Sacred Ecology: Spirituality and Environmental Ethics in the Traditional Art of Sandur Bojonegoro

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-418-1_20How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sacred Ecology; Sandur Bojonegoro; Environmental Ethics; Cultural Performance

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between spirituality, environmental ethics, and cultural performance in Sandur Bojonegoro, a traditional Javanese theater art. Sandur is a form of entertainment and a medium for conveying spiritual and ecological values, particularly the sacred relationship between humans and nature. Using an interpretive qualitative approach combined with ethnographic methods, this study investigates how Sandur Bojonegoro reflects the community’s worldview towards the natural environment. The data in this study consist of information regarding the symbolic representations of nature in Sandur performances, the role of ritual practices in reinforcing ecological awareness, and the integration of indigenous ecological knowledge with sustainability practices, all of which are analyzed in accordance with the research problem. The data were obtained through interviews with local performers, community members, and spiritual leaders, as well as direct observation of Sandur performances. The results reveal that Sandur utilizes symbolic representations of nature, such as trees, water, and animals, to promote ecological awareness rooted in Javanese cosmology and sacred ecology. Ritual practices in the performance, including offerings and prayers to nature spirits, emphasize the reciprocal relationship between humans and the environment. These rituals, embedded in the community’s cultural and spiritual life, reinforce sustainable agriculture and resource management practices. Furthermore, this study highlights the potential of traditional performances such as Sandur to inform contemporary environmental ethics by integrating indigenous ecological knowledge with modern sustainability practices. By bridging cultural heritage and environmental management, Sandur Bojonegoro serves as a dynamic platform for environmental education, promoting intergenerational knowledge transfer, and fostering a deeper understanding of ecological balance. This research contributes to a broader discussion on how cultural performances can offer insights into sustainable living in diverse global contexts.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Fahri Setyo Utomo
AU  - Mibtadin
AU  - Prasetyo Adi Wisnu Wibowo
AU  - Sahid Teguh Widodo
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/06
TI  - Sacred Ecology: Spirituality and Environmental Ethics in the Traditional Art of Sandur Bojonegoro
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Cultural Studies (ICCUS 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 264
EP  - 277
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-418-1_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-418-1_20
ID  - Utomo2025
ER  -