KEBANDARAN DANCE AS A CULTURAL TEXT: A SYMBOLIC STUDY FORM THE ROLAND BARTHES’ SEMIOTICS PERSPECTIVE

Zulfa Agus Putri (Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta)
Suminto A Sayuti (Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta)

Multidiciplinary Output Research for Actual and International Issue (Morfai Journal)
Vol. 6 No. 6 (2026): Multidiciplinary Output Research For Actual and International Issue

This study aims to examine the Kebandaran dance as a cultural text within the Cangget Agung night ceremony of the Lampung Pepadun community through Roland Barthes’ semiotic approach. The study employs a qualitative ethnographic art method conducted in Bandar Buyut Village, Lampung. Data were obtained through participant observation, interviews, and documentation involving customary leaders (penyimbang), traditional figures, dancers, and the organizing committee of the ceremony. The analysis was conducted using domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, componential analysis, cultural theme analysis, and Barthesian semiotic analysis. The findings show that the Kebandaran dance has a standardized performance structure consisting of dancers, movements, floor patterns, accompanying music, makeup and costumes, as well as a performance setting governed by customary rules. At the connotative level, the dance represents respect, togetherness, social equality, and the collective expression of the community. At the level of myth, the Kebandaran dance naturalizes the legitimacy of customary leadership, the social structure of penyimbang, interregional unity, solidarity, and the values of Piil Pesenggiri. The Kebandaran dance therefore functions not only as an aesthetic expression but also as a medium for reproducing the ideology and cultural identity of the Lampung Pepadun community.