Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

Vol 27, May Suppl. Issue, 2021; Page No.(262-269)

ACCULTURATION OF COLONIAL INDUSTRY AND JAVANESE AGRARIAN CULTURE IN MANGKUNEGARAN SUGAR FACTORY

Purwanto Setyo Nugroho, Nany Yuliastuti and Siti Rukayah

Abstract

Sugar factories from the colonial era throughout Java are part of an important industrial heritage because they have witnessed the glory of the sugar industry in the past, as well as a sign of the entry of modern industry to the Java. One of the biggest sugar factory in Java was the sugar factory owned by Mangkunegaran Kingdom (Praja Mangkunegaran). The sugar factory represented a capitalist industrial culture that prioritized rationality. On the other hand, the process of supplying raw materials for sugar factories in vorstenlanden area (Praja Kejawen) was highly dependent on Javanese farmers who were strong with their agrarian culture. This paper aimed to figure out the interaction between the two cultures, which together carried out the sustainability of the sugar industry in Java. The interaction of these two cultures was seen from the components of the actors, activities, and places of the Tasikmadu Sugar Factory owned by Praja Mangkunegaran as a case study with a historical approach. The finding of the study indicated that there was acculturation between capitalist industrial culture and Javanese agrarian culture, which could be seen in the aspects of the actors, activities, and architectural layout of the Tasikmadu sugar factory. Acculturation between capitalist industrial culture and Javanese agrarian culture was a local wisdom of industrial heritage in Javanese Kingdom.