Biocultural diversity in the Javanese gunungan wayang kulit purwo and its role in biodiversity conservation
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Abstract. Fahrudin D, Suciati, Indriyanti NY, Muzzazinah. 2026. Biocultural diversity in the Javanese gunungan wayang kulit purwo and its role in biodiversity conservation. Asian J Ethnobiol 9 (1): y090119. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjethnobiol/y090119. Biocultural diversity bridges biological diversity and cultural diversity. The gunungan wayang kulit purwo, a Javanese culture in Java, Indonesia, can encode conservation values that can be an alternative way to biodiversity conservation. This study aims to analyze biocultural diversity and conservation values reflected in gunungan wayang kulit purwo. This study uses a qualitative approach through ethnographic methods and symbolic interpretation in anthropology. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, literature reviews, and content analysis, which were then analyzed using spiral analysis followed by triangulation for data validation. Informants were selected through purposive sampling, including a puppeteer (dalang), a Javanese scholar, a gunungan wayang kulit puwo puppet maker, and a biodiversity expert. The results of the study show that the gunungan wayang kulit purwo depicts the biocultural diversity of Javanese society both structurally and symbolically. The gunungan wayang kulit purwo contains three abiotic components (soil, air, and joglo house) and 14 biotic species: two flora (Ficus sp., grass) and twelve fauna (Pavo muticus, Gallus varius, Sciuridae, Nisaetus bartelsi, Malayopython reticulatus, Rhyticeros undulatus, Macaca fascicularis, Bos javanicus, Panthera tigris sondaica, Rattus argentiventer, Tor tambroides, and Rhyothemis sp.). This representation symbolizes the preservation of biodiversity through the depiction of key species and ecological concepts such as food chains, food webs, keystone species, and seed dispersal. This study concludes that the gunungan wayang kulit purwo embodies systematically structured biodiversity symbols with ecological conservation meanings, affirming its role as a biocultural resource for learning and cultural preservation.
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