Cultural Identity Construction of Lampung in Traditional Songs

Abstract

This study aims to examine the construction of Lampung cultural identity in traditional songs of the Saibatin and Pepadun communities. Employing a qualitative approach with an ethnographic method, the study analyzes 18 Lampung traditional songs obtained from the YouTube platform. Data were collected through documentation and non-participant observation of song lyrics, audio- visual performances, and their contexts of presentation, and were analyzed interpretatively through thematic and symbolic coding. The analysis applies Stuart Hall’s theory of representation and cultural identity, reinforced by Berger and Luckmann’s theory of the social construction of reality and a symbolic anthropology approach. The findings indicate that Lampung traditional songs represent cultural elements including religion, kinship, knowledge systems, language, arts, livelihoods, and material culture, which are constructed through the processes of externalization, objectivation, and internalization. Traditional songs function as cultural texts that represent, transmit, and negotiate Lampung cultural identity dynamically, including within the context of digital media transformation.

Keywords: cultural construction, cultural identity, Lampung traditional songs, oral tradition,representation