From "Tribute" to Participation: Lessons from Seba Baduy for the Digital State

Amid the acceleration of government digitalisation—from big data integration to strengthening e-governance—the relationship between the state and citizens faces a paradox: increasingly efficient, yet ever more impersonal.

In this context, local practices such as Seba Baduy offer an alternative perspective that is not only cultural but also theoretically relevant in re-reading modern power relations.

On 24 April 2026 in Rangkasbitung, Banten, the Baduy indigenous community walks from the interior, bringing agricultural produce to be handed over to local leaders.

This practice, known as Seba Baduy, is often misunderstood as a form of “tribute”. However, such reduction ignores the far more complex social and symbolic dimensions.

Historically, “tribute” in the traditional Nusantara political system—like in the Majapahit Kingdom—functioned as a mechanism for power integration (Andaya, 1992).

The resulting relations were hierarchical and coercive to a certain extent. However, Seba Baduy demonstrates a transformation in meaning: from structural obligation to a cultural expression based on collective consciousness.

Within Émile Durkheim’s framework, this practice can be read through the concept of mechanical solidarity as outlined in The Division of Labor in Society (1893).

Seba Baduy reflects this form of solidarity, where collective actions—walking on foot, carrying agricultural produce, and handing it over to leaders—manifest shared consciousness, not the result of institutional pressure.

Nevertheless, the relevance of Seba does not stop at traditional societies.

In modern societies dominated by organic solidarity, practices like Seba introduce a moral dimension often reduced in rational-bureaucratic systems.

This is where Max Weber’s thought becomes important. In Economy and Society (1922), Weber classifies authority into three types: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational.

The modern state relies on legal-rational authority based on formal rules and procedures.

However, Seba Baduy shows that traditional authority still holds strong legitimising power. The Baduy community’s compliance does not arise from written regulations, but from inherited cultural legitimacy.

Further, the Seba practice can be analysed through Pierre Bourdieu’s framework, particularly the concept of symbolic capital in Outline of a Theory of Practice (1977) and Distinction (1979).