Males as Identity Preservers of Indigenous Knowledge in Culinary Tradition During the Earth Alms Ceremony

<div>Culinary tradition is widely perceived as an activity predominantly performed by females. This assumption, <span style="font-size: 1rem;">however, contrasts with the culinary practice observed during the Earth Alms ceremony in the villages of </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Tlemang and Lukerjo, parts of Lamongan Regency. In this indigenous community, males are required to </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">cook as part of social responsibility; in addition, serve as identities in preserving indigenous knowledge to </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">pass on the culinary traditions at the Earth Alms ceremony across generations. Correlating to this, objective</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">of the study is to explore the significance and pivotal role of males as identities in preserving indigenous </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">knowledge in the Earth Alms culinary tradition. To achieve this, a qualitative with a phenomenological </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">approach was employed by conducting direct interviews with informants, including men involved in the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">culinary tradition, as well as community members well-versed in the cultural and historical context of the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Earth Alms ritual. Subsequently, the data were analysed through the theory of social construction of gender, </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">examining how the role of men in this culinary tradition was formed and influenced by prevailing social </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">norms. Another key aspectis that the social construction theory facilitated an understanding of how society </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">constructs meaning of gender roles in the culinary tradition, while gender theory provided insights into the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">evolving role of men in preserving indigenous knowledge. Therefore, the study demonstrates that males </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">serve an indispensable role in preserving indigenous knowledge in the culinary tradition of the Earth Alms </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">ceremony, illustrating an attempt to sustain and maintain cultural involvement amidst ongoing social </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">changes.</span></div>