Tradisi Nyalamaq Dilauq dan Perubahan Sosial di Tanjung Luar Lombok Timur, 1998-2024

Abstract

This article examines the historical development of the Nyalamaq Dilauq tradition and the effects of social change on its continuity in Tanjung Luar, East Lombok, from 1998 to 2024. The study combines historical research with an ethnographic approach. Data were obtained through participant observation, in-depth interviews with ten purposively selected informants, documentary study, and visual documentation during fieldwork conducted from June to September 2025. The data were analyzed through heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The findings show that Nyalamaq Dilauq has not disappeared under modernization; instead, it has been renegotiated through changes in funding, ritual frequency, public presentation, and youth participation. The economic crisis caused a temporary interruption and encouraged a simplified substitute ritual known as Menang Salah, in which a black chicken replaced the buffalo head while the core prayer for safety was maintained. Since 2018, village-budget support has increased institutional certainty and shortened the reported interval of implementation from approximately five years to two years, but it has also shifted financial responsibility from communal contributions toward formal government planning. Tourism promotion and digital media have broadened visibility, while knowledge of Pitoto oral verses and their ecological messages has weakened among younger residents. Preservation therefore depends on a balance between ritual authority, community ownership, youth apprenticeship, environmental action, and accountable cultural tourism. The tradition survives not through rigid repetition but through selective adaptation that protects gratitude, maritime safety, solidarity, and respect for the sea as its core values.