The Symbolic and Aesthetic Value of Traditional Tableware: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/dijemss.v7i1.5322Keywords:
Traditional Cutlery, Symbolic Value, Aesthetics, Cultural Preservation, Modernization, Cultural IdentityAbstract
Traditional tableware reflects significant symbolic and aesthetic values that help maintain cultural identity in the era of globalization. However, the shift towards modern products has reduced the role of traditional tableware, leading to a decline in people's understanding of its cultural significance. The study analyzed the literature that highlights the role of traditional tableware in various cultures, focusing on its spiritual, social, and ecological aspects. Using a systematic approach, this study identifies sustainable education and design-based preservation strategies that uphold the symbolic meanings of traditional tableware. Our methods include the analysis of literature and cross-cultural perspectives of different ethnicities. We highlight the importance of integrating traditional tableware into modern education and design to strengthen people's connection to their cultural identity. Our findings suggest that cultural preservation can be enhanced by promoting aesthetics, revitalizing symbolic values, and adopting an ecology-based approach that supports the sustainability of local cultural identity. The study proposes a conceptual framework that guides cultural preservation strategies in the face of the challenges of globalization, offering practical implications for education and product design relevant to modern society.
References
Aini, D. N., & Winarno, A. (2022). Cultural heritage folk crafts management: Contribution to the welfare and stability of local wisdom. Technium Soc. Sci. J., 31, 685.
Ariani, N. (2024). Eksplorasi Tata Hidang Modern di Lombok: Antara Estetika, Fungsionalitas, dan Nilai Tradisional. Jurnal Penelitian Inovasi Indonesia, 1(1), 27–32.
Azharunnisa, A., Gupta, S., & Panda, S. (2024). Craft culture revival through a sustainable approach of integrating tourism with craft promotion: case study of Puri, Odisha. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 14(3), 397–418.
Azizi, A. F., & Anam, N. (2023). THE CHANGING FACE OF WESTERN YOUTH CULTURE: A COMPREHENSIVE EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMIC TRENDS, TRANSFORMATIONS, AND SOCIETAL SHIFTS SHAPING THE IDENTITY, VALUES, AND EXPRESSIONS OF TODAY’S YOUNG GENERATION. Journal ECUALL: Education, Culture, Linguistic and Literature Fakultas Sastra Universitas Bakti Indonesia, 1(2), 40–45.
Bikesh, T., & Suraj, B. (2020). Cultural and social enigmas: Missing pieces of food security. Journal of Nutrition and Food Security.
Booth, A., James, M.-S., Clowes, M., & Sutton, A. (2021). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review.
Cavacini, A. (2015). What is the best database for computer science journal articles? Scientometrics, 102(3), 2059–2071.
Chiu, S. K. (2024). Cultural presentations and extension of self from the artefacts of tableware. International Journal of Food Design, 9(2), 201–217.
Dorsch, I., Askeridis, J. M., & Stock, W. G. (2018). Truebounded, overbounded, or underbounded? Scientists’ personal publication lists versus lists generated through bibliographic information services. Publications, 6(1), 7.
Fink, A. (2019). Conducting research literature reviews: From the internet to paper. Sage publications.
Giddens, A. (2023). Modernity and self-identity. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 477–484). Routledge.
Gupta, A. (2022). Traditional cultural expressions: Analysis of culinary custom. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights (JIPR), 27(1), 52–60.
Haddaway, N. R., Bethel, A., Dicks, L. V, Koricheva, J., Macura, B., Petrokofsky, G., Pullin, A. S., Savilaakso, S., & Stewart, G. B. (2020). Eight problems with literature reviews and how to fix them. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(12), 1582–1589.
Hamling, T., & Richardson, C. (2010). Everyday objects: medieval and early modern material culture and its meanings. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Kobayashi, F. (2025). Ritual Symbolism and Culinary Practice in Winter Solstice Folklore: A Comparative Study in East Asia. Journal of Contemporary Rituals and Traditions, 3(1), 1–20.
Larson, M., Öberg, C., & Scander, H. (2025). Intangible cultural heritage. Elgar Encyclopedia of City and Place Branding, 200.
Lee, K.-S. (2023). Cooking up food memories: A taste of intangible cultural heritage. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 54, 1–9.
Liliweri, A. (2019). Pengantar studi kebudayaan. Nusamedia.
Liu, J. (2025). Heritage, Homemaking, and Identity Formation in Migrant Workers: An Ethnographic Study of Yi Migrants in Shenzhen. Taylor & Francis.
Liu, S., & Pan, Y. (2023). Exploring trends in intangible cultural heritage design: a bibliometric and content analysis. Sustainability, 15(13), 10049.
Madsen, S. (2022). Farm-level pathways to food security: Beyond missing markets and irrational peasants. Agriculture and Human Values, 39(1), 135–150.
Mika, P., Szarzec, J., & Sivertsen, G. (2016). Data quality and consistency in Scopus and Web of Science in their indexing of Czech Journals. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (STI 2016), València, Spain, 1–7.
Mohyeddin, Z. (2024). Cultural identity in a globalized world: Navigating tradition and modernity. Frontiers in Humanities and Social Research, 1(3), 106–115.
Niko, N. (2019). Diversity Development: Studies from Local Wisdom of Dayak in the Border Community of Indonesia-Malaysia. Jurnal Empirika, 4(2), 174–182.
Owens, K., & Owens, K. (2015). Visuospatial reasoning in cultural activities in Papua New Guinea. Visuospatial Reasoning: An Ecocultural Perspective for Space, Geometry and Measurement Education, 141–203.
Pagano, U. (2023). Sociological explorations of food: Interconnections, aesthetics, and rituals in culinary practices. Science & Philosophy, 11(1), 140–157.
Partarakis, N., Kaplanidi, D., Doulgeraki, P., Karuzaki, E., Petraki, A., Metilli, D., Bartalesi, V., Adami, I., Meghini, C., & Zabulis, X. (2021). Representation and presentation of culinary tradition as cultural heritage. Heritage, 4(2), 612–640.
Patra, J. (n.d.). FOOD AS A SOCIAL SYMBOL AND EXPLORING ITS CULTURAL ROLE: VIEW FROM SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD.
Pugra, I. W., Kencanawati, A. A. A. M., & Kurniawan, I. G. W. A. (2025). The cultural significance of traditional foods in shaping Indonesian social identity: Challenges and preservation strategies. Journal of Language, Literature, Social and Cultural Studies, 3(1), 21–31.
Rane, S., & Thakker, D. S. (2023). Development of Sustainable tableware from waste. ScienceOpen Preprints.
Rosenmann, A., Reese, G., & Cameron, J. E. (2016). Social identities in a globalized world: Challenges and opportunities for collective action. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(2), 202–221.
Rupiassa, D. A. A., Lattu, I. Y. M., & Therik, W. M. A. (n.d.). Narratives, Symbols, and Rituals: Oral Tradition in Indigenous Resistance to Development Structuralism in West Papua, Indonesia. Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif, 19(1), 27–46.
Santilli, J. (2015). The recognition of foods and food-related knowledge and practices as an intangible cultural heritage. Demetra: Food, Nutrition & Health, 10(3), 585–607.
Saputra, R. (2024). Governance Frameworks and Cultural Preservation in Indonesia. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 11(3), 25–50.
Shabrilia, F., Maheswari, N., Adhiatma, T., Tanaya, M., & Pandin, M. (2022). Association between cultural awareness and nationalism of millennial generation in the digital era. Academy of Education Journal, 13 (2), 224-236.
Sharma, S. (2014). Sustainable Culinary Practices. 2014). Managing Sustainability in The Hospitality and Tourism Industry: Paradigms and Directions for the Future, 303–334.
Shinta, R. (2025). Makna Simbolik Makanan Tradisional Pinyaram dalam Upacara Batagak Penghulu di Nagari Baringin Palembayan. Universitas Andalas.
Sidik, M. D. H. (2023). Religious dynamics and traditional beliefs in the Ruwat Laut ritual amidst the pandemic crisis. Journal of Contemporary Rituals and Traditions, 1(2), 99–110.
Singh, V. K., Singh, P., Karmakar, M., Leta, J., & Mayr, P. (2021). The journal coverage of Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics, 126, 5113–5142.
Stigliani, I., & Ravasi, D. (2018). The shaping of form: Exploring designers’ use of aesthetic knowledge. Organization Studies, 39(5–6), 747–784.
Sun, Y., Wu, I.-W., & Lin, R. (2022). Transforming “ritual cultural features” into “modern product forms”: A case study of ancient Chinese ritual vessels. Religions, 13(6), 517.
Ta?k?n, B. (2016). Daily life objects, interaction of cultures and the selected Izmir homes. Izmir Institute of Technology (Turkey).
Tsai, S. (2024). Cultural Symbols and Design Innovation in Taiwanese Rice Cake Molds.
Ustianti, S. P. (2025). Interaksi manusia dan kebudayaan. Mosaik Peradaban: Interaksi Manusia Dan Kebudayaan, 70.
Vishwakarma, N., Jaiswal, A., & Verma, M. (2025). Introduction to Culinary Heritage. In Quality Assurance of Ethno-Herbals: Cultivating Confidence in Alternative Medicine (pp. 1–15). Bentham Science Publishers.
Visser, M. (2015). The rituals of dinner: The origins, evolution, eccentricities, and meaning of table manners. Open Road Media.
Vrabel, M. (2015). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Number 5/September 2015, 42(5), 552–554.
Walker, S., Mullagh, L., Evans, M., & Wang, Y. (2019). Design ecologies: sustaining ethno-cultural significance of products through urban ecologies of creative practice. International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology, 3, 1–33.
Wu, J., Ju, L.-H., Lin, P.-H., & Lyu, Y. (2022). The relationship between form and ritual in cultural sustainability. Sustainability, 14(15), 9157.
Xia, N., & Chen, W. H. (2021). A study of the differences in consumers’ green behavior in the selection of tableware. In Computational Social Science (pp. 293–301). CRC Press.
Yu, Z., Pashkevych, K., Wen, X., Du, Z., & Zheng, W. (2024). Exploration and Research on the Design of Traditional Bamboo Weaving In Modern Furniture under the Application of Artificial Intelligence. Pakistan Journal of Life & Social Sciences, 22(2).
Zarucchi, J. M. (2018). The Material Culture of Tableware.
Zhu, J., & Liu, W. (2020). A tale of two databases: the use of Web of Science and Scopus in academic
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Victor M I Mambraku, Nuning Yanti Damayanti, Yannes Martinus Pasaribu, Adhi Nugraha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish their manuscripts in this journal agree to the following conditions:
- The copyright on each article belongs to the author(s).
- The author acknowledges that the Dinasti International Journal of Education Management and Social Science (DIJEMSS) has the right to be the first to publish with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors can submit articles separately, arrange for the non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal into other versions (e.g., sent to the author's institutional repository, publication into books, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time in the Dinasti International Journal of Education Management and Social Science (DIJEMSS).
