The Construction of Cultural Identity among Reyog Ponorogo Practitioners, East Java Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines the construction of cultural identity among Reyog Ponorogo practitioners in Malang Regency, Indonesia. Drawing on symbolic interactionism and Alfred Schutz’s social phenomenology, the study analyzes how cultural identity is produced, interpreted, and reproduced through symbolic practices, lived experiences, and collective meaning-making within the Reyog community. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation involving members of the Reyog Ponorogo Youth Arts Practitioners Community (PPSRP). The findings reveal that cultural identity is not a naturally inherited attribute but a dynamic social process shaped by symbolic interpretation, intersubjective experience, and the internalization of shared values. In this context, Reyog functions as a cultural system that sustains collective identity, social cohesion, and cultural continuity in a migrant social setting. This study contributes to sociology and cultural studies by demonstrating that traditional performing arts serve as significant mechanisms in the construction of cultural identity in contemporary society.