Autopoietic System of Pitungan as legal functionalism in Javanese family harmony

Setyobudi, Teguh, Roibin, Roibin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2974-0884 and Zaenul, Mahmudi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5452-039X (2026) Autopoietic System of Pitungan as legal functionalism in Javanese family harmony. Autopoietic System Of Pitungan As Legal Functionalism In Javanese Family Harmony, 26 (1). pp. 145-174. ISSN 2549-001X

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Abstract

This study examines the persistence of the Pitungan tradition as a living legal institution that continues to regulate marital decision-making within the plural socio-religious community of Kraton Gunung Kawi, Malang Regency. While previous studies have primarily interpreted Pitungan as a cultural belief or mystical practice, its function as an autonomous normative system within contemporary legal pluralism remains underexplored. Employing an empirical socio-legal approach, this research integrates field observations, document analysis, and in-depth interviews with kuncen, religious leaders, interfaith couples, and community elders. The findings demonstrate that Pitungan operates as an autopoietic normative subsystem that reproduces legal meaning through an internal binary code of patut and gak patut, thereby reducing uncertainty and reinforcing family stability. Interpreted through Niklas Luhmann's legal functionalism, Teubner's autopoiesis, Latour's Actor-Network Theory, and Jasser Auda's systemic Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, the tradition reveals a mature form of interlegality in which customary norms, Islamic values, and state law interact complementarily rather than competitively. This interaction generates a new epistemological construct, Living Maqasid, operationalized through a Contextual Benefit-Based Harmonious Family Model that embeds hifẓ al-nasl and jalb al-maṣāliḥ within localized legal practices. The study contributes to socio-legal scholarship by reconceptualizing local wisdom as an adaptive legal-functional mechanism and recommends integrating respected customary authorities into state-based premarital counseling and family resilience programs

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	Pitungan Tradition; Living Maqasid; Legal Functionalism; Interlegality; Living Law; Socio-Legal
Subjects:	18 LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES > 1801 Law > 180128 Islamic Family Law > 18012829 Islamic Family Issues & Local Tradition
Divisions:	Faculty of Sharia and Law > Department of Islamic Constitutional Law
Depositing User:	Teguh Setyobudi
Date Deposited:	13 Aug 2026 10:15

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