Elderly Society in Indonesia’s Socio-Cultural Structure
Yasnita Yasnita, Karim Suryadi, Dasim Budimansyah and Udin S. Winataputra
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Elderly, Social, Culture.
Abstract: This research is conducted by referring to the condition of increasing population of elderly in Indonesia. This
study aims to find out (i) how the position of elderly is in socio-cultural structure. This study uses interview
primary data and secondary data from various research results or relevant literatures. The main findings show
that, (i) in the socio-cultural structure there are 2 meaning categories of the elderly, namely Sacralistic and
Symbolic; (ii) every culture has an institutionalization of elderly as a form of respect and glorification of the
elderly; (iii) neglect of elderly is due to several factors, namely; (a) changes in family structure, from extended
to nuclear family, and (b) weakening social solidarity and community awareness, especially in urban
communities. The findings of this study emphasize that in socio-cultural structure, the elderly is very glorified,
and this must be reconstructed as a knowledge and socialized to the community through primary socialization
in the family, so that it will become common values of society and in turn will have implications for the State's
policy of glorifying the elderly.
1 INTRODUCTION
Currently, Indonesia is moving towards aging
population with an elderly population of about 21
million or equivalent to 8.6 percent of the total
population (Tempo, 2017). This number will continue
to creep up to an estimated 28.68 percent in 2050.
This condition requires the attention and seriousness
of society and government in creating planning and
various programs to anticipate the elderly boom
which is just around the corner. In addition, there is
also a need to anticipate the various arising problems
as an implication of the explosion of elderly.
Lansia or elderly is the term used to refer to
advanced adults (in psychological term) who live in
the final development stage in the natural human life
cycle. It is not a disease, but is an advanced stage of
life process which impacts biological, economic, and
social aspects (Statistik Penduduk Lanjut Usia 2014:
vii). Biologically, elderly will experience a
continuous aging process characterized by a
decreasing physical endurance, and vulnerability to
disease. A surprising fact of the Elderly’s health
context was revealed by Rodin and Haris (2008) that
parents who feel that their environment is responsive
to them, in the sense of supporting their actions and
choices of life, will tend to enjoy better health. And
this differs from the result of parents who are not
supported or tend to be blamed by the environment,
they are more susceptible to illness, in fact they
always feel there is something sick inside.
Economically speaking, elderly tends to be seen as no
longer productive therefore unprofitable, and more or
less as burden. Socially speaking, elderly’s life is
often perceived negatively, and does not provide
much benefit to families and communities.
In Indonesia, law on the elderly is contained in
Law Number 13 (1998) concerning Elderly Welfare.
The limitation of elderly is described in Chapter 1 of
Article 1 paragraph (2) that "The elderly is a person
reaching the age of 60 (sixty) years old and over" with
two categories, the Potential Elders (Article 1 (3)) and
the Less-Potential Elders (Article 1 (4)). The potential
elderly is those who are still capable of performing
work and or activity that can produce goods and / or
services. Meanwhile, the less-potential elderly is
those who are powerless in earning a living so that
his/her life depends on the help of others.
The Ministry of National Development Planning
discloses that the population ageing should always be
integrated within the national development agenda,
including the development of strategies, indicators
and indexes and their implementation in the
operational level. The rapid increase of the elderly
population is an inevitable fact around the world as a
result of the increasing quality of public health.
168
Yasnita, Y., Suryadi, K., Budimansyah, D. and Winataputra, U.
Elderly Society in Indonesia’s Socio-Cultural Structure.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 2, pages 168-176
ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

Governments in some countries experiencing a surge
in the number of elderly populations such as China,
Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, and
Japan have made various strategic policies and have
sided with the elderly.
The increasing number of elderly is not only
responded by various policies issued by the State, but
it also increases the interest of academicians to
conduct research on the elderly. In recent years,
researches on the elderly have begun to emerge,
although they are still limited in number compared to
studies about children, women, or adolescents.
Taking closer look, researches on the elderly can be
mapped into 3 (three) aspects, namely; health,
psychology, and welfare.
Health aspect, is the most frequently studied and
discussed focus both in Indonesia and in the world,
because during the elderly phase, the immune system
begins to weaken, causing the elderly becomes more
vulnerable to various diseases. Research conducted
by Kamble (2014) reveals a problem of elderly’s
weakening visual abilities in Mumbai, India, with the
finding that 65.54% of elderly have problems with
their visual abilities which make them dependent on
others. This condition is the elderly’s general problem
that should be anticipated with better facilities, long-
term services and care, to minimize the level of visual
dependence of the elderly. It is similar to a research
conducted by Borda (2015) which focuses on long-
term care of elderly in a nursing home. It reveals that
the officers or staffs working in nursing home must
have the technical skills to take care of the elderly,
and this is their duty. In Indonesia, there have also
been various researches on health of the elderly, for
example, what Andria (2013) found in her research
that the number of elderly who suffer from
hypertension is 45.79% with less level of sport
exercise. Some of the results of this study illustrate
that health problem, is something that must be
addressed and anticipated, especially in facing the
elderly booming.
In terms of psychology, the main problem of
elderly lies precisely on psychological aspect, known
as psychogeriatric, that is branch of medical science
which studies mental health of elderly. Some of the
researches on this aspect, are, for example, what Ho
(2015) reveals that the elderly involved in voluntary
social activities has a higher level of psychological
well-being compared to the elderly who is not
engaged in voluntary social activities. Trivedi (2015)
also conducts research on the psychology of the
elderly, which links spiritual and mental health of the
elderly. The study conducted to 120 elderly reveals
that the level of spirituality is closely related to the
level of depression experienced by the elderly,
because spirituality is the main control for the elderly.
There have also been several research results on
welfare or social security aspect. One of them is what
was revealed by Darmawan (2014) the research
finding shows that there has not been any law
specifically intended to regulate social security in
Central Java province. Elderly welfare derived from
Law Number 13 (1998) on Elderly Welfare.
Likewise, with the results of research conducted by
Indrawati and Sayekti (2013) which reveals that State
responsibility is often interpreted as the political
responsibility carried out by the Minister or related
officials, and is not a part of the State's systemic
policy of the elderly.
Several results of those studies provide an
overview of a series of problems experienced by the
elderly, both in terms of health, psychological, and
social security (welfare) by the State. In the midst of
an increasing number of elderly population, the social
security provided by the State remains at an alarming
rate, as revealed by a key informant in the preliminary
study, that until this time, the government is only able
to help 0.3% of displaced poor elderly because the
State budget is indeed very limited. This is due to the
lack of commitment and attention of the government
towards the elderly who are still underestimated by
various parties. With these limitations, the Ministry
of Social Affairs should press in such a way the
standardization of the elderly category that deserves
help. In terms of health, the elderly, similar to other
population groups, already have Health Insurance
(BPJS), but in its implementation, it has not been
followed by decent and friendly elderly service.
Referring to the above conditions, the author
assumes that a series of problems faced by the elderly,
including neglect, harassment, sickness, and State
policies that have not sided with the elderly is due to
the re-orientation of socio-cultural values, thus makes
the elderly no longer respected and considered as
unimportant, which in turn will affect the way the
State views the elderly. Thus, this study aims to fill
the research gap on how is the effort to re-glorify
elderly in the context of socio-cultural structure as a
local wisdom of collective Indonesian society. The
knowledge construction about it must be inherited
and socialized to the next generation so that the
society will honor and respect the elderly more. If this
condition is achieved, thus the State is expected to
create respect-based policies towards the elderly.
Socio-cultural is a context that cannot be
separated from the life of elderly as a part of the
community members. Gerden (2000) study deeply
about the meaning of elderly in individualistic and
Elderly Society in Indonesia’s Socio-Cultural Structure
169

collectivistic culture. In an individualistic society
represented by America, the elderly is independent,
free to determine their lives. In contrast, the elderly in
the collective society represented by Congo is more
tied to children and grandchildren and they are under
the rule or supervision of their offspring. That means,
culture greatly affects the elderly’s condition later in
time, as revealed by an informant that the elderly in
Asia is delighter than in America, because in Asia,
parents are dependent to their children, while in
America parents take care of themselves and often
end up in the nursing home. Saraswati (2016) reveals
that the elderly who becomes a caregiver to his or her
grandchild has a better level of welfare, psychological
condition and social relationship.
Social relation built by the elderly in the collective
society such as Indonesia has its own uniqueness.
Social interaction is more dominantly determined by
the meaning attached to the elderly. A theory which
supports this is the theory of representation (Hall,
1997) that focuses on how humans, through language,
attach meaning to their world based on real
experiences. In indigenous and ancient Indonesian
cultures (Ranjabar, 2013) of various ethnicities have
similarities in giving meaning to the elderly
constructed by earlier societies and it was
institutionalized in cultural structure.
Referring to the thoughts of Berger and
Luckmann (in Ngangi, 2011) that social construction
is a statement of belief as taught by a particular
society and culture. What is understood by an
individual from her/his world is the result of the
socio-historic conditions that he or she has
experienced in life. How society comprehends and
sees the elderly is actually a construct of values,
habits, and knowledge received in one's life.
Nevertheless, the socio-cultural dynamics have made
the position of respectful elderly to be shifted. The
Elderly National Commission reveals various actions
such as: fraud, harassment, neglect, and violence
experienced by the elderly which is mostly committed
by the family or those closest to them (Komnas
Lansia, 2016).
Julianti (2013) reveals that the non-fulfillment of
elderly’s rights (social security) is a representation of
a negative view of society against the elderly which
determines how someone treats the elderly. The
negative view is a social construction built by the
community to understand the elderly. Therefore, it is
necessary to study the position of the elderly in the
socio-cultural structure and in turn will have
implications on State’s policies and how State sees
the elderly.
This study becomes very significant, in terms of
its meaning, to contribute to the government in
anticipating the elderly booming by making the
cultural values as its base. The result of the re-
appointed socio-cultural construction is expected to
become the knowledge that must be inherited and
socialized to the grandchildren in order to keep the
nobility and respect of the elderly. Departing from
this basis, thus the focus discussed in this paper is to
examine the position of elderly in the socio-cultural
structure.
2 METHODS
This research uses a constructivist approach which
assumes that reality is shaped and constructed by
different individual experiences which are then used
to interpret the social realities in his/her surrounding
with their respective constructions as developed by
Berger and Luckmann (in Ngangi, 2011) in social
construction theory. Meanwhile, sources of
information and relevant data in this study are
obtained through qualitative data collection
techniques, namely through in-depth interviews,
observation, and thorough study of some research
results both in the context of socio-cultural as well as
the State structure (structural). Interviews were
conducted on 26 elders as informants living in DKI
Jakarta, Bogor, Bekasi (including residents of
Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs Nursing Home,
Tresna Wreda Budhi Dharma), and Yogyakarta. In
addition, interviews were also conducted to 4 key
informants who have the capacity and competency in
the study of the elderly, both academically and
practically, namely Indonesia’s Ministry of Social
Affairs’ Head of Sub-Directorate of Reintegration
and Elderly Guidance, Head of Elderly Study Center
in Higher School of Social Welfare (STKS) Bandung,
and Head of Nursing Home Tresna Wreda "Budhi
Dharma" owned by Indonesia’s Ministry of Social
Affairs and Social Worker Coordinator of Social
Service Center “Tresna Wredha Abiyoso Pakem” in
Yogyakarta, and senior researchers in Lembaga
Demografi Universitas Indonesia who concern on the
elderly problems. The literature investigation was
also conducted at the Indonesian Elderly National
Commission and Pusat Kajian Lansia Universitas
Indonesia.
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170

3 RESEARCH RESULTS
3.1 The Position of Elderly in the
Socio-Cultural Structure
Within the old and indigenous cultural structure of
Indonesia, there is a fundamental equality in terms of
culture, as well as other traditions (Ranjabar, 2013).
It is the same to how every culture views the elderly.
Elderly is a phase when a person gets a respected
place and position in the social environment, known
by the term parents or elder people. The elderlies are
those who are constantly asked for advises or wisdom
in solving problems in the society. Religious
Indonesian society believes that to respect and care
for the elderly is an obligation commanded by God
whose reward is pahala (merit) or heaven. Parents'
blessing is a leading path for the success of their
children's lives, on the contrary, a child who is not
blessed by a parent will face difficulties or obstacles
in his/her life. It is a growing and developing belief in
all ethnic, cultural and religious groups in Indonesia.
In the Minangkabau community for example, the
saying goes "kok pai tampek batanyo, kok go home
tampek babarito" (If you go you become a place to
ask, if return home you become a place to complain).
That is how they interpret the elderly. That being said,
parents or elderly is a place to ask about problems that
are not understood or a place to complain over a
problem experienced in daily life. From them, people
expect to get a solution, in the form of advises or
considerations. An informant stated that as a mamak
(uncle) when he was getting older, his social burden
increased because he became the foundation for
children, grandchildren, nephews and whole families
to complain about their problems, conversely, he also
felt the protection and social security of his relatives
and extended family. In Minangkabau society,
Mamak is responsible for the social and economic life
of his nephews, as revealed by one of the informants
(a 78 years old man):
"......my nephews are very concerned about me,
especially because I am a Minangkabau who is
Ninik Mamak. I used to take care of my nephews,
and now they are taking care of me. I was the one
who encouraged my nephews to pursue higher
education so that they would be respected by
society and able to perform community duties
well. "
On the contrary, in contrast to Minangkabau
community who have a wide kinship system, in
Sudanese society, parents are the responsibility of
nuclear family, as revealed by an informant (a 70
years old man):
"....no one is looking after me, my relatives and
neighbors do not care whether I eat or not, they
do not care. I cannot expect my children to take
care of me, because they are also struggling
economically. Even now, I have not eaten
anything since this morning because there is
nothing to eat."
It is also corroborated by another informant who
is a widow, saying that she must fight for herself to
meet the needs of her life. Her relatives and neighbors
are not very concerned of her.
In Batak Toba tribe, there is another uniqueness in
seeing and positioning elderly. Elderly is a symbol of
honor. The more descendants they have (children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) then the
higher is the degree of the parents. According to an
informant (a 54 years old woman), in the Batak Toba
tribe, a person who has descendants is not called by
his or her own name, but with the name of his/her son,
grandchild or great-grandchild, and this is a pride for
the Batak Toba people. Completing the form of
respect for the elderlies, this tribe also has a custom
of traditional ceremony Manulangi (Sulang-Sulang),
which is feeding elders as a form of respect for them.
In fact, in the tradition of Sulang-Sulang Natabo, after
feeding the elderlies, the event continues by giving
advises to his/her descendants. After that, elderlies
will usually announce the division of inheritance or
they give a will in the form of advises about life’s
values (if they have no inherited possessions). This
tradition illustrates how the local cultural system
provides a very honorable and noble position to the
elderly.
In Balinese society, parents or elderlies are the
ones who are considered sacred. All parents must be
respected, otherwise the sanctity is the law of karma.
In Hinduism belief, the law of karma can be translated
as "what we receive is the result of our deeds". When
a person enters advanced (old) age, he or she becomes
panglingsir (elderly), they generally contribute
thoughts in the social life of society, especially in
solving social problems based on the knowledge they
gain from their life experiences. According to an
informant (a 60 years old woman), as the people who
are considered holy (sacred), division of space for the
elderly in the house is also governed by custom,
namely as follows; bale daja (North) is a place for
parents, because in the religious beliefs of Balinese
society, the North side is considered sacred. Next,
bale dauh (West) for children, bale dangin (East) for
ceremony (North and East are the direction of the
Elderly Society in Indonesia’s Socio-Cultural Structure
171

compass considered as sacred by Balinese people)
and bale delod (South) for children.
Likewise, in Central Java, especially Yogyakarta,
parents (elderlies) are given a very respectable
position within the family structure. Whenever
talking to elderlies, a person should not be rude or
snappy and should not look into the eyes of elderlies
who are talking, even before speaking, they are taught
to "worship" as a sign of respect to elderlies. Elderly,
for the Javanese people, is a figure full of wisdom
which is a representation of the experience gained
throughout their lives. Elderlies generally live
together with their children until the end of their lives.
Referring to the above findings, it can be
concluded that in Indonesian society’s socio-cultural
structure, there are two categories of meanings
attached to the elderly, namely "Sacralistic" and
"Symbolic".
Table 1: Categorizations of Meanings Attached to Elderly
in the Socio-Cultural Structure.
Sacralistic Indicator Symbolic Indicator
Society or
family sees that
to respect, obey,
and care for the
parents
(elderlies) is a
duty
commanded by
religious
teachings in
order to
worship
(perform the
command of
God and the
Prophet) whose
reward is
pahala (merit)
or heaven in the
hereafter.
Conversely, if a
person does not
respect and love
the parents
(elderlies), he or
she will obtain
sin or karma.
Parents are
sacred people
who should be
given a
respectable
place and
position.
Obeyed
Considered
as sacred
Respected
Must be
taken care
of
Wisdom
and respect
are two
meanings
attached to
the elderly.
Parents
(elderlies)
are a
symbol of
welfare and
someone’s
social
position in
the socio-
cultural
structure.
A symbol
of wisdom
Decision
maker
Holding a
place in a
custom
institutional
ization
Another interesting finding in this research is that
glorification of the elderly is integrated in the socio-
cultural structure of Indonesian society which is
embodied in the institutionalization of the elderly.
Almost all ethnics have institutions that are places
where parents or elders gather, giving advices, inputs,
and thoughts for traditional events as well as in
solving social problems. Below are some institutions
or elderly institutionalizations which exist in several
tribes in Indonesia:
Table 2: Institutionalization of Elderly in the Socio-Cultural
Structure of Several Tribes in Indonesia.
No. Tribes
Elderly
Institutions
Explanation
1. Aceh Ureung Tua It is the Village
Assembly in the Aceh
(Old) government
system that consists of
elderly in giving
considerations to solve
problems and run the
government. Ureung
Tua synergizes with
Tengku (Ulemma) and
K
eucik (Village Head)
2. West
Sumatera
Ninik Mamak It is a custom
institution consist of
parents and elders
(men), commonly exist
in every clan that has
the ability and wisdom
to solve various
problems in social life,
especially in the
context of tradition.
3. North
Sumatera
Penatua Adat It is a gathering place
for elders to be asked
for advises,
considerations, or
wisdom in solving
social problems. Every
clan generally has the
Penatua Ada
t
4. Dayak Padagi It is a traditional
institution as a place
for elderly (Maktua
and Paktua) and
Dayak ancestors to
gather. In this Padagi,
they do bapadah
(giving advises),
beremah (begging),
bapinta (requesting),
bedoa (praying).
5. Haruku,
Moluccas
Rumah Tau It is a home where the
parents or elderlies
gather to give
considerations,
advises, and make
important decisions,
especially in traditional
events.
The above findings clearly illustrate that as a
collective society, Indonesia’s socio-cultural
structure greatly honors the elderly, not only
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172

personally, but socially as well. However, along with
the passing time and socio-cultural changes in a
highly dynamic society, many elderlies who are
supposed to be honored, in fact are in precarious
conditions.
3.2 Factors behind the Neglected
Elderly
According to the Indonesian Ministry of Social
Affairs data in 2016, across Indonesia there are 3.8%
of poor and neglected elderly and only about 0.3
percent can be assisted by the State through various
available programs which are coordinated by the
Central Government and Local Government.
According to the results of the study, there are several
factors which cause the neglected elderly, namely:
3.2.1 Change of Family Structure From
Extended Family to Nuclear Family
The change of family structure from extended
family to the nuclear family becomes an important
factor which causes neglect of the elderly. Parents
who previously lived together with extended family
(with their children) then began to live separately
(Badan Pusat Statistik, 2014). As revealed by an
informant (a 66 years old man) who inhabits the
Tresna Wredha Nursing Home (PSTW) "Budhi
Dharma" of Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs
who tells about how he got to live in the nursing
home:
"Before living in nursing home, I lived alone in a
rented house in Cakung area of East Jakarta. The
one who paid for the rent was my son. But then he
lost his job and could no longer pay the rent, until
5 months the rent was not paid and I was expelled
by the owner of the rent house. For several days I
was neglected and accompanied by a neighbor to
this nursing home. Until now I have never been
visited by my children, I do not miss them, I just
miss my grandchildren. Now, I sincerely accept
all that has happened to me, I can only thank Allah
for bringing me to this nursing home. In this
place, I feel humanized."
The head of PSTW Budhi Dharma said that 70%
of the residents in the nursing home are actually
disappointed with their families, and that is the
thought that the institution is slowly trying to
straighten out. The cases of neglect of the elderly are
so numerous. Darmawan (2014) reveals cases
experienced by the elderly, for example a case
experienced by a grandmother called Ginah (65 years
old) in Banjarnegara Regency who lives alone by
herself and was forced to sleep in the Siskamling
(Security) Post.
Aside from her, a more distressing event occurred
to a grandmother named Tugiati (82 years old) from
Pegandon Sub district of Kendal Regency, who ended
her life by sprinkling a jerry can of kerosene and
putting a match to her body which was already soaked
in the kerosene, causing her to burn and die. Tugiati's
motif to do so was allegedly because of depression
due to her family who left her behind. A row of
similar cases has even become a common
phenomenon; elderly who becomes beggars, tramps,
or scavengers.
The tendency to build a family that is more of a
nuclear family thus contributes to parental neglect is
also experienced by an informant from Yogyakarta (a
72-year-old woman):
"Now I live alone in my house… I have six
children, they all have a family and live with their
own families. Actually I want to live with them, but
it seems that they are not willing if I come to stay
with them. My needs are met … but I am alone. I
just surrender and accept this sincerely... I only
have one dream… to die in husnul khotimah
(while wiping tears)."
3.2.2 Weakening Social Solidarity of the
Community, Especially in Urban
Communities
Weakening social solidarity becomes another
factor that leaves an elderly neglected, especially in
urban areas. An informant from DKI Jakarta (an 85
years old man) who works as a grave sweeper said
that his neighbors and relatives do not care about the
fact that he is already very old and still works. It is
also similar to the experience of another elderly
informant who works as a newspaper seller (a 75
years old man). He said that his family, relatives, and
neighbors never forbid him to sell newspapers. They
do not care, although every day he has to go up and
down of public transportation to sell newspapers.
"...if I do not sell newspapers, I cannot feed my
family and meet my own needs. My family,
relatives, and neighbors, none of them cares
about me. They never forbid me. If I do not sell
newspapers, then I will not be able to eat, no one
will give me or my wife foods."
Similar situation is also experienced by a
grandmother who works as a scavenger in East
Jakarta (a 75 years old woman):
Elderly Society in Indonesia’s Socio-Cultural Structure
173

“…I collect garbage to take care of my grandchild
in my hometown. I have relatives, families both in
the hometown and in the city, but they do not care
at all. My child has died in Malaysia, and now I
live by myself to take care of my one and only
grandchild. His dad runs off somewhere. Honestly
it feels too heavy for me, but I force myself so that
my grandchild can eat and pursue education. Now
I entrusted him to someone (she broke down in
tears).”
Relating to the neglect of elderly, the shifting of
extended family structure to the nuclear family does
bring economic benefits, in which small families can
provide education and better facilities to their
children. However, according to Niehof (1997) in
Faturochman (2001), on the other hand, the elderly
group is ignored. Emile Durkheim in Jones (2009)
defines social solidarity as a solidarity that refers to a
state of relationship between individuals and or
groups based on shared moral feelings and beliefs
reinforced by shared emotional experiences.
This concept of solidarity was revealed by the
Social Worker Coordinator of Tresna Wreda Pakem
Yogyakarta Nursing Home. He explained that in
Yogyakarta there are 3 districts that are economically
poor, namely Gunung Kidul, Kulon Progo, and
Bantul. However, uniquely, life expectancy (UHH) is
the longest in these 3 districts. In that area, there are
hardly any elderly displaced, not because they are
poor, but more due to the social solidarity of the
surrounding community that keeps them survive and
can live in peace. The preserved solidarity and social
awareness make them care for each other.
In the village, economical poverty is not equivalent to
social poverty. Although they are economically poor
but they can still eat with the attention and care of the
neighbors and relatives. It differs from the city, if
someone does not have money, then his or her life is
finished, which culminates to them admitted to
nursing home as a place for neglected elderly. Thus,
it is necessary to make various efforts to revive the
solidarity of society as a social asset to provide
guarantees and protection towards community-based
elderly.
4 DISCUSSION
Referring to the results of the above research, it can
be said that in the socio-cultural structure of
Indonesia, the elderly is highly glorified and
respected, they even have become a part of the norms
that grow, live, and develop in society’s life, as have
been stated on the above findings about the
categorization of meaning and institutionalization of
the elderly. This is the result of the social construction
that is constructed from the knowledge possessed
hereditary by the community and passed on as a
source of knowledge for the next generation. Berger
and Lukman in Ngangi (2011) explain that social
construction has several powers.
First of all, on language, which is a cultural
product and greatly influences one's thoughts and
behavior. The name or term given to parents such as
bapak, ibu, nenek, kakek, eyang kakung, eyang putri,
engkong, datuk, nekgam, neknong, aki, nini etc. are
terms which embody very respectful and honorable
meanings, supported by courtesy and ethics that
smoothen the relationship. Secondly, in a culture
there is a complexity (diversity). In the context of this
study, it is seen how each sub culture puts the elderly
in different positions, sacralistic and symbolic, yet
still has the same substance, to glorify the elderly. It
is also seen in the institutionalization of the elderly
within indigenous communities, diverse, but it is an
affirmation that the elderly is much respected. Third,
it is consistent.
According to Hall (1997), language is a medium
which is mostly used in producing meanings.
Knowledge and treatment towards the elderly are the
result of social construction constructed from how the
society articulates elderly, both verbal and non-
verbal. Sacralistic and symbolic are the categorization
of meanings as a representation of real experiences in
society. It is humans who put meanings to the elderly.
This knowledge of elderly glorification should be
reconstructed by the community through primary
socialization as the earliest phase. This socialization
takes place within the family. At this stage, parents
should instill and socialize cultural values that glorify
the elderly, parents must also provide exemplary in
honoring the elderly. Parents who always behave well
to their parents (grandparents to their children) tend
to have children who will also do the same to their
grandparents and to other elderlies they meet. This is
in alignment with what is expected by Head of
Ministry of Social Affairs Nursing Home Tresna
Wreda Budi Dharma and Coordinator of Social
Worker of Nursing Home Tresna Wreda Abiyoso
Yogyakarta. They said that society must be educated
in order to love and respect the elderly starting from
the families. Local Government of Yogyakarta even
plans to provide legal sanction for families who
neglect elderly.
The glorification and positive meaning of the
elderly as explored in the socio-cultural structure,
through primary socialization are then passed on to
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the next generation which eventually becomes the
"label" for the Elderly. Good labelling will allow the
community to consider the elderly as an important
part, which in turn has implications for the State's
commitment towards the elderly embodied in the
various policies and seriousness of governments to
implement it. On the contrary, according to Kuyper
and Bengston (1973) in Julianti (2013), bad labelling
will make the elderly be underestimated by society
and would not be prioritized by State.
The elaboration above can be illustrated in the
following scheme in figure 1:
Figure 1: The elaboration scheme.
Glorification of the elderly must be reconstructed
in order to continue to grow, live, and develop in the
social life of Indonesian people in order to prepare the
society to face the elderly population explosion.
Social construction is a statement of belief about how
society and culture teach the way to interact with the
social environment. This becomes important if it is
referred to the findings of the Elderly National
Commission that perpetrators of violence or neglect
are precisely the family and the closest people to the
elderly.
The existing elderly institutions in each custom
must also be revived and introduced to each
generation in addition to optimization of their roles
and functions in contributing to the settlement of
social issues which in turn can provide a positive
image to the elderly. To optimize the role, local
governments should coordinate with elderly
institutions, similar to "Ureung Tua" in Aceh as
partners of local government in making important
decisions related to social affairs.
5 CONCLUSIONS
In the socio-cultural structure of Indonesia, there are
two categorizations of meanings attached to the
elderly, namely sacralistic and symbolic. Both of
them are the result of socio-cultural construction
which lives and dynamically develops in the society
hereditarily that are rooted from religious and
customary norms as a form of respect and
glorification of the elderly. However, life changes /
dynamics have made the elderly no longer respected,
even several elderly are in neglected condition. This
condition is caused by two factors, namely the change
of family structure from extended family to the
nuclear family and the weakening social solidarity
within society. To anticipate the elderly boom, the
community together with the government must
perform various tactical and strategic efforts.
Glorification towards the elderly must be re-
socialized through primary socialization in families
that will be constructed as social values in society
which in turn can form Indonesia as a nation who
glorifies elderly and will affect State’s policies which
glorifies elderly.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wants to extend her gratitude to all of the
informants and key informants who had enlighten
her. A boundless gratitude also goes to the promoter
Prof. Dr. Karim Suryadi, M.Si., co-promoter Prof. Dr.
Dasim Budimansyah, M.Si., and Prof. Dr. Udin S
Winataputra, MA for all knowledge, advices, and
critics, to enrich this article.
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