ABSTRACT
The Banjarese merchants’ capabilities to expand their business cannot be separated from their Islamic local syncretism practice. The survival and competing abilities of Sekumpul merchants are supported by their ability to maintain Islamic values. The values are implemented in their everyday life depicted in the relation with societies and other fellow merchants. For them, Islamic values appear as protecting mechanism for their activities. This article investigates and explores the local values that perform as stretching factors in boosting entrepreneurship spirit in Banjarese merchants. The article is produced by examining various literature about Banjarese merchants, Islam, and intertwined relations between them. Moreover, the article also investigates a connection between local values and entrepreneurship spirits. The primary data is collected by interviewing several Banjarese merchants in Sekumpul Martapura. The research found that understanding local values with religious value ethics becomes a driving factor in developing entrepreneurship spirit among Banjarese merchants. The obedience to Islamic norms encourages trading practice among Muslim traders in Sekumpul. In other words, Islam influences the practice of economic endeavors. The understanding of the concepts of baibadah and bausaha has dynamically influenced their economic practices. Islam has become a driving factor and ethos-forming.
