Negotiating Kejawen Fasting and Social Norms: Community Constructions of Behavioral Deviance in Kutasari, Cilacap, Indonesia

Abstract

Kejawen fasting, including ngebleng, is practiced as a form of tirakat oriented toward self-control, inner calm, and spiritual purpose, yet its social meaning is negotiated within community expectations. This study examined how the social behavior of Kejawen fasting practitioners was interpreted through local social norms in Kutasari Village, Cipari District, Cilacap Regency, Indonesia. A qualitative interpretive design was used, with an interpretative phenomenological orientation complemented by a social-ethnographic perspective. Three Kejawen fasting practitioners were selected purposively as main informants, while family members, neighbors, community leaders, religious leaders, and village officials provided supporting perspectives. Data were obtained through in-depth semi-structured interviews, observation, field notes, and documentation, and were analyzed thematically through deductive and inductive coding. The findings showed three distinct patterns. One practitioner negotiated ritual commitment and communal obligations by maintaining limited participation during fasting; another expanded social networks through participation in a Kejawen community; and a third was perceived as socially withdrawn, although this pattern was also related to economic demands, work routines, and family responsibilities. Across the cases, perceived behavioral deviance was not inherent in the fasting practice itself. It emerged from the relationship among observable conduct, local expectations concerning participation and harmony, contextual constraints, and community judgments. The study contributes a relational account of social deviance that connects local spirituality with descriptive and injunctive norms, social capital, and labeling processes without treating minority spiritual practices as deviant by definition.