Oral Literature, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Islamic Environmental Ethics in Ternate: Intergenerational Transmission and Cultural Resilience in Small-Island Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jw.v11i1.51218Keywords:
cultural ecology, intergenerational transmission, Islamic environmental ethics, Ternate oral literature, Traditional Ecological KnowledgeAbstract
In small-island Muslim communities across Eastern Indonesia, the intergenerational transmission of oral literature and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is under growing pressure because of modernisation, urbanisation, and language shift yet this dimension of Islamic socio-cultural life remains underexplored in Indonesian scholarship. Ternate oral literature serves as a vital medium for transmitting local wisdom and ecological ethics rooted in the community’s Islamic spiritual relationship with nature. This study examines the condition of oral literary literacy in Ternate society, analyses how oral traditions preserve ecological values and cultural identity, and identifies socio-cultural barriers to intergenerational transmission, using Cultural Ecology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as complementary analytical frameworks. Employing a descriptive qualitative design with an ethnographic orientation, data were collected from eighteen participants including elders, teachers, youth, cultural practitioners, and fishers between January and June 2025 (field observations: February–April 2025) through interviews, observations, and documentation of oral texts. Analysis of twelve oral forms four legends, four proverbs, two ritual chants, and two traditional songs reveals ecological wisdom emphasising gratitude, restraint, and reciprocity rooted in Islamic moral teachings and spiritual reminders (peringatan Tuhan), while a gradual decline in youth familiarity with these narratives reflects broader linguistic and cultural shifts. Oral traditions in Ternate persist not through static preservation but through what this study terms “intentional adaptation” structured mediation via education, Islamic ethics (dakwah ekologis), and digital technology demonstrating the adaptive resilience of Ternate oral culture as a living biocultural system. This study contributes to religion and socio-cultural life by showing how Islamic moral values embedded in Ternate’s oral tradition can be the basis for ecological literacy and sustainability education in Indonesia’s Muslim community.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Samsudin Hi Adam, Silvani Umar Ali, Syarifah Kurniaty Kahar, Fina Dafrin, Fatma Suhardi
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