Menjinakkan Juggernaut: Analisis Giddensian atas Negosiasi Tradisi di Indonesia

Abstract

Modernity is often understood as a hegemonic force that linearly erodes, disrupts, and ultimately eliminates the existence of local traditions. Drawing upon Anthony Giddens’ metaphor of the *juggernaut of modernity*, this article challenges such a simplistic thesis by providing an in-depth analysis of how Indonesian society negotiates tradition amid the currents of radical modernity. Employing a library research approach grounded in qualitative-conceptual methods, the article examines the dialectical dynamics between disembedding mechanisms, social reflexivity, and the reconstruction of cultural identity.The analysis reveals that in Indonesia, traditions neither disappear nor merely survive passively in marginal forms. Rather, they undergo processes of re-embedding, active reinterpretation, and revitalization through the very instruments of modernity itself. This phenomenon is critically explored through three loci: the pluralization of religious authority in the digital era, the philosophical reconstruction of the Minangkabau matrilineal tradition within the context of globalization, and the rationalization of Javanese agricultural rituals (*Wiwitan* and *Slametan*) amid agrarian modernization. The article offers a theoretical contribution through the concept of “taming the juggernaut,” a reflexive socio-cultural strategy whereby Indonesian communities position themselves as active agents capable of directing and domesticating the disruptive forces of modernity in order to preserve the continuity of their spiritual and cultural identities. This form of hybrid coexistence reinforces the thesis of global desecularization while simultaneously proposing an alternative model of modernity that challenges the secular universalism of the West.