Deconstructing Inherited Social Exclusion: A Dalit Theological Rereading of Ata–Maramba Relations in Sumba
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21580/teo.2026.37.1.30052Keywords:
Dalit Theology, Inherited Social Exclusion, Ata–Maramba, Contextual Theology, Subaltern AgencyAbstract
This article conceptualizes generational social stratification on Sumba Island as the primary unit of analysis manifesting inherited social exclusion. The foundational objective of this study is to deconstruct the ideological and theological legitimations underlying the relational subordination between the ruling class (maramba) and the enslaved/servant class (ata). By employing a qualitative-interpretive research design through a socio-theological inquiry approach, this study intersects contemporary ethnographic data with the critical framework of Dalit theology. The scholarly novelty of this paper lies in its deconstruction of ata-maramba relations, moving beyond viewing them merely as passive cultural-customary artifacts to analyzing them as active mechanisms of structural discrimination akin to religious caste logic. The primary contribution of this research formulates an emancipatory ecclesiology based on subaltern public theology, demanding an existential repositioning of the Christian Church of Sumba (GKS). This structural transformation repositions the suffering of marginalized groups not as a passive object of normative pastoral charity, but as the primary locus theologicus for restoring equal human dignity. Through this synthesis, contextual theology in Indonesia is driven to move beyond superficial cultural harmonization toward a praxis of emancipatory liberation theology.
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