Kacang Tidak Lupa Kulitnya: Identitas Gumay, Islam, Dan Merantau Di Sumatra Selatan (The Nut cannot forget its shell: Gumay Identity, Islam and Outmigration in South Sumatra)

Abstract

This book is an ethnographic study of the Gumay community in South Sumatra in Indonesia. This book examines how Gumay people define their identity in the context of social and political change and about the process of contestation and negotiation of Gumay's identity. This anthropology study is based on field research for two years in the middle of the community. Gumay is one of a number of Malay-speaking ethnic groups living in the highlands of South Sumatra whose traditions are still relatively unknown to not only researchers but also Indonesians in general. Ethnic groups such as Kikim, Basemah, Semendo and Lintang are inhabitants of the Malay highlands. Their main mode of production is farming, especially coffee and rubber. Islam is a religion that regulates the customs of their life cycle,alms commemorating the ancestors is still practiced.

This book aims to examine the importance of sustaining the rituals of Gumay's origins in the context of rapid social change. The younger generation of Gumay people aspire to become middle class citizens and settle in urban areas. The strength of Gumay's origins of ritual practice lies in the fact that the younger generation still links their successes and difficulties in urban areas with their ancestors. To obtain sustenance or when experiencing difficulties in the city or location to migrate, a new generation of Gumay returned to their original place to carry out alms obligationsas proof of their origin. The rapidly changing social environment in the highlands of South Sumatra contributes to the practice and continuity of the rituals of the origins of Gumay and makes the Gumay people maintain their unique identity.