AccScience Publishing / IJPS / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ijps.2637
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Migrant traders, social capital, and the politics of local wisdom: A descriptive study of Warung Madura networks in Jakarta, Indonesia

Medhy Aginta Hidayat1* Iskandar Dzulkarnain1 Ida Ruwaida2 Anita Kristina3
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1 Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences, Universitas Trunojoyo Madura, Bangkalan, East Java, Indonesia
2 Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, Indonesia
3 Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Trunojoyo Madura, Bangkalan, East Java, Indonesia
IJPS 2024, 10(4), 63–76; https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2637
Submitted: 5 January 2024 | Accepted: 28 June 2024 | Published: 11 September 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

This article examines the factors driving the survival and self-reliance of Madurese migrant traders in Jakarta, Indonesia. Specifically, it aims to refine the long-standing argument that minority migrant groups are forced to adapt, become marginalized, and shed their identities. By combining perspectives on social capital and the politics of local wisdom, this mixed-method study provides an in-depth analysis of how Madurese migrant traders establish and develop networks of small grocery stalls, known as “Warung Madura,” in Jakarta. Our findings reveal that social capital – through strong Madurese ethnic and religious values, norms, networks, and trust among members – is the main driving force behind the success of these traders in Jakarta. Furthermore, strict adherence to local wisdom, specifically Madurese culture and traditional Islamic teachings, significantly contributes to their survival and self-reliance. The results suggest that the survival strategies employed by Madurese migrant traders, based on certain social capital and local wisdom, could serve as a model for the socioeconomic empowerment of urban ethnic migrant groups.

Keywords
Ethnic identity
Local wisdom
Madurese
Migrant traders
Social capital
Warung Madura
Funding
This study was funded by the Directorate of Research, Technology, and Community Service, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, with contract number 4610/ UN46.4.1/PT.01.03/2023.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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