The Awak People
The Awak People
The Moral Aesthetics of Social Unity
There is an aesthetic of social unity created through everyday interactions in Minangkabau society, where mixing in (bagaua) and being normal (biaso) are powerful moral concerns, supported by the threat of shame. Being sombong, seeming to be set apart from as if superior to others, is considered the epitome of moral failure. Interactions directed toward the creation of this aesthetic, most notably ritual forms of etiquette known as baso-basi, keep individual autonomy out of direct public view. While this aesthetic constitutes a very real locus of moral selfhood, it is not ultimately a way of fashioning or even valuing the self as one kind of thing (socially integrated, deferential) as opposed to another (individual, autonomous), but a way to manage conflicting aspects of selfhood, keeping each in its proper place.
Keywords: morality, aesthetics, sombong, baso-basi, etiquette, autonomy, social unity, self, Minangkabau
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