The Politics of Ritual Commodification: Politicized Ethnoscape and Heritage Governance in an Osing Community, Indonesia

The festivalization of indigenous rituals has intensified debates on cultural commodification, authenticity and community agency. Existing studies primarily explain these transformations through economic or cultural perspectives, with limited attention to the institutional processes governing cultural mobility. This study examines the festivalization of Barong Ider Bumi and Tumpeng Sewu in Kemiren Village, Banyuwangi, Indonesia, using a 6-month critical ethnography (April–September 2025) combining participant observation, in-depth interviews, field narratives and document analysis. The findings reveal that ritual transformation is shaped by three interconnected processes: institutionalization, negotiated authenticity and multidimensional value production. The Osing community actively negotiated ritual authority and cultural representation within expanding heritage governance networks. Based on these findings, this study proposes Politicized Ethnoscape as an analytical extension of Appadurai’s ethnoscape, demonstrating that cultural mobility is politically organized through institutional governance and community negotiation. The concept advances debates on heritage governance, cultural commodification and indigenous tourism.