<![CDATA[Purpose: This study examines how Suku Anak Dalam (SAD) customary leaders classify illness, implement besesandingon and melangun in response to perceived epidemic threats, and integrate spiritual rituals with plant-based healing. It also interprets the relational logic connecting these practices through Gabriel Marcel’s philosophy of intersubjectivity. Methods: The study employed a qualitative mini-ethnographic case study conducted from September to November 2020 in the Air Hitam and Kejasung SAD communities, located near Bukit Duabelas National Park in Jambi, Indonesia. Data were obtained from seven key customary leaders and three supplementary participants through participant observation, unstructured and joint interviews, group conversations, and contemporaneous field notes. The data were analyzed manually using open and focused thematic coding. Findings: Three interconnected dimensions were identified. First, SAD diagnosis combined bodily symptoms with customary conduct, contact with outsiders, ecological signs, and spiritual relations. Second, besesandingon regulated localized risks through distancing, temporary separation, indirect communication, and customary authorization, whereas melangun involved broader residential relocation associated with death, misfortune, or communal danger. Third, medicinal plants were embedded within basale/bedeki, guidance from Badewo, observance of pantangaon, family participation, and access to Tanah Gedong Obat. These findings indicate that diagnosis, prevention, and healing were organized through a relational rather than individually centered logic. Research implications: Health engagement with SAD communities should involve recognized customary authorities and respect community protocols governing access, ritual knowledge, and ecological resources. The findings are ethnographic and do not establish botanical, clinical, or epidemiological effectiveness. Originality/value: This study integrates SAD disease cosmology, epidemic-response practices, and ritual–herbal healing within a single analytical framework. Marcel’s concept of esse est co-esse is used to clarify their relational coherence without equating SAD cosmology with Western philosophical categories.]]>
