From Symbolic Recognition to Operational Resilience: Local Knowledge, Social Transformation, and Disaster Governance in Sembalun, Indonesia

Recognising local traditions does not necessarily mean that they continue to organise disaster preparedness. This study examines how cultural knowledge, livelihood transformation, and changing information networks intersect in two communities in Sembalun, East Lombok, Indonesia. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design combines a purposive-quota survey of 106 residents in Sembalun Bumbung and Sembalun Lawang with focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observation, and documentary analysis. The survey is reported descriptively; qualitative materials are interpreted thematically and integrated through cross-case comparison and joint displays. More than 60% of respondents reportedly recognised Ngayu-ayu, although only a minority articulated its social-ecological functions; approximately 40–50% understood the ecological role of the Pemangku, while more than half did not know or only vaguely recognised Nyampang. Older residents, agricultural households, and respondents in Bumbung generally reported greater functional familiarity than younger and tourism-oriented groups. Qualitative evidence associates these patterns with the ceremonialisation of customary authority, disrupted intergenerational learning, livelihood differentiation, and changing collective labour. Yet young people and tourism actors also contribute digital communication capacity. We interpret these findings through a symbolic–operational gap and propose a Sembalun Hybrid Resilience Framework linking cultural, informational, and social resources through inclusive knowledge co-production, institutional coordination, and scientifically verified warning protocols. The framework is a conceptual synthesis rather than a validated predictive model. Community resilience requires more than preserving the names of traditions: it requires credible authority, opportunities for practice, equitable participation, and connections between customary and formal disaster governance.