Rituals in using community at Banyuwangi: A gender perspective?

The Using community, Banyuwangi, has a variety of local wisdom and cultural treasures, both sacred and profane. This paper aims to discuss the rituals of Using people, especially in the context of a gender perspective. This study uses ethnographic methods with theoretical concepts of multicultural feminism. The study results show that cultural treasures in the form of rituals are generally perceived as "the world of men". However, this is only partially the case. The Barong Ider Bumi ritual in Kemiren reflects more on the role of men. In contrast, in the Seblang ritual in Olehsari and Seblang in Bakungan, the role of women as "ritual dancers" is quite significant because women become the "center" of all supporting elements of the ritual. Meanwhile, the Keboan ritual in Aliyan and the Kebo-keboan ritual in Alasmalang are quantitatively dominated by the male role as kebo (’buffalo’), but the "center" is precisely one woman, Dewi Sri, who is protected by the buffalo and indirectly controls them. Magic or supernatural rituals are generally identical to the world of men, but that is not the case with Lintrik-type magic. Lintrik’s primary function is compassion and fortune-telling. Unlike other types of magic (for example, Witchcraft, Magic, and Kanuragan), almost all Lintrik magic perpetrators are women. The results of the study of these rituals show that women have an essential role in some of the sacred cultural treasures of Using. These findings can break the common perception that identifies the sacred world as the world of men. Thus, cultural feminism gains legitimacy in the context of Using local wisdom, Banyuwangi.