Siri' na Pacce and moral logic in the institution of A’massa: Customary Sanctions as a Law of Life in Indonesia

This study explores A’massa as a living customary institution in Jeneponto, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, analyzing its persistence as a form of plural justice and symbolic resistance rooted in the moral logic of Siri’ na Pacce (honor and empathy). Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and theoretical synthesis from Durkheim, Bourdieu, Giddens, and Habermas, this research interprets A’massa as both a mechanism of collective solidarity and a moral response to the state’s legitimacy crisis in law enforcement. Through qualitative ethnography involving interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, the study finds that A’massa operates as an indigenous judicial system legitimized by communal consensus and moral obligation, reaffirming local authority in a plural legal order. The findings contribute to the global discourse on legal pluralism and restorative justice by showing how moral values and social norms can coexist with modern state law. This article proposes a framework of “moral logic, collective, symbolic resistance” as a conceptual lens to understand cultural adaptation within plural legal contexts.