Animism and Language Evolution

The exact mechanism of the evolution of language remains unknown. One of the central problems in this field is the issue of reliability and deceit that can be characterized in terms of honest signaling theory. Communication systems become vulnerable to dishonesty and deceit when there are conflicting interests between the signaler and receiver. The handicap principle explains how evolution can prevent animals from deceiving each other even if they have a strong incentive to do so. It suggests that the signals must be costly in order to provide accurate and reliable communication between animals. Language-like communication systems, being inherently vulnerable to deception, could only evolve and become evolutionarily stable if they had some mechanisms that can make the communication hard to fake and trustworthy. One of the theories that try to solve the problem of reliability and deception is the ritual/speech coevolution hypothesis. According to this theory, hard-to-fake rituals evolved concurrently with language - by reinforcing trust and solidarity among early humans and preventing deceitful and manipulative behavior within the group. One of the drawbacks of this hypothesis is that the relationship between ritual and speech is too indirect. Rituals could not have a real-time effect on every instance of speech and encompass all aspects of everyday language communication. Therefore they are not efficient enough to provide instant verification mechanisms to guarantee honest communication. It is more likely that the animistic nature of language itself, rather than ritual, was the handicap-like cost that helped to ensure the reliability of language during its origin. The belief in the parallel dimension of animistic spirits emerged concurrently with language as a hard-to-fake attestation mechanism that ensured inviolability of one's speech. The notion that animism emerged because of early behaviorally modern humans’ incoherent and flawed observations about the natural world is unlikely, because it implies a very improbable scenario, that there had been a more coherent and rational pre-animistic period which later degraded to animistic one.

KAJIAN LINGUISTIK KEBUDAYAAN DALAM TUTURAN RITUAL SÈF ALUMAMA MASYARAKAT BOTI DI NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR [Anthropolinguistic Study of Sèf Alumama Ritual Speech in Boti Community East Nusa Tenggara]

Anthropolinguistics studies examines linguistic phenomena based on a linguistic scientific perspective and not cultural studies. The phenomenon of language is the phenomenon used e in various events. This study examines Sef Alumama’ ritual speech in the Boti community. The data in this study are recorded, transcribed, translated, and coded with the principle of managing corpus data. Specific theories and methods are used to answer the question of how is the study of anthropolinguistics applying in the ritual speech 'Sef Alumama' at the Boti community in East Nusa Tenggara ? The main theory in this research is anthropolinguistics theory with cognitive semiotic theory as a specific theory. The results showed that a lexicon has linguistic attributes connected textually and intertextually. This lexicon or lingual form can be visualized in a cognitive map based on linguistic principles. Furthermore, Dawan's morphosyntaxis shows specific characteristics in the use of pronouns. In-depth studies conclude that the pronoun is used as a semantic interpretation and harmonization of oral literary sounds.Linguistik kebudayaan menjadi ranah pengkajian bahasa yang menelaah fenomena kebahasaan berdasarkan sudut pandang keilmuan linguistik dan bukan kajian budaya. Fenomena kebahasaan adalah fenomena penggunaan bahasa dalam berbagai perisiwa. Penelitian ini mengkaji tuturan ritual sef alu mama pada masyrakat Boti. Data dalam penelitian ini ialah tuturan ritual yang direkam, ditranskrip, ditranslasi, dan dikodekan dengan prinsip pengelolahan data korpus. Teori dan metode yang spesifik digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan bagaimana kajian linguistik kebudayaan dalam tuturan ritual ‘sef alu mama’ pada masyarkat Boti di Nusa Tenggara Timur. Teori payung dalam penelitian ini ialah teori linguistik kebudayaan dengan teori semiotik kognitif sebagai teori spesifik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebuah leksikon memiliki atribut kebahasaan yang dapat bergayut secara tekstual bahkan intertekstual. Leksikon atau bentuk lingual ini dapat divisualisasikan dalam peta kognitif berdasarkan prinsip kebahasaan. Lebih lanjut, morfosintaksis bahasa Dawan menunjukkan ciri spesifik dalam penggunaan pronomina. Kajian mendalam menyimpukan bahwa pronomina tersebut digunakan sebagai pemaknaan secara semantis dan harmonisasi bunyi sastra lisan.

TUTURAN RITUAL MALABUH PADA MASYARAKAT BANJAR KALIMANTAN SELATAN (RITUAL SPEECH MALABUH IN BANJAR COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KALIMANTAN)

Ritual Speech Malabuh In Banjar Community of South Kalimantan. This study aimed to determine the structure, function, and to analyze the ritual speech of malabuh meaning in Banjar community, South Kalimantan. In examining this problem, researchers used a qualitative research with descriptive method. Sources of data in this study were some data of ritual speech that obtained from 10 informants who have experience in performing malabuh ritual. Data collection techniques used interview through recording the spoken speech by informants. Data analysis used transcription, identification, classification, and inference of data to determine the structure, function, and meaning of ritual speech. The result of the research concludes that the structure of the malabuh ritual speech has a structure consisting of one (1) verse, which is a maximum of 7 lines and a minimum of 1 line. This ritual speechs have the complete sentence structure and have structural elements consisting of greeting, intention, and purpose. Ritual speech of malabuh was functioned as an introduction or a tool to invoke God's power, either directly or through an intermediary by the mystical crocodile which is believed have the power to provide protection or to eliminate the disturbance. The ritual speech that analyzed with hermeneutic approach performed significantly as a communication medium for serving malabuh ritual offerings. Key words: malabuh, ritual speech, mystical crocodile, banjar community Abstrak Tuturan Ritual Malabuh pada Masyarakat Banjar Kalimantan Selatan. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui struktur, fungsi, dan menganalisis makna tuturan ritual malabuh pada masyarakat Banjar, Kalimantan Selatan. Dalam mengkaji masalah ini peneliti menggunakan jenis penelitian kualitatif dengan metode deskriptif. Sumber data dalam penelitian ini adalah data tuturan ritual yang didapat dari 10 informan yang memiliki pengalaman melakukan ritual malabuh. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan teknik wawancara melalui perekaman dan pencatatan tuturan lisan yang diucapkan oleh informan. Analisis data yang digunakan dengan pentraskripsian data, pengidentifikasian data, pengklasifikasian data, dan penyimpulan data untuk mengetahui struktur, fungsi, dan makna tuturan ritual malabuh. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa struktur tuturan ritual malabuh memiliki struktur yang terdiri dari terdiri dari satu (1) bait, dimana berjumlah paling banyak 7 baris dan paling sedikit 1 baris. Tuturan ritual malabuh ini memiliki struktur kalimat yang lengkap dan memiliki unsur pembangun struktur yang terdiri dari salam pembuka, unsur niat, dan unsur tujuan. Fungsi tuturan ritual malabuh sebagai pengantar atau alat untuk memohon kekuasaan Tuhan, baik secara langsung maupun melalui perantara buaya gaib yang dipercaya memiliki kekuatan untuk memberikan perlindungan atau dihilangkan gangguan yang sedang dihadapi. Tuturan ritual yang dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan hermeneutik bermakna sebagai media komunikasi untuk menyajikan sajian ritual malabuh tersebut. Kata-kata kunci : malabuh, tuturan ritual, buaya gaib, masyarakat banjar

Pembelajaran Terintegrasi Budaya Lokal Melalui Tradisi Maccera Siwanua

Indonesia as a multicultural nation rich in various local wisdom, becomes the basis of the importance of local cultural integarasi in education in building the culture of life. This study presents a finding of creative learning potential through understanding the value contained as a form of cultural wealth in Alitta Village, Mattiro Bulu Subdistrict, Pinrang Regency. This study uses an ethnographic approach, which aims to explain and describe how the process and cultural values contained related to Maccera Siwanua. Alitta indigenous peoples are a group of people who have ancestral origins (hereditary) in a certain geographic region and have their own system of values, ideology, economy, politics, culture, social and region. This tradition is one of the products of local culture passed down through generations by ancestors who still exist and survive until the current era of globalization, in addition, cultural values are attached simultaneously at every stage of the ritual. Speech and deeds of leaders and ritual societies become the main focus to uncover these cultural values. Maccera Siwanua ritual in Alitta society, produces cultural values that can at least be used as a reference in pedidikan and living a better daily life, such as piety to The One True God, mutual respect, innate good heart, unity, and deliberation.

Headless Relative Clauses in Southeastern Tepehuan (O'dam)

Varieties of headless relative clauses in the Uto-Aztecan language Southeastern Tepehuan (O’dam) are discussed, together with two related constructions: wh- interrogative clauses and headed relative clauses. O’dam encodes relative clauses using two strategies: nominalization and finite clause formation. Unlike most of the Uto-Aztecan family, O’dam uses the nominalization strategy only in ritual speech. Elsewhere, the language uses the general subordinator particle na to introduce all types of embedded clauses: adverbial, completive, and relative. This mode of subordination is typologically interesting for the Uto-Aztecan family because it results in an innovative strategy: finite clauses instead of nominalization. O’dam distinguishes between headed and headless relative clauses. Unlike headed relative clauses, headless relative clauses in O’dam lack a nominal head and require a wh-word. Two main varieties are attested: free relative clauses (maximal and existential, but not free choice) and light-headed relative clauses.

MORRIS’ SEMIOTIC IN RELIGION PERCEPTION AND CONCEPTION IN GANE OF POLINAKI TRADITIONAL WEDDING RITUAL IN KULAWI ETHNIC

The purpose of this research is to examine the concept of religion in Gane, a ritual speech which is still alive and practiced by Kulawi ethnic in Sigi regency, Central Sulawesi. Nowadays, Gane ritual speech is no longer in demand by most of the Kulawi ethnic, especially the educated young generation, because they have been eroded by the influence of modernization and globalization in addition to the influence of the entry of religion held by the majority of the Kulawi ethnic today and modern education. The text of Gane is obtained from a ritual speech named Polinaki which is contained in traditional wedding in Kulawi. The text is analyzed qualitatively using behavioral semiotic approach proposed by Charles Morris. Behavioral semiotic is creating a particular action or behavior to achieve a certain goal and applying syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic dimensions for analyzing a text. The results show that in syntactic dimension, Gane is a text with literary style consisting of unique characteristics in terms of structure, function, and meanings. In semantic dimension, Gane holds contextual, emotive, conative, and poetic meanings observed through its function. In pragmatic dimension, the impacts of Gane influence the perception and conception of religion.

‘Pour out libation to all the gods!’

Ritual speech in many languages around the world shows grammar distinct from grammar used in daily speech. In Northern Prinmi ritual speech we found a significant use of two exhaustive constructions, one of which is not attested in daily speech; the other is only minimally attested. We argue that exhaustive constructions are strong expressions of the utmost degree which makes them particularly useful to the serious occasions in which ritual speech is used, such as when pronouncing blessings or invoking the gods. We also discuss two possible grammaticalization pathways, but find no conclusive evidence for either.

Memory, Desire, and “Magic”: Smará in the Atharvaveda

This essay analyzes the interconnection between memory, desire, and verbal performance in the three so called “women’s love spells” in Atharvaveda 6.130–132. This study unpacks the many interconnected meanings of the term smará, which is used repeatedly in these poems, “memory”, “desire”, or “efficacious ritual speech”. I challenge the traditional definition of these texts as “magical” and argue that applying “magic” as an analytical category to ancient Hindu texts is deeply problematic. Instead, I propose that these poems are better understood in their historical and religious context as examples of ritual speech.