A Study of Lived Ecospirituality and Sacred Kinship Shaping Environmental Meaning-Making and Social Cohesion in Ammatoa Kajang

Abstract

The Ammatoa Kajang community of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, offers a profound illustration of lived ecospirituality, in which Indigenous wisdom, embodied in the sacred ancestral mandates of Pasang ri Kajang, harmonizes human life with the rhythms of the rainforest. This study explores how this deep-seated Indigenous wisdom is enacted in everyday life, shaping environmental meaning-making, social cohesion, and relational order within the community. Employing an ethnographic approach with a phenomenological orientation, the research reveals that sacred kinship between people, land, and non-human beings forms the core of Ammatoa Kajang’s collective life, guiding environmental stewardship and sustaining shared moral understandings. The Ammatoa, as an ecospiritual leader, plays a pivotal role in mediating lived relationships among customary, religious, and state domains, enabling the community to navigate contemporary challenges while maintaining continuity with ancestral values. This study advances three key contributions: conceptualizing sacred kinship as a lived and legitimate framework shaping collective ecological responsibility, reframing the Ammatoa as an ecospiritual caliph whose authority emerges through relational and moral engagement, and illustrating the dynamic adaptation of Pasang ri Kajang as a living tradition rather than a static cultural code. By foregrounding Indigenous-led meaning-making and learning processes, this study contributes to broader discussions on lived religion, human–nature relations, and the importance of supporting Indigenous educational models that sustain and evolve integrated knowledge systems.

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