4.1. The Process of Transmission of Smong as Disaster Knowledge

The smong narrative has been passed down orally from generation to generation. Typically, parents share smong stories during various everyday moments with their children. Some parents tell these stories as bedtime tales while gently rocking their children to sleep. Even today, many parents in Simeulue continue the tradition of lulling infants to sleep in cradles or hammocks, often accompanied by stories or humming. One of the stories frequently told is the smong narrative—a tale resembling a folktale but rooted in real historical events, particularly the 1907 earthquake and tsunami. These stories recount the signs of an impending tsunami and instruct what actions should be taken in response to them.

Back then, our elders, our grandmothers, used to tell us stories while rocking us to sleep. They would say, “When an earthquake hits and the sea recedes, that’s a tsunami coming.” That story has been repeated over and over until today. — Informant PN (age 38).

This quote illustrates not only the transfer of factual information but also the embedding of disaster awareness within affective and embodied caregiving routines. The bedtime setting allows the message to become emotionally encoded, making it memorable and trustworthy. This aligns with Rogers’ diffusion theory, which emphasizes the importance of interpersonal communication in familiar, high-trust environments as effective channels for innovation adoption.

The smong narrative is frequently shared during communal or everyday social activities. A particular incident often triggers storytelling. For example, according to PN (age 38), during burial preparation, young men digging a grave might unexpectedly discover sea snails or other marine objects buried inland. Elder community members witnessing the event would then recount the story of the 1907 smong, explaining how such objects were carried ashore by massive tsunami waves.

People would say, “During the tsunami, objects like these were swept inland because of the strength of the waves, which took many lives.” — Informant PN (age 38).

This form of triggered storytelling activated by visual cues or shared rituals demonstrates the contextual adaptability of the smong narrative. It also shows the use of local ecological markers (e.g., marine objects found inland) as evidence, reinforcing the story’s relevance and observability (another key trait in Rogers’ model).

Such storytelling is common in family circles. These stories are often triggered by small earthquakes, prompting community members to recall past events. As UV (age 17) noted: “Usually, when a small earthquake happens, people are reminded of previous, stronger ones that eventually led to smong.” These reminders not only retell historical events but also convey disaster preparedness. For example, NY (age 16) recalled the following: “They said, in the past, if the sea recedes, we should go up the hill, not down, to gather fish. This is because a wave will follow. Don’t be deceived.” Similarly, SK (age 44) stated the following: “Usually when there’s an earthquake, parents will begin telling their children about smong.” These quotes reflect how intergenerational oral transmission operates as a dynamic feedback mechanism: Each new event (even minor) reactivates the collective memory and reinforces behavioral scripts. This practice sustains smong not merely as passive heritage but as living knowledge continuously refreshed through context and emotion.

The transmission of smong also appears to rely heavily on homophilous trust networks, namely family units where the credibility of the speaker (parents, grandparents) directly shapes the acceptance of the message. This is consistent with Rogers’ emphasis on successful diffusion within socially similar groups. Despite its widespread presence in family life, not all households emphasize smong storytelling. While not explicitly stated by participants in this section, later findings in the study suggest that there are varying degrees of narrative retention and belief, hinting at potential generational or household-level inconsistencies in the narratives. This aspect should be further explored in future research to understand the conditions under which narrative transmission may weaken.

The cultural modality of storytelling also bears mentioning. The use of imperatives (“don’t go down to collect fish,” “run to the hills”) and vivid, sometimes poetic language (“don’t be deceived”) suggests the presence of oral-formulaic elements that support memorability and compliance. These are more than informational statements; they are emotionally coded injunctions that construct a moral geography of safety.

In summary, the transmission of smong as disaster knowledge in Simeulue relies on multiple overlapping strategies: nightly storytelling in intimate settings, triggered narrative recall during culturally significant rituals, and spontaneous reminders in response to minor seismic activity. These pathways reflect an adaptive, embodied, and emotionally resonant form of risk communication that operates outside formal systems yet persists with remarkable consistency.

4.2. Channels of Information Dissemination in the Community

The dissemination of smong narratives occurs across multiple community-based platforms and through cultural expressions. These channels, both traditional and contemporary, complement each other in reinforcing community knowledge about tsunami risk and response. Table 2 (Howaldt et al., 2021) identifies and analyzes four key thematic modes through which smong is communicated across Simeuluean society: (1) traditional oral storytelling, (2) cultural performative transmission, (3) formal institutional education, and (4) digital or media-based platforms. Each mode was examined for its communicative characteristics, trust levels, generational reach, and alignment with the DOI theory.

The table above illustrates that the diffusion of smong operates through a multilayered network of oral, performative, institutional, and digital communication channels that coexist and complement one another. Traditional oral storytelling remains the most trusted and affectively grounded medium, sustained through kinship and everyday conversations that reinforce interpersonal credibility and moral responsibility. Performative expressions such as nandong smong enhance narrative observability and memorability by transforming disaster memories into collective cultural performances, although their influence among younger generations has diminished. Formal dissemination through schools represents a crucial stage of institutionalization, bridging cultural heritage with formal disaster education; however, it often lacks the emotional intimacy characteristic of oral networks. Meanwhile, digital platforms expand the accessibility and speed of disaster-related information but depend on local interpretation to maintain trust and contextual relevance.

These communication channels demonstrate that the diffusion of smong does not follow a linear trajectory but rather a layered and adaptive model in which each medium fulfills distinct functions across generations. Oral and performative communication anchor memory and identity, institutional education ensures continuity, and digital systems enhance speed and scalability. This hybrid structure reinforces Rogers (1983; 2003)’s argument that interpersonal communication and homophily remain central during the persuasion and adoption stages of diffusion, while mass and hybrid media contribute to the confirmation and reinforcement of these processes. Ultimately, the coexistence of these communicative modes underscores the resilience of smong as a living information system, one that integrates traditional authority, cultural emotion, and modern technology into a cohesive framework for sustaining indigenous knowledge in the digital age.

4.3. Community Actors and Knowledge Carriers

In the context of indigenous disaster knowledge, such as the oral transmission of smong in Simeulue, this study distinguishes between “community actors” and “knowledge carriers.” Community actors refer to individuals or institutions that play a role in disseminating, reinforcing, or institutionalizing disaster-related messages, regardless of whether they originate the content. Knowledge carriers, on the other hand, are those who possess lived or inherited knowledge of smong and actively transfer this knowledge through oral, performative, or pedagogical practices. These two categories may overlap; however, their roles and reach often differ depending on age, authority, and social proximity to the audience of the message. To identify these actors and carriers, this study explored the everyday communication practices of local communities (Rogers, 1983; 2003). Table 3 identifies and analyzes the types of actors and their roles in smong transmission, including: primary member, function in knowledge diffusion, trust and communication characteristics, and general reach.

In summary, the ecosystem of smong knowledge in Simeulue is sustained by a diverse and interacting network of actors: elders, parents, teachers, and government agencies, each playing a distinct role in dissemination. Their influence is shaped by relational proximity, perceived authority, communication context, and emotional resonance. This multilayered network, comprising both formal and informal agents, preserves the resilience of disaster memory even amid social transformation, migration, and technological change. The coexistence of informal and formal diffusion channels ensures that smong endures as a living information system, adaptable to evolving technologies and societal shifts while maintaining its cultural essence.

5.1. Smong as a Community-Driven, Non-Technological Innovation

Smong represents a distinctive case of community-driven innovation that emerged organically from collective experience rather than institutional design. After the catastrophic tsunami of 1907, the people of Simeulue transformed their collective trauma into a structured oral narrative that evolved into a behavioral guide for subsequent generations. Unlike top-down early warning systems developed by governments or scientific institutions, smong operates through a bottom-up mechanism. It embodies a form of community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), emphasizing active community participation throughout all phases of the disaster cycle (Zhang & Izumi, 2024).

Smong exemplifies what scholars describe as social innovation, the collective reconfiguration of practices, values, and social relationships to address shared problems more effectively and equitably than existing solutions (Hains & Hains, 2020). In the context of DRR, smong functions not only as cultural heritage but also as a socially embedded innovation that reshapes how communities perceive, interpret, and respond to natural hazards. Its innovative nature lies not in the creation of new materials or technologies but in transforming everyday behaviors, cultural norms, and networks of trust into mechanisms for survival.

The Mentawai people also possess distinctive local wisdom for coping with natural disasters. This wisdom, rooted in lived experience, once saved many lives in Tumale, Silabu Village, during the 2010 tsunami. All the residents of Tumale survived because they used a small tuddukat, a traditional wooden percussion instrument, to warn others of the approaching waves. Traditionally, the tuddukat serves as a communication tool among tribesmen. However, its function as a tsunami early warning system (TEWS) proved limited across the Mentawai Islands. This limitation occurred because the tuddukat was not originally designed for disaster alerts and the tsunami’s travel time was extremely short, only about five to ten minutes (Zulfadrim et al., 2018). The 2010 event demonstrated that indigenous knowledge is only effective when the social and cultural systems sustaining it remain active and collective. This comparative perspective reveals that not all indigenous systems diffuse with the same durability. Smong’s persistence contrasts sharply with more situational systems such as the Mentawai tuddukat. It demonstrates that cultural embedding, memory infrastructure, and intergenerational trust are decisive factors in sustaining community-based innovations.

This contrasts with smong, which was explicitly developed as a TEWS and is continuously practiced through narrative, emotion, and institutional integration. The DOI depends not only on the characteristics of the message but also on the channels through which it is transmitted and the social structures that sustain its circulation. Howaldt et al. (2021) emphasizes that social movements and new communication forms play a central role in the diffusion of social innovation. de Oliveira et al. (2022) further argue that adoption mechanisms for non-technological innovations differ from those for technological ones: Social factors, trust, and collective perception are often more influential than rational assessments of benefit. The diffusion of social innovations thus relies on networks of trust and shared social norms.

The oral repetition of smong across generations creates a shared memory infrastructure, ensuring that knowledge persists even in the absence of technology or institutional mediation. In this sense, smong demonstrates that the diffusion of social innovations operates through cultural continuity and interpersonal trust rather than through linear channels or centralized authority. Furthermore, Simeuluean society maintains a close kinship-based social structure in which nuclear and extended families play pivotal roles in social life. These familial networks facilitate the intergenerational transmission of smong narratives and accelerate the adoption of disaster knowledge. As noted by Salih (2007), internal communication systems such as kinship, rituals, and community deliberations function as effective mechanisms for disseminating social innovations.

In this context, the role of communication channels is central to understanding why smong has remained such a resilient and adaptive knowledge system. Face-to-face communication serves as the primary channel through which smong is transmitted, as interpersonal exchanges within kinship networks provide the emotional credibility necessary for communities to internalize the narrative (Rochim et al., 2020; Rogers, 2003; Suhadah et al., 2021; Valente & Davis, 1999). In the early stages of the crisis, face-to-face interactions were more common and preferred by both rural and urban communities (Rumata, 2017). Although oral communication is intimate and trustworthy, it is also time-bound and geographically limited (Cui et al., 2020; Izumi et al., 2019). Therefore, during large-scale disasters, public panic increases, making mass broadcasting systems necessary for effective communication (Rahmi et al., 2019; Rogers, 2003). Younger generations increasingly complement ancestral narratives with digital updates from the BMKG (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika [Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency]) through platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. In addition to receiving oral stories about smong, young people on Simeulue Island now use social media to access real-time disaster information, particularly regarding earthquakes and tsunamis. They also follow seismic updates from BMKG through platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

5.2. Reinterpreting Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Theory

This study extends Rogers’ DOI theory by situating it within non-technological dynamics. Izumi et al. (2019) demonstrated that DRR innovations are not always associated with advanced technology. Of the ten most effective DRR innovations surveyed, six were non-technological approaches, with community-based DRR ranked as the most effective. This finding indicates that innovation does not necessarily involve tools or high technology but may instead take the form of participatory and social practices that strengthen local capacities. de Oliveira et al. (2022) similarly showed that the use of masks in Brazil represents a clear case of non-technological innovation. The mask is not a technological product but a social innovation designed to prevent future risks. While Rogers (2003) originally conceptualized innovation diffusion to explain the spread of new technologies, products, and formal practices, this study adapts that framework to examine how indigenous oral knowledge functions within cultural, emotional, and moral systems.

In the case of smong, diffusion occurs not through institutional mechanisms, mass media campaigns, or economic incentives but through affective, kinship-based, and culturally embedded communication channels. Smong, as an indigenous disaster narrative, functions as a social innovation rooted in collective memory and sustained through ritualized oral performance. The diffusion process in this context shows that innovation does not necessarily require technological mediation; rather, it may emerge from lived experience and moral communication within a social system. Similar to the findings of de Oliveira et al. (2022), the practice of mask-wearing functions not merely as a medical measure but as a form of social innovation that reshapes behavior through shared norms and trust.

Rogers (1983; 2003) identifies five key attributes that influence the adoption of innovations: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. In the case of smong, these attributes manifest in distinct cultural forms.

5.3. Diffusion of DRR Innovations Based on Indigenous Knowledge

Smong demonstrates that innovation in DRR can emerge from bottom-up knowledge production, created, practiced, and sustained by communities themselves. This finding aligns with the SFDRR 2015-2030, which explicitly calls for integrating local and scientific knowledge in disaster risk management, policy development, and implementation. The framework also recognizes the vital contribution of indigenous peoples’ experiences to the design and operation of early warning systems (UNESDOC, 2019). Furthermore, smong supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by strengthening local capacities to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disasters through culturally grounded mechanisms (United Nations, 2025). Indonesia’s DRR policy framework has increasingly recognized the use of indigenous knowledge as an effective component of risk communication (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, & United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2021). Although this recognition is reflected in practice and policy discourse, it has not yet been explicitly articulated in the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Regulation No. 1 of 2025 concerning the National Disaster Management Master Plan 2025-2029.

This study proposes a smong diffusion model that explains how disaster knowledge rooted in community experience evolves into an institutionalized disaster communication system. The process consists of four stages: innovation, transmission, adoption, and institutionalization (Fig. 1). These stages illustrate the dynamic transformation of smong from an oral narrative into a structured, community-based DRR model. The model bridges the conceptual gap between Rogers’ DOI theory (Rogers, 1983; 2003) and contemporary frameworks of socially embedded innovation (Roysen et al., 2024). It highlights cultural innovations that diffuse not through mass media, but through kinship, shared memory, and moral communication within the community.

Fig. 1

The smong diffusion model. BPBD, Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (Curriculum inclusion, Regional Disaster Management Agency); DRR, disaster risk reduction.

The first stage is innovation. This stage marks the origin of smong as a social innovation that emerged from the collective trauma and ecological observations of the Simeulue community. After the 1907 tsunami, survivors on the island transformed their experiences into a moral narrative that encoded evacuation instructions for future earthquakes and tsunamis. Unlike technological innovations, smong does not originate from scientific research or institutional design. It represents a bottom-up innovation developed through communal reflection and shared storytelling.

The second stage is transmission. The diffusion of smong does not occur through institutional media but through affective communication networks. Transmission takes place via family storytelling, bedtime narratives, nandong smong performances, and even inclusion in school materials and programs organized by the BPBD. This demonstrates that disaster knowledge circulates through trusted interpersonal channels and carries emotional resonance. This process aligns with Howaldt et al. (2021)’s concept of performative diffusion, in which innovations are continuously reproduced within networks of social practice. In Simeulue, families function as the primary diffusion nodes, followed by neighborhoods, schools, mosques, and cultural gatherings. Each act of retelling is not merely the transmission of information but a re-enactment of the innovation itself, embedding it more deeply into the community’s social fabric. Smong attains resilience not only through repetition but also through re-enactment, a process through which innovation becomes a living component of social identity.

The third stage is adoption, marking the transformation of shared beliefs into habitual behavior. Community trust in ancestral narratives, reinforced by elders and religious leaders, legitimizes smong as a binding social norm. Unlike efficiency-driven technological adoption, the adoption of smong is sustained through trust-based diffusion (de Oliveira et al., 2022). This stage represents the social consolidation of knowledge into collective responsibility, where remembering becomes synonymous with survival.

The fourth stage is institutionalization, referring to the integration of smong within formal structures such as disaster mitigation outreach, education, and cultural identity. Following the 2004 tsunami, local and national institutions recognized smong as an exemplary CBDRR model. The Simeulue BPBD incorporated smong terminology into evacuation training, while schools integrated smong narratives into local curricula and simulation exercises. Cultural organizations institutionalized nandong smong performances at annual commemorative events, and local communities adopted the term smong as a substitute for “tsunami.” Institutionalization transformed smong from an oral heritage into a policy-relevant knowledge system. However, it also presents new challenges: the risk of heritagization, where lived practices become mere symbolic artifacts, and the need to preserve emotional authenticity amid bureaucratic adaptation. To remain effective, institutionalized smong must retain its performative dimensions: ritual, narrative, and local ownership, while being adapted for formal disaster education and national DRR strategies.

The smong diffusion model asserts that indigenous knowledge follows a distinct cultural logic that differs from technological innovation. The process is cyclical and performative: Innovations emerge from lived experience, are transmitted through trust, adopted through shared identity, and institutionalized through recognition and education. This model contributes both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, it extends Rogers’ diffusion framework into the realm of social and cultural innovation, emphasizing emotional communication, kinship networks, and performative embodiment. Practically, the model offers a framework for integrating indigenous knowledge into DRR policies. It demonstrates how indigenous knowledge such as smong can evolve from an oral tradition into a governance culture without losing its communal essence. As a living innovation model, smong underscores that resilience is cultivated not only through infrastructure or technology but also through the enduring power of shared narratives and collective memory.