The Socio-Cultural Construction of the Bati People: An Ethnography of Identity Struggles within Socio-Ethnic Folklore toward Social Existence

Abstract

This study explores the socio-cultural construction of the Bati people, an ethnic group residing in Ambon-Maluku, Indonesia, whose social identity has long been shaped and contested through external stigmatization and internal cultural resilience. Employing a qualitative ethnographic approach, the research unpacks how the Bati people articulate their identity struggles through socio-ethnic folklore, which serves as a medium for cultural preservation and social recognition. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with selected informants and supported by document analysis. The findings reveal that the Bati people possess a unique socio-cultural framework that is both inherited and reinterpreted across generations. However, their collective identity has often been marginalized by dominant narratives that portray them through pejorative discourses, such as the label “manusia ilang-ilang” (vanishing people), associated with deviant and criminal behavior. Such stigmatization has limited their participation in broader inter-communal relations. Nevertheless, through folklore and oral traditions, the Bati continuously reconstruct their cultural identity, reaffirming their existence within the multi-ethnic social fabric of Ambon-Maluku. This article contributes to the broader discourse on identity politics, folklore studies, and cultural resilience in marginalized ethnic communities.