Tabot Bengkulu as an Ecology of Da'wah Communication and Islamic Education: A Mixed-Methods Study from a Communication Science Perspective

Abstract

The culture of Tabot Bengkulu is still rarely positioned analytically as a communication ecology that connects cultural da'wah, symbolic literacy, and Islamic learning based on living heritage. This study examined the influence of ritual communication and symbolic-cultural literacy on da'wah resonance and Islamic pedagogical engagement, and interpreted the way local actors understand Tabot as a space for Islamic communication. The research design used explanatory sequential mixed-methods with a survey of 384 respondents and qualitative deepening through 27 interviews, 5 focus group discussions (FGDs), 31 observation notes, and 57 visual-digital documents. Quantitative data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), while qualitative data were interpreted through reflexive thematic coding. The results showed that ritual communication salience had a strong effect on symbolic-cultural literacy (β = .61; t = 14.83), symbolic-cultural literacy strengthened da'wah resonance (β = .42; t = 8.19), and da'wah resonance was the most decisive predictor of Islamic pedagogical engagement (β = .52; t = 10.91). The model explained 45% of the variation in da'wah resonance and 49% of the variation in Islamic pedagogical engagement. Qualitative findings confirmed that the sound of the dol, procession, tabot, Karbala narrative, and citizen participation formed an effective message architecture when accompanied by historical, ethical, and sensitive explanations of interpretive diversity. The contribution of this article lay in the formulation of a communication-pedagogical model that placed Tabot as a living heritage, a medium of da'wah, and a source of Islamic learning that required symbolic literacy so that it was not reduced to a visual attraction.