Violations of Islamic law in male–female relations: the shifting of nyubuk tradition of the customary peoples of Lampung

Abstract

Advances in media and communication technology have wrought significant shifts in the nyubuk tradition of the customary peoples of Lampung Pepadun. Male–female relations, once clearly regulated by customary doctrine through nyubuk, are now mediated by social media technology that facilitates the violation of customary and Islamic laws. This article examines how nyubuk, a cultural medium for communication that has traditionally been used in spouse selection, has shifted as social media has become widely available. More specifically, it seeks to understand how the nyubuk tradition has come to disappear without any significant resistance. In doing so, it applies a qualitative descriptive approach, with data having been collected through interviews. This study finds that despite generations of practice, shifting social and cultural practices have threatened nyubuk with extinction, and the practice has increasingly been replaced by social media. As a result, behaviors that violate social and religious norms have become increasingly common in society. Male–female relations, traditionally regulated under Islamic norms through nyubuk, have become increasingly open as cultural spaces have been replaced by social media. This has facilitated transgressions and other violations of Islamic law by young men and women. Obeisance of religious law depends significantly on local cultural authorities, and where these authorities are ignored, once dominant laws and practices may become extinct