Local wisdom as social regulation: the role of Anjangsana tradition in shaping interfaith tolerance in rural Indonesia

Contemporary studies on multiculturalism have extensively discussed equality, equity, and justice, while fewer empirical works examine how religious tolerance is sustained through everyday local practices embedded in community life. This study investigates religious tolerance in Sukodadi Village, Indonesia, by examining the interaction between social agents, community structures, and social capital rooted in local traditions. The research employs a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore residents’ lived experiences of interfaith interaction. Data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, and were analyzed through systematic thematic analysis of experiential narratives to identify shared meanings and social mechanisms underlying tolerance practices. The findings show that the Anjangsana tradition—reciprocal visits among residents’ households—functions as a central social practice for maintaining interfaith relations. Practiced three times a year during major religious celebrations, Anjangsana sustains tolerance through routine interreligious encounters, reciprocal social obligations, and the intergenerational transmission of inclusive values. Rather than serving merely as a cultural ritual, this tradition operates as a form of social capital that informally regulates social relations by embedding tolerance within everyday community life. This study contributes to the scholarship on multiculturalism by demonstrating how locally embedded traditions function as informal social mechanisms that sustain interfaith coexistence beyond formal institutional regulation.