Forging Solidarity Through Brotherhood: Social Interaction and Collective Belonging in a Pencak Silat Community in Ambon, Indonesia

Harmila Belen; Fransina Matakena; Sarmalina Rieuwpassa

doi:10.67412/jsgs.v1i2.58

Authors

Harmila Belen Universitas Pattimura, Indonesia
Fransina Matakena Universitas Pattimura, Indonesia
Sarmalina Rieuwpassa Universitas Pattimura, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.67412/jsgs.v1i2.58

Keywords:

Brotherhood, Collective Belonging, Pencak Silat, Social Interaction, Social Solidarity

Abstract

This study examines how social solidarity is forged through everyday interaction, brotherhood, and collective belonging within a pencak silat community in Ambon, Indonesia. Rather than viewing solidarity as a predetermined consequence of organizational membership, the study conceptualizes it as an ongoing relational process shaped by repeated encounters, shared experiences, symbolic practices, and reciprocal relations. Drawing on an interpretive qualitative case study, the research investigates the Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate (PSHT) community in Ambon City, particularly its branches in Baguala and Sirimau. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with organizational leaders, trainers, senior and newer members, and participants in social activities, complemented by organizational documentation. The findings show that repeated interaction through training, organizational meetings, membership rituals, and collective activities generates relational familiarity and mutual recognition. Shared symbols, traditions, and culturally embedded practices of brotherhood further transform formal membership into collective belonging. This sense of belonging facilitates trust, care, reciprocity, mutual assistance, and collective action, extending solidarity beyond the training environment into everyday community life. The study contributes to solidarity scholarship by conceptualizing brotherhood as a relational mechanism through which interaction becomes belonging and solidarity, while demonstrating how culturally embedded community practices can enrich sociological theorizing from the Global South.

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