Negotiating Islam and Adat: A Social-Theological Analysis of the Kaili Salena Muslim Community’s Cultural System in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

The Kaili Salena Muslim community in Buluri urban village, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, maintains a distinctive cultural system in which indigenous customary traditions (adat) and Islamic teachings are actively negotiated rather than simply coexisting. Through four key practices—Pompaura, Potamba, marriage ceremonies, and guest reception customs (Neaju)—the community expresses a form of hybrid religiosity involving cultural identity, socio-ecological concerns, and relations between customary and religious authorities. Drawing on Gutiérrez’s liberation theology, Paul Tillich’s concept of ultimate concern, and Talal Asad’s anthropological approach to religion, this qualitative study examines how these practices are interpreted, adapted, and sustained amid contemporary social and religious change. Fieldwork conducted from February to March 2025 involved in-depth interviews with eight key informants, comprising customary leaders, a religious leader, and community members, supplemented by participant observation and document review. The findings identify three interrelated mechanisms of adat-Islam negotiation: strategic appropriation in the reinterpretation of Pompaura through Islamic meanings; syncretic fusion in the combination of customary and Islamic supplications in Potamba; and institutionalization in customary marriage procedures and established guest-reception arrangements. In marriage ceremonies, customary practices coexist with the Islamic marriage contract, while Neaju reflects established customary hospitality aligned with Islamic ethical values. These practices illustrate how the community negotiates religious meanings, cultural identity, and local authority. The study recommends sustained intergenerational dialogue and comparative studies of adat-Islam relations across Indonesian Muslim communities.

Keywords

• Social theology
• Adat-Islam negotiation
• Kaili Salena
• hybrid religiosity
• cultural system