Ethnic fragmentation: An ethnographic study of the Uluan community of South Sumatra, Indonesia

Maulid, Hariri Gani and Afrizal, Afrizal and Zainal, Arifin and Abdul, Halim (2025) Ethnic fragmentation: An ethnographic study of the Uluan community of South Sumatra, Indonesia. Ethnography. pp. 1-23. ISSN 1741-2714

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Abstract

Fragmentation is often understood as a social movement that creates disharmony due to the differentiation and polarization of society. Relatively few articles emphasize that fragmentation occurs because it must be done as stated in cultural values. This article attempts to show the case of the Uluan community in South Sumatra province (Indonesia), where cultural values require the community to divide and separate into new communities. Despite the fragmentation, the pattern of inter-community relations remains harmonious, and in the past even formed inter-ethnic confederations. The case of the Uluan community in South Sumatra confirms that ethnic fragmentation is a common reality and is culturally legitimized as a necessity. Through this article, we will explain what cultural values have developed in the Uluan community of South Sumatra, so that fragmentation is considered a cultural demand, as well as its implications for the pattern of inter-ethnic relations in the Uluan community.

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