TRADISI TIBA MEKA WERU SEBAGAI SOLIDARITAS MAHASISWA MANGGARAI DI KOTA MALANG

Abstract

The Tiba Meka Weru tradition is a traditional ceremony for welcoming guests carried out by the people of Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara. This tradition aims to welcome important guests, such as government figures, community leaders and religious figures, with full respect and familiarity. The aim of the research on the Tiba Meka Weru tradition is to understand and describe in depth this unique tradition of welcoming guests in Manggarai society, as well as exploring the values contained in it. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with four key informants who come from Manggarai and live in Malang City. The research results show that overall, the Tiba Meka Weru tradition for the Manggarai student community in Malang is an effort to maintain and preserve Manggarai's cultural heritage amidst multicultural campus life. The tradition of "Tiba Meka" or welcoming guests in Manggarai (Flores) culture, which is also known as the tradition of welcoming guests, has a positive impact on increasing solidarity among the community. Through welcoming rites involving various stages and values such as openness, familiarity, and respect, this tradition effectively strengthens social relations and strengthens bonds between individuals in the community. Even though there are many challenges faced when implementing the tradition of arriving meka weru in Malang City, students from Manggarai still try to continue implementing this tradition in order to preserve their culture and introduce the traditions or culture in Manggarai to the wider community, especially the people in Malang City.