Abstract:
Local cultural traditions can function as informal learning environments, yet limited attention has been
given to how participation in living traditions becomes a process of social education, particularly in the
Sambas Malay context. This study examines how the Arak Pengantin tradition provides opportunities for
social education and how Islamic, Malay, and social values are transmitted, understood, and enacted
through participation. Using a qualitative ethnographic design, the study involved 20 purposively selected
informants in Sambas, West Kalimantan, with data collected through participant observation, in-depth
interviews, and documentation during six months of field engagement from January to June 2026. Data
were analyzed thematically through iterative coding, cross-source comparison, and ethnographic
interpretation, supported by triangulation and member checking. The findings reveal four interconnected
processes: participation, interaction, and deliberation as initial spaces of social learning; gotong royong as
experiential learning through collective work; exemplary conduct and direct participation as
intergenerational learning; and repeated participation associated with relationship-building and cultural
continuity. Participants particularly described learning adab, respect, ukhuwah, silaturahmi, mutual
assistance, and collective responsibility. The study contributes an ethnographic analytical synthesis
showing how a living cultural tradition can function as a context for culture-based social education
without claiming a universal or causal model.
