The Pattern of Tunggu Tubang Inheritance of Semende Tribe

in Gunung Agung Village from the Perspective of Islamic Inheritance

Law

Aceng Kosasih, Azelia Velinda and Mokh. Iman Firmansyah

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia

acengkosasih@upi.edu

Keywords: Tunggu Tubang, Semende Tribe, Perspective, Islamic Inheritance Law.

Abstract: Indonesia has unique and diverse systems of inheritance distribution. The customs and tradition of

inheritance often cause pros and cons in society. This phenomenon can also be found in the system of

tunggu tubang practiced by Semende tribe in the area of Gunung Agung, Muara Enim, South Sumatra.

This study aims to describe and analyze the tunggu tubang from the perspective of Islamic inheritance

law. This research uses descriptive-analytic method with qualitative approach. The data were collected

through observation, interviews, and documentation. The data were analyzed through data reduction,

data presentation, and conclusions. The results show that the tunggu tubang, in essence, have two

functions. The first is as a habit of keeping the heritage of the ancestors; and the second is as a sole

female beneficiary overseen by boys (meraje) to conserve inheritance and strengthen family

relationships. The function of maintaining customs to strengthen relationships among family members

is not contrary to Islamic Sharia Law. However, the function of tunggu tubing as the only beneficiary

is contrary to Islamic inheritance law. In sharia law, male and female have the same inheritance rights.

1 INTRODUCTION

The culture and customs of Indonesian people is

very diverse. They remain alive or practiced

indefinitely by indigenous peoples, even when

they do not get legality from the state (Murdan,

2016). The diversity makes Indonesia very rich of

local wisdom. Local wisdom is usually taught,

inherited, and passed down from generation-to-

generation in tangible and intangible forms, such

as language, literature, art, ceremonies, customs,

and so on. Local wisdom is usually reflected in

long-lasting habits of nature that conserve and

preserve nature (Dokhi et.al, 2016).

One of the indigenous local wisdom that still

survives is in terms of distribution of inheritance.

The arrangement of inheritance among the heirs is

a manifestation of the recognition of individual

ownership of both movable and immovable

properties. It is also a manifestation of one’s

possessions and must be equitably shared with the

heirs after fulfilling certain conditions (Ali, 2011).

In Indonesia, custom in the distribution of

inheritance is very diverse. One of the factors

causing such diversity is gender consideration,

considering the division between male and female.

Handayani et al. (2015) writes about the custom of

Ulun Lampung Saibatin Pekon Sukabanjar, the

District of Lumbok Seminung, West Lampung

Regency. She reveals eldest son as a full heir to

the estate of the parents. Batak custom does not

give the widow an opportunity to inherit her

husband (Olivia and Lubis, 2007). In contrast to the

customary law of the Banjar community in which

the position of women in the legal norms of

inheritance in the "peace institution" by means of

islah and faraid-islah can be relative, greater,

equal, or smaller than the male (Muzainah, 2012).

The uniqueness of the division of inheritance

happened to Semende tribe with tubang tunggu

system. However, this system invites pros and

cons for privileging one gender, including among

the Semende tribe community itself (Saputra and

Wirawan, 2016).

Diversity, uniqueness, and the existence of the

pros-cons is the basis of this research to perform

in-depth analysis on the pattern of the inheritance

Kosasih, A., Velinda, A. and Firmansyah, M.

The Pattern of Tunggu Tubang Inheritance of Semende Tribe in Gunung Agung Village from the Perspective of Islamic Inheritance Law.

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 12-15

ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2

system among the Semende people. The analysis

is based on in the perspective of Islamic view.

2 RESEARCH METHOD

This research uses descriptive analytic method to

describe phenomenon or situation that is related to

tubang tunggu among the people of Semende

(Sukmadinata, 2006; Setyosari, 2010). The research

uses qualitative approach because the phenomena

is related to the behavior of indigenous Semende

tribe (Moleong, 2010).

The location of the research was conducted in

Gunung Agung village, Central Semende Land

District, Muara Enim Regency, South Sumatera

Province. There were eight key informants and

two supporting informants. They consist of

indigenous Semende tribal leaders, Village Head,

and the people who are considered as tubang

tunggu and common people.

The data collection is done through

observation, interview, and documentation. The

collected data is analyzed by referring to Sugiyono

(2011) opinion, i.e. data reduction, data

presentation, and conclusion about the distribution

of tubang tunggu system from the perspective of

Islamic inheritance law.

3 RESEARCH RESULT AND

DISCUSSION

Semende is a tribe in the South Sumatra Province

of Indonesia. The people of Semende are spread in

several villages, districts, and regencies. In the

inheritance system, this tribe uses a tubang tunggu

system with the following description.

First, tubang tunggu is a status given to girl

who was born first in a family. The females of the

tribe have a special position.

Second, the girl who is waiting tubang is the

heir of the estate of the parents of both home and

a field of rice fields.

Third, the inherited house and rice field should

not be traded by tubang tunggu. The results can be

used by the tubang tunggu or by other family

members.

Fourth, a tubang tunggu is an inheritor of her

parents’ wealth but she cannot sell the wealth. The

duty of a tubang tunggu is to call for the gathering

of the big family, to represent the big family, to

take care heritage, to respect meraje, and to obey

his orders, and to obey and to adhere customary

rules. When the siblings of the tubang tunggu are

gathered, the banquet is the result of the heritage.

Fifth, meraje is a brother of tubang tunggu’s

mother who is in charge of watching the tubang

tunggu. If he finds mistakes commited by the

tubang tunggu, meraje is obliged to reprimand.

The meraje can even take the treasure if the

mistake is considered fatal according to custom.

Sixth, if a family does not have a daughter, then

position of tubang tunggu falls to the wife of the

first son. Alternatively, the position falls to the

daughter of the tubang tunggu’s sister. However,

there is also a phenomenon in which a girl who do

not want to be a tubang tunggu, the family holds a

meeting to determine or to elect tubang tunggu.

Seventh, tubang tunggu is restricted by some

rules. (1) She must not reject a family member who

visits her house. (2) She cannot behave roughly on

her family. (3) She cannot sells the family

treasures. (4) She cannot mortgage the treasures

without permission and consideration from jurai

jenang (family meeting). (5) She cannot abandon

her unmarried siblings under her care as a

substitute for parents. (6) She cannot open the

family secrets.

In the perspective of the functional structure

theory, tubang tunggu has a function of integrity

and stability of a system (Saifudin AF., 2006: 64).

The focus of the theory, according to Haryanto

(2012) is that there are parties who adapt to the

tubang tunggu system among the inhabitants of

Gunung Agung village with the custom of tubang

tunggu, and vice versa. Therefore, there is

unification and application of the system among

the Semende people, which according to Soekanto

(2011) is very obedient to the custom. The process

of adaptation, unification, attainment of goals, and

the maintenance of traditional values of tubang

tunggu in Parson’s theory is called latency.

The next adaptation is between tubang tunggu

and other family members, especially the males

(meraje). In the Semende tribe, the position of

meraje is still respected (Hutapea and Thamrin,

2009). The process of adaptation in Dahrendorf’s

theory is between the class that has the dominant

authority, i.e. meraje, and the class that has no

authority (subject), i.e. tubang tunggu (Setiadi and

Kolip, 2011).

There are pros and cons concerning the

tradition of tubang tunggu inheritance-system

from the perspective of Islamic inheritance law.

Fauzi (2016) mentions that philosophically the

tubang tunggu system is not inheriting property

The Pattern of Tunggu Tubang Inheritance of Semende Tribe in Gunung Agung Village from the Perspective of Islamic Inheritance Law

(houses, rice fields, and gardens) for absolute

ownership, but rather trusting women in

maintaining family (jurai) from generation to

generation. He states that in the context of the

social change reality and maqashid al sharia

(virtue), the inheritance system of tubang tunggu

is not contrary to the Islamic law. Kurnaesih (2016)

suggests that the tubang tunggu system is not in

conflict with the Islamic Sharia. According to her,

tubang tunggu illustrates cooperation between

females who are obliged to take care of inheritance

and family; especially those who are not married

while male wander out the area to earn money and

the collect the results for the family.

Habidin (2012) has a contrast opinion since he

identifies tubang tunggu as a tradition (urf) of

management of inheritance; and is not as an

inheritance system. The goal is to avoid conflicts

between heirs. However, the tubang tunggu

system is not in line and aligned with the

perspective of the Islamic inheritance law system.

In the Islamic inheritance law, the wealth of a

deceased person is a heritage that must be

distributed to the heirs in accordance with the

provisions of the Sharia. Suryati (2013) analyzes

that the Islamic inheritance law is a response to the

injustice of pre-Islamic Arab heir system where

female children are not entitled to receive the

relics of relatives. The difference between men

and women (2:1) in the Islamic inheritance law is

not a matter of gender, but rather based on the

amount of burden on men as in the conventional

standard theory. Based on the principle of justice

(Syarifuddin, 2008: 24), the principle is in

accordance with the provisions of God. It is not the

will of the heirs (the principle of ijbari). The

inheritances are distributed after death (Muhibbin

and Wahid, 2009: 23 and 29).

The difference of share in the the Islamic

inheritance system is considered unfair for some

people. Therefore, few Muslims do not run it. Ali’s

(2014) shows that the cause of non-implementation

of Islamic inheritance law is a notion of fairness

and strong ties of people to the customary law of

inheritance.

4 CONCLUSION

Tunggu tubang has two function, namely as a

custom to preserve the treasures of family and to

give the position of heir to a female child that is

supervised by male children (meraje) with the aim

of maintaining heritage treasures and

strengthening family relationships. Keeping the

custom to strengthen the relationship among

family members is not contrary to Islamic sharia.

However, in the function of tunggu tubang as a

sole heir, it is contrary to Islamic inheritance law

because in the Shari’a, both male and female have

a strong right of inheritance.

REFERENCES

Ali, M, 2014. Idealitas Pembagian Harta dalam Hukum

Waris Islam (Polemik Antara Bagian Laki-laki dan

Perempuan), Jurnal Istinbath, Vol 11, No 2 (2014).

Ali, Z. M., 2011. Sistem Kewarisan Adat Melayu Rokan

Hulu (Analisis Sosiologis dan Hukum Islam). Jurnal

Kutubkhanah: Vol 14, No 2 (2011), pp.204–222.

Dokhi et.al., 2016. Analisis Kearifan Lokal Ditinjau dari

Keragaman Budaya Tahun 2016. PDSPK Kementerian

Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia.

Fauzi, M. Y., 2016. Sistem Kewarisan Adat Semendo

dalam Tinjauan Hukum Islam. Jurnal Asas. Vol 8, No

2 (2016)., pp. 88-99.

Habidin, 2012. Pelaksanaan Kewarisan Tunggu Tubang

Masyarakat Adat Semende dalam Perspektif Hukum

Islam. (skripsi). Semarang: IAIN Walisongo. Fakultas

Syariah.

Handayani, H. L., 2014. Analisis tentang Kedudukan Anak

Laki-Laki Tertua dalam Pembagian Warisan Adat

Lampung Saibatin. Jurnal Kultur Demokrasi. Vol 2, No

1 (2014).

Haryanto, S., 2012. Spektrum Teori Sosial: Dari Klasik

Hingga Postmodern. Yogyakarta: Ar-Ruzz Media.

Hutapea, Y., Thamrin, T., 2009. Eksistensi Tunggu Tubang

sebagai Upaya Mempertahankan Sumber Daya Lahan

Berkelanjutan. Jurnal Balai Pengkajian Teknologi

Pertanian Sumatera Selatan. pp. 1-11.

Kurnaesih, 2016. Hak dan Kewajiban Anak Tunggu

Tubang dalam Sistem Adat Semende Lampung. Jurnal

Al-Hukama. 6(1)., pp. 64-82.

Moleong, L. J., 2010. Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif.

Bandung: Remadja Rosdakarya.

Muhibbin, M., Wahid, A., 2009. Hukum Kewarisan Islam

sebagai Pembaharuan Hukum Positif di Indonesia.

Jakarta: Sinar Grafika.

Murdan, 2016. Pluralisme Hukum (Adat dan Islam) di

Indonesia. Mahkamah: Jurnal Kajian Hukum Islam.

1(1), pp.48–60.

Muzainah, G., 2012. Prinsip Prinsip Hukum Kedudukan

Perempuan dalam Hukum Waris Adat Masyarakat

Banjar., DIH: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum. 8(15), pp. 10-19.

Olivia, F., Lubis, A., 2007. Kedudukan janda dalam hukum

waris adat batak. Lex Jurnalica. 4(3), pp. 132-157.

Saifudin A. F., 2006. Antropologi Kontemporer: Suatu

Pengantar Kritis Mengenai Paradigma. Jakarta:

Kencana.

Saputra, A. R., Wirawan, B., 2016, Persepsi Masyarakat

Semende Terhadap Pembagian Harta Warisan dengan

ICSE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education

Sistem Tunggu Tubang. Jurnal Sosiologi. 15(1), pp.51–

62.

Setiadi, E. M., Kolip, U., 2011. Pengantar Sosiologi.

Jakarta: Kencana.

Setyosari, P., 2010. Metode Penelitian Pendidikan dan

Pengembangan. Jakarta: Kencana.

Soekanto, 2011. Hukum Adat Indonesia. Jakarta: Grafindo

Persada.

Sugiyono, 2011. Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif,

dan R & D, Bandung: Alfabeta.

Sukmadinata, N. S., 2006. Metode Penelitian Pendidikan.

Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya.

Suryati, 2013. Keadilan dalam Hukum Waris Islam.

Cakrawala Hukum. Vol 15, No 41 (2013).

Syarifuddin, A., 2008. Hukum Kewarisan Islam. Jakarta:

Kencana.

The Pattern of Tunggu Tubang Inheritance of Semende Tribe in Gunung Agung Village from the Perspective of Islamic Inheritance Law