The Role of Burdah and Ngelenggang Religious Rituals in Preserving the Loloan Malay Language in West Bali
Abstract
Loloan Malay is an endangered indigenous language which is also the identity of a minority Muslim community in Jembrana, West Bali. In the midst of the strong Hindu influence in Bali, the Loloan people try to maintain their different linguistic and cultural heritage through oral traditions such as Burdah and Ngelenggang—ritual performances presenting religious verse recitations accompanied by percussion performed during a seven-month pregnancy. This study aimed to explore how Loloan Malay language as their identity is maintained through Burdah and Ngelenggang rituals. Data were collected through interviews and observations, focusing on community leaders, ritual performers, and youths. The findings revealed that conducting the rituals maintains the language through the cultural materials and communication. Furthermore, the research also unpacks the language of having inconsistency in orthography, which affects not only the written communication but also the education. This study implies that sustainable religious practices can be markers of how well languages are maintained.
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References
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Þórdísarson, B. G. (2016). The history of loan words in Japanese and their effect on the Japanese language. University of Iceland, Reykjavík.*)
Wang, X. (2016). Language Maintenance or Language Shift? The Role of Religion in a Hakka Catholic Community in Malaysia. International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(4), 273–288. doi:10.1080/19313152.2016.1192850
Yadnya, I. B. P., Dhanawaty, M., Wiasti, M., & Malini, N. (2020). Language Choice As The Way How The Local Diaspora In Bali Maintain Their Social Identity. In Proceedings of the Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Languare, Literature, Culture and Education, ISLLCE, 15-16 November 2019, Kendari, Indonesia. EAI. doi:10.4108/eai.15-11-2019.2296276
Yoniartini, D. M., Mahsun, M., & Burhannudin, B. (2023). Pemertahanan Bahasa Bali di Kabupaten Lombok Barat. Jurnal Kajian Bali (Journal of Bali Studies), 13(2), 517. doi:10.24843/JKB.2023.v13.i02.p07
Abu Bakar, R. binti, Othman, M. S., Makmun, R., & Abdul Razak, N. M. I. binti. (2024). Documentation Procedure in oral Tradition. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(1). doi:10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i1/19855
Avtans, A. (2022). The Holy Grail of Language Preservation: Bible Translations in Southasia. Retrieved 9 February 2025, from https://www.himalmag.com/culture/holy-grail-of-language-preservation-bible-translations-dialectical-2022
Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (5th ed.). Multilingual Matters.
Barreña, A., Juaristi, P., Junyent, C., Uranga, B., Amorrortu, E., Ortega, P., & Idiazabal, I. (2005). Chapter 8. Language and Religion. In Words and Worlds (pp. 189–199). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. doi:10.21832/9781853598289-012
Benrabah, M. (2004). Language and Politics in Algeria. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 10(1), 59–78. doi:10.1080/13537110490450773
Bisri, A., & Munawwir, A. (1999). Kamus Arab-Indonesia Indonesia-Arab. Pustaka Progressif.
Budiono, S., & Yanita, S. R. (2024). Language Documentation Practices in Indonesia: A Critical Theory Perspective. Lingua Cultura, 18(1), 133–140. doi:10.21512/lc.v18i1.11878
Crystal, D. (2002). Language Death. Cambridge University Press.
Currie, O. (2022). The role of the Bible in language standardization processes: The case of Welsh. Jezik in Slovstvo, 67(1–2), 27–47. doi:10.4312/jis.67.1-2.27-47
Dhanawaty, N. M., Malini, N. L. N. S., Wiasti, N. M., & Yadnya, I. B. P. (2020). Language and Social Identity: Language Choice and Language Attitude of Diaspora Communities in Bali. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 28(2), 979–993.
Dorian, N. C. (1999). Linguistic and Ethnographic Fieldwork. In J. A. Fishman (Ed.), Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity (pp. 25–41). Oxford University Press.
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (2024). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Ethnologue. SIL International.
Emawati, E., Liadi, F., & Salihah, P. R. (2020). Burdah Al-Bushiri Poetry Perception of Kapuas Muslim Scholars. KARSA: Journal of Social and Islamic Culture, 28(2), 252–276. doi:10.19105/karsa.v28i2.3790
Eremin, A. S. (2020). Arabic Borrowings in the Lexical-Semantic System of the English Language: Etymological Analysis. Research Result. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, 6(2). doi:10.18413/2313-8912-2020-6-2-0-2
Fishman, J. A. (1990). What is reversing language shift (RLS) and how can it succeed? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 11(1–2), 5–36. doi:10.1080/01434632.1990.9994399
Gogonas, N. (2012). Religion as a Core Value in Language Maintenance: Arabic Speakers in Greece. International Migration, 50(2), 113–129. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2010.00661.x
Han, H. (2013). Unintended language maintenance: the English Congregation of a Baptist Chinese church in Western Canada. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2013(222). doi:10.1515/ijsl-2013-0034
Holmes, J., & Wilson, N. (2022). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (6th ed.). London and New York: Routledge.
Ismagilova, G. K., & Martynova, E. V. (2019). Borrowings as a Process of Language Change. International Journal Of Educational Sciences, 27(1–3). doi:10.31901/24566322.2019/27.1-3.1100
Joo, S. J., Chik, A., & Djonov, E. (2024). “Church is like a mini Korea”: the potential of migrant religious organisations for promoting heritage language maintenance. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(4), 1717–1745. doi:10.1515/applirev-2022-0052
Karim, M. A. (2016). oleransi Umat Beragama di Desa Loloan, Jembrana, Bali (Ditinjau dari Perspektif Sejarah). Analisis Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 16(1), 1–32.
Kramsch, C. (2000). Language and Culture. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Lao, Y. A. Dj. (2019). Comparing Translation Products of Different Languages Bible: A New Method in Biblical Hermeneutic. AJES Academic Journal of Educational Sciences, 2(1), 30–34.
Mabruri, M. A., Maulidia, R., & Sugiatmi, F. (2019). Pengaruh Aspek Sosio-Kultur Masyarakat Loloan Terhadap Struktur Dan Makna Syair Burdah Melayu Di Bali. Global Journal of Human-Social Science, 19(A10), 25–34.
Macri, M. J. (2010). Language documentation: Whose ethics?*. In L. A. Grenoble & N. L. Furbee (Eds.), Language Documentation: Practice and Values (pp. 37–47). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Mahfud, C., Astari, R., Kasdi, A., Mu’ammar, M. A., Muyasaroh, M., & Wajdi, F. (2021). Islamic cultural and Arabic linguistic influence on the languages of Nusantara; From lexical borrowing to localized Islamic lifestyles. Wacana, 22(1), 224. doi:10.17510/wacana.v22i1.914
Melaku, Z., & Semu, S. (2023). Language Maintenance and Shift in Diraytata. Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching (JLLLT), 2(2), 61–73. doi:10.37249/jlllt.v2i2.565
Muslim, A., & Wilis Werdiningsih. (2023). Pendidikan Moderasi Beragama dan Simbol Keagamaan (Pembentukan Identitas Islam Moderat Anak Melalui Songkok NU Perspektif Teori Konstruksi Sosial Peter Berger). Southeast Asian Journal of Islamic Education Management, 4(1), 29–42. doi:10.21154/sajiem.v4i1.135
Openjuru, G. L. (2019). 5. The Role of Religion in Written Language Maintenance and Shift in Uganda. In R. V. Pandharipande, M. K. David, & M. Eisenstein Ebsworth (Eds.), Language Maintenance, Revival and Shift in the Sociology of Religion (pp. 70–80). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. doi:10.21832/9781788926676-006
Pauwels, A. (2016). Language Maintenance and Shift. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Prahatmaja, N. (2013). The Documentation Of Traditional Culture In Enriching The Culture Library: Case Study On Traditional Culture Of Java Documentation Efforts In Surakarta. In Simposium Kebudayaan Indonesia - Malaysia Xiii. Universitas Padjajaran.
Putra, A. A. P., Malini, N. L. N. S., & Suparwa, I. N. (2015). Adaptasi Kosakata Bahasa Bali Dalam Bahasa Melayu Loloan Bali. Litera, 14(1). doi:10.21831/ltr.v14i1.4404
Rahman, F., & Slamatin Letlora, P. (2018). Cultural Preservation: Rediscovering the Endangered Oral Tradition of Maluku (A Case Study on Kapata of Central Maluku). Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(2), 91. doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.2p.91
Reken, I. W. (2002). Umat Islam di Jembrana. In H. S. Saidi (Ed.), Sejarah Keberadaan Ummat Islam di Bali. MUI Bali.
Sabara, E. (2019). Mesair – Mekayat, Seni Burdah Loloan yang Hampir Punah. Bale Bengong. Retrieved from https://balebengong.id/burdah-loloan-yang-hampir-punah/
Schultze-Berndt, E. (2015). Language Documentation. In Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft / Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science (HSK) 42/3 (pp. 2063–2095). DE GRUYTER. doi:10.1515/9783110363685-020
Setyaningsih, F. (2020). Bentuk Dan Makna Upacara Manusia Yadnya Mitoni Dengan Tradisi Jawa. Widya Aksara: Jurnal Agama Hindu, 25(2), 276–289.
Sosiowati, I. G. A. G., Widiastuti, N. M. A., & Arka, I. W. (2017). Constructing Identity and Language Vitality Of Minority Language: Evidence From Loloan Malay. . In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Austronesian and Papuan languages. Udayana University Press.
Sumarsono. (1993). Pemertahanan Bahasa Melayu Loloan di Bali. Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa.
Suparwa, I. N. (2010). Ekologi Bahasa dan Pengaruhnya dalam Dinamika Kehidupan Bahasa Melayu Loloan Bali. Bumi Lestari, 8(1), 32–47.
Suwitha, I. P. G. (1985). Hubungan Antar Suku Bangsa Dalam Masyarakat Majemuk di Jembrana, Bali. Masyarakat Indonesia.
Tangkas, M. R. U., & Suari, A. A. Pt. (2023). Pemertahanan Bahasa Bali Dialek Nusa Penida sebagai Sumber Konten Kreatif: Kajian Sosiolinguistik Kanal YouTube Alit Werdi Suputra. Jurnal Kajian Bali (Journal of Bali Studies), 13(2), 541. doi:10.24843/JKB.2023.v13.i02.p08
Þórdísarson, B. G. (2016). The history of loan words in Japanese and their effect on the Japanese language. University of Iceland, Reykjavík.*)
Wang, X. (2016). Language Maintenance or Language Shift? The Role of Religion in a Hakka Catholic Community in Malaysia. International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(4), 273–288. doi:10.1080/19313152.2016.1192850
Yadnya, I. B. P., Dhanawaty, M., Wiasti, M., & Malini, N. (2020). Language Choice As The Way How The Local Diaspora In Bali Maintain Their Social Identity. In Proceedings of the Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Languare, Literature, Culture and Education, ISLLCE, 15-16 November 2019, Kendari, Indonesia. EAI. doi:10.4108/eai.15-11-2019.2296276
Yoniartini, D. M., Mahsun, M., & Burhannudin, B. (2023). Pemertahanan Bahasa Bali di Kabupaten Lombok Barat. Jurnal Kajian Bali (Journal of Bali Studies), 13(2), 517. doi:10.24843/JKB.2023.v13.i02.p07
Published
2025-04-07
How to Cite
SOSIOWATI, I Gusti Ayu Gde et al.
The Role of Burdah and Ngelenggang Religious Rituals in Preserving the Loloan Malay Language in West Bali.
Jurnal Kajian Bali (Journal of Bali Studies), [S.l.], v. 15, n. 1, p. 345-376, apr. 2025.
ISSN 2580-0698.
Available at: <https://ojs.unud.ac.id./index.php/kajianbali/article/view/123108>. Date accessed: 20 apr. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.24843/JKB.2025.v15.i01.p13.
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
