Performing Liminal Identity: Ritual Embodiment and the Cultural Transformation of Sisingaan in West Java’s Circumcision Ceremonies

Abstract

This study examines Sisingaan as an embodied ritual performance through which liminal identity is enacted in circumcision ceremonies in West Java. Rather than approaching Sisingaan solely as a symbolic tradition, the article analyzes how the performance operates as a performative medium that negotiates social transition, collective aspiration, and cultural transformation within Subang’s local community. Drawing on a qualitative methodology and an interdisciplinary framework that combines sociology, performance studies, and ethnomusicology, the research is based on in-depth interviews with four key practitioners actively involved in the Sisingaan tradition. The findings demonstrate that the circumcision procession functions as a liminal space in which the child’s social status is transformed through embodied ritual practices, including procession, music, and performative gestures. Parental aspirations are articulated through culturally embedded figures of bravery and nobility, revealing how identity is enacted rather than merely represented. At the same time, the musical dimension of Sisingaan reflects ongoing processes of adaptation, hybridity, and aesthetic negotiation, indicating broader cultural transformations shaped by historical memory and contemporary social dynamics. By framing Sisingaan as a site of ritual embodiment and performative identity-making, this study contributes to performance and cultural studies by expanding discussions on liminality, embodied tradition, and the transformation of local ritual practices in contemporary Indonesia.