Crisis Communication Based on Local Wisdom: The Voice of Indigenous Women of Bayan Indonesia for Climate Action
Abstract
This study aims to examine the role of Bayan indigenous women in addressing the global climate change crisis. Climate change has created various ecological threats that affect the environmental, social, and cultural sustainability of indigenous communities. In patriarchal indigenous societies, women are often positioned as subordinate actors, their roles restricted to the domestic sphere. This system perpetuates rigid gender roles as men as leaders and primary decision-makers. Nevertheless, indigenous women play a strategic role in maintaining traditions, protecting the environment, and strengthening social solidarity within the community. This study is significant because limited research has specifically positioned indigenous women as central actors in culturally based crisis communication. This research employs a qualitative approach using interpretive phenomenology to gain an in-depth understanding of the social realities of the Bayan community. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation of traditional rituals, and documentation of cultural practices. The findings reveal that Bayan rituals reflect three fundamental relationships: the relationship between humans and God, the relationship among human beings, and the relationship between humans and nature. Within these ritual practices, women serve as cultural communicators, custodians of ecological values, social mediators, and agents of intergenerational knowledge transmission. The findings demonstrate that Bayan indigenous women construct a distinctive model of crisis communication rooted in spirituality, collectivity, and local wisdom. This model contributes significantly to community resilience and the preservation of both cultural traditions and the natural environment in the face of climate change.
Keywords: Crisis communication, indigenous women, climate change, local wisdom.
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