The Role of Women in the Ngembaru Padi Tradition as Local Wisdom in The Dayak Lawangk Community in Sungai Laur District, Ketapang Regency

Abstract : Background: Indigenous women play a crucial yet frequently underrecognised role in the preservation and intergenerational transmission of cultural values within traditional communities. Objective: This study examined the role of women in the Ngembaru Padi tradition among the Dayak Lawangk community in Sinar Kuri Village, Sungai Laur District, Ketapang Regency. Methods: A qualitative method with an ethnographic design was employed. Employing a feminist ethnographic design, data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, and were analysed using the interactive model. Data validity was ensured through source and methodological triangulation. Findings: The findings reveal three principal dimensions of women’s roles. First, women serve as active guardians of the tradition, bearing primary responsibility for the preparation of ceremonial food and ritual materials and coordinating communal activities across all stages of the ceremony. Second, women function as agents of local wisdom preservation, sustaining and transmitting the social, spiritual, and moral values — including mutual cooperation (gotong royong), communal solidarity, honesty, and integrity — that constitute the ethical foundation of Dayak Lawangk community life. Third, and most distinctively, women act as deliberate pedagogical actors who consciously transform the ritual space of the tradition into a medium of character education, most notably through moral dialogues with children during the rice seed selection process. Conclusion: The study contributes to feminist ethnographic scholarship on indigenous women in Indonesia and to the broader literature on ethnopedagogy and character education, with practical implications for heritage preservation policy and locally grounded educational practice.