Debus2025-04-21 Pariaman: The Shift from Tarekat to Martial Arts

This article aims to analyze cultural continuity and the factors causing the shift of Debus Pariaman or Dabuih from tarekat practice to martial arts attractions. This study uses qualitative methods, and data collection techniques through field observations, interviews with 5 key informants who are closely related to dabuih and through documentation review. It was found that the history of the Pariaman debus has its origins from a popular tarekat that had developed in the archipelago, namely the Rifa'iyah order from Aceh. Debus (dabuih) during the colonial period played a role as a medium of resistance against Dutch colonialism at that time and the media introduced Islam. However, at present, there has been a shift in the Pariaman debus, which was originally a tarekat practice, especially the Rifaiyyah or Qadariyah tarekat, into martial arts attractions and even into folk entertainment arts that have economic value. The factors of the absence of cadre or inheritance, and the awareness of preserving the cultural heritage of the community, resulted in the direction of Debus' development being disconnected between the continuity of martial arts and the practice of tarekat and the media for the spread of Islam. Currently debus as a thick martial art with the influence of the tarekat, only becomes the art of entertainment for the people.