Limited Recognition: Women, Culinary Labor, and Social Esteem in Pariaman's Ramadan Traditions

Abstrak

This study examines two Ramadan traditions in Pariaman—maanta pabukoan and malamang—as arenas of social recognition for women within a religious matrilineal society. It differs from previous studies, which have focused on social cohesion or the authority of Minangkabau women through ancestral property and lineage. This study examines how everyday religious and culinary practices distribute recognition to women, and whether such recognition aligns with or differs from their matrilineal status. Employing qualitative methods, the research collected data through interviews, observation and documentation. Analytically, this study combines Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition (the sphere of social honour) with Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital. The findings suggest that both traditions constitute arenas for the distribution of recognition: women gain social legitimacy through their culinary skills, domestic competence, and their role in maintaining family solidarity and the cohesion of the Ramadan community. This study proposes the concept of ‘limited recognition’—genuine legitimacy in the public sphere, yet conditional upon normative gender performance and achieved through domestic labour, rather than granted unconditionally. Thus, the status of Minangkabau women is simultaneously empowered by adat and constrained by religious gender expectations.