LOCAL WISDOM AND CULTURAL RESILIENCE IN THE MAHMUD INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY

Abstract

Modernization creates opportunities for indigenous communities while also disrupting customary authority, intergenerational learning, and collective cultural practices. This study examines the forms of local wisdom maintained by the Mahmud Indigenous Community in West Java, the pressures posed by modernization, and the strategies the community employs to sustain cultural resilience. A qualitative single-case study was conducted in Mahmud Indigenous Village, Bandung Regency. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with customary leaders, religious figures, women, youth, and long-term residents; participant observation of religious and communal activities; and analysis of community documents. Participants were selected purposively, and the evidence was analyzed thematically through iterative coding, categorization, data display, and verification. Credibility was supported through source and method triangulation, member reflection, and an audit trail. The findings show that religious observance, respect for customary authority, mutual assistance, deliberation, and experiential transmission constitute an interconnected system of local wisdom. Cultural continuity is maintained through family socialization, ritual participation, customary institutions, and selective adaptation to education, digital communication, and economic change. The study proposes an integrated explanation in which local wisdom produces bonding, bridging, and linking social capital, which in turn enables selective adaptation and cultural resilience. The findings extend Social Studies Education by positioning indigenous communities as living learning environments for cultural citizenship, social responsibility, and sustainable development.