An Anthropolinguistic Study on Local Wisdom Embodied in Lexicons

of Community System in Kampung Adat Urug

Mahmud Fasya and Seimma Nurul Prahikmahtin

Departement of Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Universitas Pendidika Indonesia, Dr. Setiabudhi Street,

Bandung, Indonesia

mahmud_fasya@upi.edu

Keywords: Anthropolinguistic, Community System, Lexicon, Local Wisdom.

Abstract: The paper reports a study on local wisdom embodied in lexicons of community system in Kampung Adat

Urug. The location of Kampung Adat Urug is in Bogor region, West Java. This study used

anthropolinguistic approach by focusing on communication using ethnography model. The results showed

that lexicons of community system in Kampung Adat Urug can be categorized into five groups, namely

community organization system, community event, place of community event, community system, and

community rules. In relation to the function, the lexicons reflect seven functions, namely individual, social,

knowledge, economic, reliance, social stratification, and leadership (surveillance). As it talks about local

wisdom, the lexicons displays the values of welfare, discipline, health, mutual cooperation, cultural

preservation and creativity, environmental concern, commitment, and positive thinking (gratefulness). The

present study evinces the noteworthy of preserving the lexicons. It is a counteraction to language attitude

performed by the people of Kampung Adat Urug. As in the context of community system, they start to use

modern lexicons. The respective situation will indirectly intimidate the existence of local lexicons and local

wisdom successively.

1 INTRODUCTION

Local wisdom is a labyrinth issue. However, the

reflection of local wisdom can be seen from existing

lexicons used by a community. Wierzbicka (1997)

stated that word reflects and describes speaker’s

characteristic in life or in thinking, even more so,

provides invaluable clue to understand speaker’s

culture.

Kampung Adat Urug is an indigenous village in

Sukajaya, Bogor Regency, West Java. In this place,

the people produce lexicons, for many contexts, that

reflect their tradition or local wisdom. One of which

is in the context of community system. In the

community, the leader, called ketua adat, is elected

by wangsit. Wangsit is a whisper from supernatural

force. The people of Kampung Adat Urug believe

that wangsit comes from their ancestor spirit.

Therefore, they believe that disaster will happen by

disobeying wangsit.

The example above proves that language is

interrelated to culture. Sibarani (2004) stated that

culture is a collection of practices which display the

capacity (knowledge, action, or thing) of people to

form social harmony. It is undeniable that culture

preservation is important. Culture needs to be

transmitted to the later generation. The media to

make it happen is language.

Through language, the experience of people in a

community can be transmitted. The transmitted

experience will be eternal as long as the community

exists. In this sense, what we name as local wisdom

is our ancestor experience (Fajriani, 2014).

Some previous studies have discussed this issue.

It is Prasetyadi et al. (2005). The research title is

Kearifan Orang Sunda di Kampung Urug yang

Terpencil: Tinjauan Psikologi Sosial dan Arsitektur.

By doing indepth interview, partisipant observation,

and documenting some photos, the study displayed

the description of how the people live

psychologically and how that issue relates to the

architecture matter.

Meanwhile, Dewantara (2013) produced a paper

entitled Peran Elit Masyarakat: Studi Kebertahanan

Adat Istiadat di Kampung Adat Urug Bogor. The

study focused of social-cultural change from

empirical data, describing local value, and

644

Fasya, M. and Prahikmahtin, S.

An Anthropolinguistic Study on Local Wisdom Embodied in Lexicons of Community System in Kampung Adat Urug.

DOI: 10.5220/0007172506440648

In Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on Applied Linguistics and the Second English Language Teaching and Technology Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference

on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education (CONAPLIN and ICOLLITE 2017) - Literacy, Culture, and Technology in Language Pedagogy and Use, pages 644-648

ISBN: 978-989-758-332-2

explaining the role of ketua adat to preserve their

local wisdom.

However, Abdullah (2015) inspired the

researchers by conducting a research entitled ‘Local

Wisdom of the Fishermen’s Language and

Livelihood Tradition in Southern Coast of

Kebumen’. The paper evinced that local knowledge

reflected from the way fishermen make use of the

natural environment to make a living. This point

strengthens that there is a close relationship between

human, language, and culture.

As the limited literature demonstrates, this

research to demosntrate a study on local wisdom

embodied in lexicons of community system in

Kampung Adat Urug. By The lexicons will be

classified and analyzed to see the function and the

wisdom embodied in the lexicons. Under the

concept of anthropolinguistic, the present study will

fill the unseen issues about threat of modern lexicon

infiltration and the counteraction to it.

2 METHOD

2.1 Research Design

This research mainly adopted communication

ethnography mode. It was used to study the variation

and the use of language in the context of time, place,

communication, family, ethic custom, reliance, and

ethics of language, custom, and all patterns in a

community.

This research used anthropolinguistic approach.

Anthropolinguistic focuses on the relation between

language and culture in a certain community

(Sibarani, 2004). Furthermore, anthropolinguistic

also concerns about the relation between language

and culture as language is used in social action.

2.2 Research Site

The location of this study was in Kampung Adat

Urug, Sukajaya, Bogor Regency, West Java. This

site is a tourism area. In this site, the community

treat local wisdom as a legacy of the ancestor.

2.3 Data

The data of this research were Sundanese lexicons

used by people in Kampung Adat Urug. The

lexicons were categorized into community

organization system, community event, place of

community event, community system, and

community rules.

2.3.1 Data Source

The data of this research were categorized into

spoken data and written data. The spoken data were

derived from observation and interview. The

respondents were the people of Kampung Adat

Urug, caretaker, and the elders. Furthermore, the

written data referred to ancient references regarding

community system and culture of Kampung Urug.

2.3.2 Data Display

This study used two data display methods, namely

observation and involved conversation. In

observation, the researchers were notinvolved in

conversation. The researcher focused on making

note and recording. In involved converstion, the

researchers were actively involved in conversation.

2.3.3 Data Analysis

In analyzing the data, this study used correlation

method. Rakhmat (1993) stated that this method

explains the relationship of object of study with the

context of situation, social, and culture. In

anthropolinguistic research, language is a dependent

variable, whereas context of situation and context of

social (culture) are independent variable.

The analysis was initiated by studying all data

fro observation, interview, notes, picture, recording,

etc. After that, data reduction was done by

formulating abstract or summary for selecting the

item. Data validation was then implemented.

Furthermore, data translation and data interpretation

to the discourse took into account. In analyzing teh

data, the researchers were accompanied by a key

informant.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The people of Kampung Adat Urug are also

renowned as Kasepuhan. The term refers to the word

sepuh, which in Sundanese, means kolot (old). It

shows a model of leadership system of a community

based on ancestor's will. Kasepuhan is a term from

an outsider to the social group.

At present, the leader of Kampung Adat Urug is

Ki Kolot Ukat Raja who is the 9

generation of the

ancestor. Besides, there are Ki Kolot Amat and Ki

Kolot Tengah who help the leader to govern the

society.

The lexicons of community system in Kampung

Adat Urug can be categorized in five groups, namely

An Anthropolinguistic Study on Local Wisdom Embodied in Lexicons of Community System in Kampung Adat Urug

645

community organization system, community event,

place of community event, community system, and

community rules.

Lexicons of community organization systems are

ketua adat, wakil ketua, sekretaris, wakil sekretaris,

bendahara, wakil bendahara, juru basa/kuncen,

kesenian, juru masak sayur/daging, amil, juru

mawsak nasi, paraji, bagian cai,

pamakaian/pertanian, pengurus daging/ikan, canoli,

pengurus kue, bagian kebersihan, pengurus leuit,

tukang para, pengurus kepegawaian, ketua

pengawas, wakil ketua pengawas, and anggota.

Furtheremore, lexicons of community event are

siekah bumi, sidekah ponggokan, seren taun,

sidekah ruwahan, and maulud nabi.

Lexicons of place of community event are

gedong ageung (gedong), gedong alit, gedong

pangkaleran, leuit, and pawon. There are also

lexicons of community system in terms of babasan

(certain expression). They are hiji sapamili, two

sakarupa, tilu sapamalu (it represents the concept of

life which is guided by the three pillars of life and

mipit amit ngala menta (it represents the concept

that greedy is not acceptable and it is important to

get permission of doing something from the power

of attroney)

In regard to community rules, the lexicons are

mainly about the concepts of life, such as younger

generations are responsible to preserve the velue,

appropriate outfit is neccessary to come in leuit, it is

prohibition to exploiting natural resources, it is

prohibition to dry clothes in the afternoon, it is

prohibition to whistle at home, and it is prohibition

to move trash on Tuesday and Saturday.

The existence of lexicon reflects the life of a

community (Wierzbicka,1997). In relation to the

function, the lexicons reflect seven functions,

namely individual, social, knowledge, economic,

reliance, social stratification, and leadership

(surveillance).

Individual function refers to the role of lexicons

of traditional tool in daily life. Traditional tool icons

in Kampung Adat Urug have individual functions.

The lexicons relate to individual work and activities

that take place as an effort to meet one's individual

needs. As in the lexicon of the Ketua Adat, it relates

to in charge person of preserving the forest and

nature.

Social function refers to the lexicon of social

system in Kampung Adat Urug that acts as a unifier

and marker of cohesiveness. The social function

emerged as inter-indigenous community activities in

Kampung Adat Urug. One of which is the lexicon of

juru masak/daging. Juru masak/daging take care of

everything related to vegetables and meat. One of

the juru masak/daging will act as a boss. He leads all

the cooking activities with his subordinates. It

explains how each united element forms a unity in

carrying out the duties of the Ketua Adat who takes

place for generations. It is under the social function

of society, to build unity and cohesion among human

beings.

The function of knowledge refers to how the

social system lexicons can describe people's

knowledge about how to build a traditional

government. All existing customary devices are

accountable to the supreme leader, the traditional

leader. All positions in the structure of government

are born based on heredity system. The community

cannot vote and set the leader of Kampung Adat

Urug. The rule of government belonging to the

Kampung Adat Urug community is similar to royal

government system. The election of traditional

leader and all other layers of social system comes

from wangsit and the heart of the indigenous Ketua

Adat’s consciousness.

Literally, wangsit means a whisper or a

supernatural sound. The people of Kampung Adat

Urug believe that the wangsit is a whisper of the

ancestor spirits. Wangsit comes from generation to

generation who have blood relation with the

previous traditional leader. Wangsit comes through a

dream or a supernatural whisper.

Economic function refers to the lexicons

associated with the economic system in Kampung

Adat Urug. Lexicon bendahara is a lexicon related

to the money circulation in Kampung Adat Urug.

The duty of bendahara is to receive, store, and

account for the budget out on the implementation of

various activities in Kampung Adat Urug. After the

labeling as a cultural heritage area, Kampung Adat

Urug has national state budget (APBN) from the

government. The bendahara takes care of various

financial matters relating to the APBN.

The social system lexicon used by Kampung

Adat Urug community has a reliance value. The

reason is that the lexicon of the social system is

related to the values of reliance that exists in society.

One of these is the lexicon of Ketua Adat.

The lexicon of ketua adat refers to the title of

traditional leader. Ketua adat controls the social

system, religious system, economic system, and

people's welfare. Ketua adat is elected by wangsit.

Wangsit means a whisper or a supernatural voice.

The people of Kampung Adat Urug believe that the

wangsit is a whisper of the anchestor spirits.

Social stratification based on social criteria

appears in the lexicon of a social system. The

CONAPLIN and ICOLLITE 2017 - Tenth Conference on Applied Linguistics and the Second English Language Teaching and Technology

Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education

646

lexicon relates to the working class, religion, age,

gender, ethnicity, ancestry and others. The lexicon

groups that show the working class, such as juru

basa, paraji, canoli, and juru masak/daging. The

lexicon ketua adat shows a customary leadership in

Kampung Adat Urug. Furthermore, social

stratification is also a stratification related to the

system of government. In social stratification,

political media can be one of the criteria of

classification. People who occupy positions in the

world of politics or government will occupy the

highest strata. People will respect them. People

believe that people who occupy positions in

government have a higher class than others. It results

a social stratification type based on political criteria

that divide social life into two major groups. First,

the upper layer group which is the power elite (also

called the dominant group). Second, the lower layer

group, i.e. people or groups of people who are

dominated. The concept confirms that local wisdom

is understood as ‘a device’ of knowledge and

practices that can be used to resolve to encountering

problems in a good and right way (Putra, 2007).

The lexicon of ketua adat is a form of leadership

and surveillance function. Ketua adat has the highest

social control function. Ketua adat has full authority

to prohibit, order, and sanction people's problems.

Ketua adat also has the authority to appoint or

dismiss the customary devices in Kampung Adat

Urug. Ketua Adat has the right to replace the

employee with another community who still has

blood relationship with that employee. The

community respects the Ketua Adat. The honor is

not only because of his power, but also because of

his capacity as a traditional leader.

As it talks about local wisdom, the lexicons

displays the values of welfare, discipline, health,

mutual cooperation, cultural preservation and

creativity, environmental concern, commitment,

and positive thinking (gratefulness).

Welfare-related cultural values are presented in

the leuit lexicon. Leuit refers to buildings that serve

as a place to store rice. It is only a leuit handler who

can open it. Leuit officials are responsible for

collecting rice stocks or checking the condition of

rice. Leuit usually contains decades-old rice and is a

food reserve of Kampung Adat Urug community for

the next few years. It reflects the condition of

Kampung Adat Urug community which id

prosperous of food availability.

Disciplinary cultural values are presented in the

lexicon of waste disposal on Tuesdays and Saturdays

referring to unwritten rules about the ban on littering

in those days. Although garbage has piled up in the

dustbin or the courtyard of the house, the people of

Kampung Adat Urug will leave the waste on

Tuesday and Saturday. In this prohibition, there is

the concept of order or discipline that will create a

law-abiding society.

Health-related cultural values arepresented

through the paraji lexicon. This lexicon refers to

dukun beranak. The duty of paraji not only helps,

but also takes care of the baby and his mother.

Paraji also searches and dispenses the ingredients of

the necessary herbs. Paraji in Kampung Adat Urug

is currently working with local midwife. It reflects

adequate health management on the life of Kampung

Adat Urug community.

The cultural values associated with mutual-

cooperation are presented in some traditional

ceremonial lexicons. The lexicon among them are

sérén taun, maulud nabi, sidekah ponggokan,

sidekah bumi, and sidekah ruwahan. Through these

ceremonies, all layers of society unite in managing

the ceremony.

Cultural values, related to cultural preservation

and creativity, are presented in art lexicons that refer

to someone who has more knowledge of the arts. He

also has the responsibility to guide and organize art

events when ceremonial activities or other activities

in Kampung Urug take place. The arts officers have

a duty to determine the art activities that take place

during traditional ceremonies. It reflects the social

situation of Kampung Adat Urug community that

retains tradition and develops their artistic culture.

Cultural values related to environmental

concerns are presented in the lexicon of prohibition

of entry and taking of natural resources in hutan

larangan. The lexicon refers to the unwritten rule of

prohibition on taking wood, leaves, stones, or any

other material in hutan larangan. The prohibition is

given as an effort to protect the forest against the

greed of human hands. Communities who violate the

ban will receive sanctions. This shows the concern

of Kampung Adat Urug community to their

environment.

The cultural values associated with commitment

are presented in the lexicon of Ketua Adat. Ketua

Adat is elected by wangsit. The new Ketua Adat

must be willing to accept the power with sincerity.

Society as a subordinate must be willing to accept

the existence of their new traditional leader. It

reflects the commitment and responsibility of

Kampung Adat Urug community.

The cultural values associated with positive

thoughts and gratefulness are presented in some

traditional ceremonial lexicons. These lexicon

include sérén taun, maulud nabi, sidekah

ponggokan, sidekah bumi, and sidekah ruwahan. All

An Anthropolinguistic Study on Local Wisdom Embodied in Lexicons of Community System in Kampung Adat Urug

647

societies express gratefulness and apology to God

and the ancestors through the ceremonies. This

shows that the people of Kampung Adat Urug have

positive thoughts and gratefulness.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The results show that lexicons of community system

in Kampung Adat Urug can be categorized in five

groups, namely community organization system,

community event, place of community event,

community system, and community rules. In

relation to the function, the lexicons reflect seven

functions, namely individual, social, knowledge,

economic, reliance, social stratification, and

leadership (surveillance). As it talks about local

wisdom, the lexicons displays the values of

welfare, discipline, health, mutual cooperation,

cultural preservation and creativity, environmental

concern, commitment, and positive thinking

(gratefulness).

The present study evinces the noteworthy of

preserving the lexicons. It is a counteraction to

language attitude performed by the people of

Kampung Adat Urug. In the context of community

system, they start to use modern lexicons. The

respective situation will indirectly intimidate the

existence of local lexicons and local wisdom

successively.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank all parties that make this

paper happen.

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Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education

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