Pergeseran Makna Tradisi Bakar Tongkang Bagi Generasi Muda Tionghua di Kabupaten Rokan Hilir Provinsi Riau

Bakar Tongkang Tradition which is carried out every year in Rokan Hilir District of Riau Province precisely in Bagansiapiapi City since 1926. Bakar Tongkang Tradition in Rokan Hilir Regency is part of custom and tradition inherited from generation to generation from Tionghoa customt. This tradition is done as a form of gratitude to the god Kie Ong Ya (god of the sea) through the burning of a barge (ship) which has been prayed first. This tradition itself began as a form of gratitude to the Chinese community who survived to land in the Riau archipelago in 1826, then 100 years later this tradition is held until today. As the era progresses, it is not impossible that the old traditions have been abandoned or have changed the meaning of both individuals and groups. This research sees the meaning of baking barging tradition for the young generation of Chinese in Bagansiapiapi City, Rokan Hilir District, Riau Province. The subjects in this study are teenagers aged 13-18 years of age of junior high school and senior high school selected as a committee or executor in the tradition Bakar Tongkang. Through interview method, observation and documentation obtained results that individually, the young generation in China Bagansiapiapi have begun to not know the meaning of each detail of the tradition, Bakar Tongkang is considered as a tradition to commemorate the events of the past. This can be seen from the lack of knowledge of the younger generation about the ins and outs of Bakar Tongkang tradition, but in terms of group meaning, this tradition is still running as initially. Meaning as a form of gratitude and gratitude and commemorate the birthday of God Kie Ong Ya still survive until today. The individualistic shift of meaning is caused by a) the number of ethnic Chinese who know the details of tradition no longer inhabiting the Bagansiapi-api area, b) the lack of interest of the young Chinese generation to deepen and know the meaning of tradition as a whole, c) Bakar Tongkang traditions function as an arena of self-existence adolescence and entertainment through social media, d) the younger generation is more interested in popular culture than the cultural heritage