Revitalizing the Local Interests of Tabot in the Effort of Strengthening Identity in the Bengkulu

摘要

The Bengkulu Ark is a religious ceremony that was adapted into an ethnic cultural festival. The ceremony originated from the tradition of the Shia sect which sought to commemorate Husen's death in Padang Karbala, in 680. The Tabot ceremony was later claimed by the Bengkulu people as a cultural heritage. In this case, the religious element in the ceremony has diminished, while the cultural ethnic elements are getting stronger. This Tabot tradition is from Iraq to the south of Asia by Indians in 136-1405. Then, this tradition was brought from India to Bengkulu by Indian Muslims working in a British South Indian company who was working on the Fort Malborough project in 1336. So, the workers were the first people to hold the Tabor festival in Bengkulu. In line with the passage of time, Bukang is only an Indian Shiite who celebrates the festival, but also the Bengkulu people themselves. When workers celebrate the festival as a religious ritual, the Bengkulu people celebrate it as an ethnic cultural ceremony.