Perubahan Sosial dalam Komunitas Petambak Ikan, Perdesaan Pesisir Bangil 1860-an - 1930-an

Muhammad Novel, Dr. Arif Akhyat, M.A.

2026 | Tesis | S2 Sejarah

Hak memiliki dan menguasai lahan tambak ikan adalah perkara penting bagi petambak untuk bisa menjalankan produksi dan reproduksi. Pola pemanfaatan lingkungan alam pesisir, distribusi lahan, akses irigasi membentuk basis sosial ekologi tambak yang penting bagi komunitas petambak ikan Bangil. Akan tetapi, penggadaian, jual beli, dan penelantaran lahan tambak sejak tahun 1880-an mulai menyebabkan perubahan relasi sosial.

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk merekonstruksi perubahan sosial akibat upaya adaptasi petambak atas masalah pendangkalan dan keterbatasan finansial yang terjadi menjelang akhir abad ke-19. Metode penelitian sejarah digunakan dalam mengumpulkan sumber primer berupa laporan resmi Komisi Kemunduran Kemakmuran (Mindere Welvaart Onderzoek Commissie), surat kabar, serta catatan sezaman yang dilanjutkan dengan tahap kritik, interpretasi dan historiografi. Penelitian ini meminjam konsep perubahan sosial masyarakat agraris yang mengkaji dinamika sosial akibat perubahan hubungan antara petambak dengan lahannya.

Kesimpulan tesis ini adalah permasalahan ekologi menjadi determinan dalam proses perubahan sosial komunitas petambak ikan Bangil. Keterbatasan modal finansial dalam mengatasi pendangkalan tambak dan penurunan produktivitas mengharuskan petambak meminjam uang dengan syarat menggadaikan lahan, jual beli tambak, dan menelantarkan lahan tambak. Perubahan dari sistem pewarisan lahan turun-temurun menjadi hubungan transaksional sampai alih fungsi tambak mengubah struktur hak kepemilikan dan penguasaan. Akibatnya sistem pewarisan keluarga berdasarkan silsilah terputus, ketimpangan akses irigasi dan luas tambak semakin meluas, diferensiasi sosial komunitas, mobilitas sosial vertikal dan terjadinya sengketa lahan, kriminalitas serta masalah kesehatan.

The right to possess and control fish pond land is significance for fish farmers to undertake production and reproduction activities. Patterns of coastal environmental utilisation, land distribution, and irrigation access form a social base in tambak ecology that is important for the Bangil fish farming community. However, the mortgaging, sale and abandonment of fish pond land since the 1880s has begun to cause changes in social relations.

This study aims to reconstruct the social changes resulting from the adaptation efforts of farmers to the problems of siltation and financial constraints that occurred towards the end of the 19th century. History research methods were used to collect primary sources in the form of official government Komisi Kemunduran Kemakmuran (MWO) reports, newspapers, and records related to the social conditions of Bangil fish farmers, followed by criticism, interpretation, and historiography. This study borrows the concept of social change in agrarian societies, which examines social change resulting from the dynamics of the relationship between fish farmers and their land.

This thesis concludes that ecological issues are a determining factor in the social change process among the Bangil fish farming community. Financial constraints in addressing pond siltation and declining productivity have forced farmers to borrow money on the condition that they mortgage their land, sell their ponds, and abandon their pond land. The shift from a system of hereditary land inheritance to transactional relationships and the conversion of ponds has altered the structure of ownership and control rights. As a result, the family inheritance system based on genealogy has been disrupted, inequality in access to irrigation and pond size has widened, social differentiation within the community has increased, vertical social mobility has declined, and land disputes, crime, also health problems have arisen.

Kata Kunci : Kata kunci: Komunitas petambak ikan, pendangkalan, alih hak kepemilikan dan perubahan sosial