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International Journal Of Literature And Languages

Peer Reviewed | Open Access | E-ISSN: 2771-2834
Published Article

Ethnographic Mapping of Betadut-Mediated Circulation, Reproduction, And Contextual Reinterpretation of Islamic Texts Among Besemah And Serawai Communities

Ethnographic Mapping of Betadut-Mediated Circulation, Reproduction, And Contextual Reinterpretation of Islamic Texts Among Besemah And Serawai Communities

Authors

  • Dr. Xiaomei Zhang
    Faculty of Comparative Philology and Translation Studies, Shanghai Institute of Literary Sciences, Shanghai, China

Keywords:

Betadut Islamic Text Circulation Ethnographic Mapping

Abstract

This study examines the ethnographic dynamics of Islamic textual circulation, reproduction, and contextual reinterpretation mediated through Betadut performance traditions among the Besemah and Serawai communities in South Sumatra, Indonesia. By integrating discourse analysis, semiotic theory, and folklore studies, the research explores how Islamic texts are not merely transmitted as static doctrinal entities but are actively reconfigured within oral-performance systems embedded in local cultural practices. Drawing upon Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis framework (Fairclough, 1995; Fairclough, 2004), Saussurean linguistic theory (de Saussure, 1988), and semiotic interpretations of meaning-making (Danesi, 2004; Merrell, 1997), the study identifies Betadut as a cultural mechanism that facilitates both preservation and transformation of Islamic knowledge.

Findings indicate that Islamic textuality within Besemah and Serawai societies is deeply entangled with oral traditions such as Tadut, Rejung, and related performative genres. These forms act as mediating structures that reinterpret religious narratives in localized socio-cultural idioms. The study further demonstrates that the Islamization process in Bengkulu and surrounding regions, as documented by Ismail (2019), significantly shaped the adaptive integration of Islamic texts into indigenous expressive systems. The research concludes that Betadut functions as both a mnemonic and ideological apparatus, enabling continuous negotiation between orthodoxy and local epistemologies.

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