preparation for the implementation of SPM-based Posyandu. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation involving nine purposively selected informants, consisting of three members of the Posyandu Development Team and six Posyandu cadres. The data were analyzed using an interactive model involving data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that the implementation of SPM-based Posyandu has not yet been fully supported by adequate institutional readiness and human resource capacity at the regional level. The Posyandu Development Team plays significant roles as a regulator, facilitator, and dynamizer through monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, cross-sectoral coordination, and efforts to enhance community participation. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the strategic role of the Posyandu Development Team in supporting the implementation of SPM-based Posyandu and provide practical recommendations for strengthening institutional capacity, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and enhancing community participation.

Urgency of Developing New Regulatory Norms on Subsurface Ownership and Vertical Depth Boundaries in the National Agrarian Law System

2026-02-19T01:34:32+00:00

This article examines the urgency of developing new regulatory norms governing subsurface ownership and vertical depth boundaries within Indonesia’s national agrarian law system. The study is driven by the absence of explicit legal provisions defining the scope, limitations, and ownership status of underground space, which creates legal uncertainty and potential conflicts in land utilisation, infrastructure development, and urban planning. Utilising a normative juridical method supported by statute, conceptual, and comparative approaches, this research analyses the insufficiency of existing regulations under the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA), particularly regarding vertical land demarcation and the doctrine of horizontal separation. The findings demonstrate that the current legal framework does not adequately regulate subsurface rights, resulting in normative gaps related to depth limits, administrative procedures, legal protection, and allocation of underground space for public and private interests. The study concludes that Indonesia urgently requires a new normative framework, potentially through the recognition of a distinct Right to Subsurface Space to ensure legal certainty, prevent future ownership disputes, and support sustainable spatial planning.

Startup Experience Trip in Strengthening Social Capital and Empowering the Economy of Partner Village

2026-06-09T07:00:47+00:00

This study investigates the role of the startup Experience Trip in enhancing social capital and empowering partner village communities in Klaten Regency. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the research analyses Experience Trip's function as a bridge among stakeholders involved in the development of community-based tourism (CBT). The findings indicate that Experience Trip not only provides alternative tourism packages including empowering, live-in, and travel options but also serves as a facilitator of community empowerment through training and mentorship programs for village communities. Utilising Robert D. Putnam’s social capital framework, encompassing networks, norms, and trust, this study reveals that Experience Trip has effectively cultivated bridging social capital among different groups, fostered experience-oriented tourism, and established trust through a community involvement approach that tends to be top-down, facing challenges related to lower community participation. The implications of this study underscore the importance of inclusive collaboration and the integration of sustainability principles into tourism startup business models to reinforce long-term socio-economic benefits.

Analyzing Mythological Constructions in Ring Advertisements Using Barthes’ Framework

2026-07-17T12:23:35+00:00

This study examines how Instagram advertisements reconstruct the cultural meaning of rings through mythological signification. Traditionally associated with interpersonal bonds, romantic commitment, and marital status, rings are increasingly being redefined through digital advertising as symbols of broader ideological values. Using Roland Barthes’ theory of mythology, this qualitative study analyses two Instagram advertisements: UNICEF India’s Promise Ring campaign and the Gabit Smart Ring advertisement. The analysis focuses on verbal text, visual imagery, colour schemes, typography, product presentation, and compositional design to identify how denotative signs are transformed into connotative meanings and ideological myths. The findings show that UNICEF resignifies the ring as a symbol of humanitarian commitment and social responsibility, while Gabit constructs the ring as a symbol of self-care, discipline, and personal optimization. Although the two advertisements promote different values—collective moral duty and individual self-improvement—they both demonstrate how advertising naturalizes culturally constructed meanings through carefully selected semiotic elements. This study contributes to advertising semiotics by extending Barthes’ mythological framework to Instagram-based visual marketing and by showing how a familiar material object can be reinterpreted through digital advertising to support competing ideological narratives.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Early Childhood Education Learning Evaluation

2026-06-09T07:11:20+00:00

This qualitative study examines the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in early childhood education learning evaluation. Data were obtained through a review of recent literature and interviews with 10 purposively selected teachers, lecturers, and educational technology practitioners. The findings indicate that AI can support adaptive and personalised assessment, provide timely feedback, integrate data across learning environments, and facilitate the early identification of children’s needs. However, its implementation is constrained by limited teacher digital competency, unequal technological infrastructure, and concerns about children’s data privacy. AI should therefore complement, rather than replace, teachers and be introduced gradually through educator training, infrastructure development, appropriate policies, and robust data protection.

Development Integrating Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Graphic Design to Enhance Learning Quality in Higher Education

2026-06-07T13:37:08+00:00

This study developed and evaluated interactive learning media integrating augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), and graphic design principles for higher education. Using a Design-Based Research approach, the media were iteratively designed, implemented, and refined with undergraduate graphic design students at Universitas Sains Indonesia. Learning effectiveness was assessed through pre- and post-tests, engagement measures, user-experience evaluation, observations, and interviews. Results showed significant improvement in learning outcomes, with a moderate normalised gain (N-Gain = 0.60), a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.85), and a significant difference between pre- and post-test scores (p < 0.001). Students also reported high engagement and positive user experience. Qualitative findings indicated that AR supported immersive conceptual visualisation, while AI enabled adaptive feedback and personalised learning. The findings suggest that combining AR, AI, and graphic design can create an interactive, adaptive, and visually effective learning environment that enhances learning outcomes and student engagement.

An Ecofeminist Analysis of the Lyrics of Colours of the Wind in Disney’s Pocahontas (1995)

2026-06-21T08:44:40+00:00

This study examines the lyrics of “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s animated film Pocahontas (1995) as a discursive site of resistance to colonial paradigms. Performed by Judy Kuhn, the song serves as a pivotal focalization of Pocahontas’s Indigenous wisdom in opposition to Western expansionism. The research investigates how the lyrics construct colonial settlers as “alien” subjects who are ecologically estranged while simultaneously articulating an alternative human–nature relationship grounded in an ecofeminist ethics of care. Employing ecofeminist literary criticism, the study analyzes the lyrics through a close reading informed by the conceptual frameworks of the logic of domination, master identity, and the mechanistic death-of-nature paradigm. The findings reveal that colonial figures are represented as “aliens” through processes of othering and a mechanistic worldview that reduces the Earth to a “dead thing” or a mere object of exploitation. Their inability to comprehend the language of nature reveals a profound ontological disconnection from local ecological networks, effectively rendering them outsiders within the very environment they seek to conquer. In contrast, Pocahontas’s voice rearticulates nature as a living entity, foregrounding a circular model of interconnectedness as a counter-discourse to linear and anthropocentric colonial hierarchies. The study concludes that the settlers’ status as “aliens” is an ideological consequence of the colonizers’ master identity, which rejects ecological relationality. Ultimately, the study underscores the vital contribution of ecofeminist readings of popular culture to critiques of the colonial and patriarchal logics that continue to underlie contemporary ecological crises.