From Folklore to Faith: Theological Reflections on Cultural Myths and Historical Memory in Indonesia

This research looks at the role of Indonesian folklore as a text of faith in contextual theology. The Dayak harvest festival and mangongkal holi selametan, as well as legends and rituals such as Dewi Sri, Putri Hijau, Nyai Roro Kidul, Si Gale-gale, are the first sub-theme in the Dayak legend festival series. Analysis of data used the Miles, Huberman, and Saldana model to identify themes, map meanings, and synthesize relationships between symbols, cultural memory, and social praxis. The theory of cultural symbols perceives myths and rituals as channels for religious communication. Meanwhile, the theory of cultural sacralisation explains how a dispute becomes a revelation space and public ethics space through communal action. The findings reveal three main results. Folklore is a living text of faith, which teaches about spiritual ecology, dignified sacrifice for the other, and loving care for sorrow. Moreover, social cohesion is supported through rituals of thankfulness, ancestor veneration, collective prayers, and other observances that allow for continuity of faith. A third implication of the synthesis of these two sources is that it leads to a contextual theology that is grounded and oriented towards ecological responsibility, gender justice, communal solidarity, and intergenerational relations. The output of this research contributes to the framework that binds narrative, ritual, and social impact which serves as the basis for articulating a theology. This finding will contribute to the global discussion on religion as lived experience, creating opportunities for faith education and preserving community culture.