Pameran Keris sebagai Spectacle: Kontestasi, Eksistensi, dan Dominasi

Mochamad Ardian Isofani, Prof. Dr. Heru Nugroho

2025 | Skripsi | Sosiologi

Keris sebagai warisan budaya Nusantara telah mengalami transformasi fundamental dari benda pusaka sakral menjadi objek tontonan dalam konteks pameran keris modern di Indonesia. Fenomena ini dianalisis melalui pendekatan kualitatif etnografi yang dilakukan di Jambore Nasional Keris 2025 di Pagelaran Kraton Surakarta dan Reka Cipta #2: Lumur Wesi Aji di Taman Budaya Embung Giwangan sebagai data tambahan. Fokus analisis meliputi konstruksi pameran keris sebagai spectacle, kontribusi pameran terhadap eksistensi keris dan komunitas pencinta keris, serta identifikasi pihak yang mengendalikan narasi perubahan makna keris. Teori utama yang digunakan adalah "The Society of the Spectacle" Guy Debord, didukung oleh konsep "Politik Nilai Tanda" Jean Baudrillard dan teori "Power and Knowledge" Michel Foucault. Data dikumpulkan melalui observasi, wawancara mendalam dengan koordinator juri, anggota komunitas sekaligus panitia, dan empu keris, serta dokumentasi visual. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pameran keris berhasil mengonstruksi spectacle melalui tiga mekanisme yaitu separasi yang mengasingkan keris dari konteks spiritual-ritual, mediasi yang mengontrol persepsi melalui sistem kontes dan arsitektur visual, serta unifikasi yang menyatukan audiens dalam konsumsi pasif. Transformasi ini mengubah nilai guna spiritual keris menjadi nilai tanda yang ditentukan oleh estetika dan harga pasar. Komunitas pencinta keris mengalami perubahan dari ikatan spiritual menjadi hierarki yang didasarkan pada kemampuan mengonsumsi tanda-tanda superior. Kekuasaan dalam mengendalikan narasi keris berpindah dari otoritas tradisional (empu dan sesepuh) kepada agen modern (juri dan penyelenggara) yang mengoperasikan rezim kebenaran baru melalui normalisasi dan standardisasi. Pameran menciptakan kontradiksi di mana upaya pelestarian justru mempercepat alienasi keris dari esensi spiritualnya, mengubahnya menjadi komoditas budaya yang dapat dikonsumsi secara visual.

The keris, as a cultural heritage of the Indonesian archipelago, has undergone a fundamental transformation from a sacred heirloom to an object of display in the context of modern keris exhibitions in Indonesia. This phenomenon is analyzed through a qualitative ethnographic approach conducted at the 2025 National Keris Jamboree at the Surakarta Palace Performance and Reka Cipta #2: Lumur Wesi Aji at the Embung Giwangan Cultural Park as additional data. The focus of the analysis includes the construction of the keris exhibition as a spectacle, the contribution of the exhibition to the existence of the keris and the keris enthusiast community, and the identification of the parties controlling the narrative of the changing meaning of the keris. The main theory used is Guy Debord's “The Society of the Spectacle,” supported by Jean Baudrillard's concept of “Politics of Sign Value” and Michel Foucault's theory of “Power and Knowledge.” Data was collected through observation, in-depth interviews with the jury coordinator, community members who were also committee members, and keris masters, as well as visual documentation. The results of the study show that the keris exhibition successfully constructed a spectacle through three mechanisms, namely separation, which alienated the keris from its spiritual-ritual context, for the examples are mediation, which controlled perception through a contest system and visual architecture, and unification, which united the audience in passive consumption. This transformation changed the spiritual value of the keris into a sign value determined by aesthetics and market price. The community of keris enthusiasts has undergone a change from spiritual bonds to a hierarchy based on the ability to consume superior signs. The power to control the narrative of the keris has shifted from traditional authorities (empu and elders) to modern agents (judges and organizers) who operate a new regime of truth through normalization and standardization. Exhibitions create a contradiction in which preservation efforts actually accelerate the alienation of the keris from its spiritual essence, transforming it into a cultural commodity that can be consumed visually.

Kata Kunci : keris, society of the spectacle, politik nilai tanda, kuasa-pengetahuan, pameran budaya