Saturday, June 30 - 2 comments

Semiotic analysis of Songke’s motifs

 
             I.      INTRODUCTION
1.1  Background
The term semeotic derives from the Greek σημειωτικός, (sēmeiōtikos), "observant of signs" where the word σημεον means sēmeion, "a sign, a mark" (www.wikipedia.org). So, it is a study about sign processes, indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, communication and relating to the interpretation of signs. A sign defined as something that stands for something, to someone in some capacity. It includes words, images, gestures, scents, tastes, textures, sounds which can be communicated as a message to other.
 In art, a motif is an element of a pattern, image or theme. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other works. Because of a motif is an element of image, so motif can take a part as a sign. There is a certain sign in a certain motif and each sign describes certain messages which become a describing of something else,  including all motifs in a textile.
There are many different textile motifs, which have certain meaning in different culture in Indonesia. Cultural textile in Manggarai (which called Songke) has unique motif pattern from other culture in Nusa Tenggara Timur, or in Indonesian generally. The culture of Manggarainese can be seen from the motifs, because their motifs show how they were thought and felt. So trough the motif which take a place in a Songke, other people will be able to know about Manggarainese. But it is not easy to find the something which stand behind the motif, which describe trough that cultural textile, because there is a might be different one another in the way of thinking so there are many possibility which appear as a meaning of a cultural textile motif. So this paper will try to find out the meaning of a sign of a songke’s motif



1.2  Research problems
Because of the way to think of some culture might be different each other, so the people of Manggarai might be has different concept in their mind. This research try to find out what were they though, based on the cultural textile motifs which describes in a Songke. The research problem will be answered by research question like what kind of motif which appear in a Songke of Manggarainese? What is the meaning of each motif?
1.3  Method and technique of data  collection
In this research, the method used is quantitative research method where the data are collected from Manggarainese language written and other semiotic paper of Manggarainese culture, and interview directly some people from Manggarai.

          II.      Discussion
A sign is a representation of an object that implies a connection between itself and its object. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object for example a cloudy sky signals rain is coming. When we talking about sign, we will talk about two term which related to the sign as the material representation of a sign. They are signifier and signified. Signifier is the form which the sign takes while the concept it represents. In Oxford Dictionary, signifier defines as a sign’s physical form [such as a sound, printed word, or image] as distinct from its meaning. While signified defines as the meaning or idea expressed by a sign, as distict from the physical form in which it is expressed. (1995: 1101)
 There are two types of semiotic meaning in a Songke. The first is meaning of color and the other is meaning of sign of motif appear in the Songke.  Ant the second is the motifs that appeared in the Songke which related to nature where Manggarai people believe that it provide to survive human life.
The Color Used in Songke
There are many color used in Songke, like white, blue, green, and golden color. Those all color are used to make a sign appear or look clearly. The basic color which used as background is black. Manggarai people believe that the black is as symbol of greatness or power of Manggarainese. It is sign as a defensiveness or awareness of Manggarai people that human life has limited, how big a power that human has is leave when they die.  They believe that God’s power greater than human’s. so, the black color tries to give a message that Manggarai people should be good whether they have a power to control or to do all thing they want. It is taught them that life is the process of a journey from God and back to God. The black as the most useful color in Songke describe that Manggarai people believe to God as the owner of human life. So they tries to teach to the younger generation to keep their self in purity and goodness in the act.
The motifs of Songke
In the fact, a Songke may have some kind of motifs only. A Songke may be has different patter motifs with the other. It is a kind of variation that show or describe a creativity of human as a God’s gift. But trough this, Benny Kasman argue that it is a cause the real message that given by the ancestor will slowly erase or disappear year by year  (www.floresbangkit.com). This all happen when the people who make a Songke tries to creat a new symbol which look more beautiful doesn’t has a moral message as like as the ancestor had given.
There are many kind of motif used in Songke. They all give a certain moral message. Most of the pattern of the motif is pick up from all natural things in human environment. This show us that Manggarai people are related closer to the nature where thay are leave. They believe that all nature things are provided for human to survive in this world. God gives them the all thing in help them to make them always in good condition until they role-play in this world is over.
In the following, there are some motif appear in the Songke of Manggarainese.
a.       Jok Motif
Jok is a based motif in Songke which is more unique than other motif. it is a describing of a cultural house of Manggarai people. This motif symbolizes a unity, the unity which taken a place in the Manggarai people long time ago which kept by the ancestor from generation to generation. The unity is meant as the unity between human and god, human and their environment, and between human itself.
b.      Su’i motif
It is a kind of lines which limited a Songke’s motif patter. It’s a symbol of a limited which the limited tries to make human aware or realize that all what his had or did in this world has limited. Whether it is power, glamour, popularity, and all things that he has (include human life) is under the control of a limited. This gives a message to human to make a good thing in this world for purposing of next word which has prepared by God.
c.       Ntala motif
Ntaal in English means Star. In Manggarai ideology the star relate to a hope which risen up as high as star. This show us that Manggarai people is an optimist people who never give up when they are going to run this life. Whether there are many problems appear they believe that by a prayer to god all bad thing will be disappear and they can continue their life with a happiness. Besides, a star is a symbol of a self-esteem which must always be risen up. The self esteem is the important one in Manggarai people, and its ofcourse important for any other culture in this world.
d.      Wela Runu Motif
Wela runu is a kind of flower which is by Manggarai people it is called runu. It is an ethic principle of Manggarai people. The Manggarai ancestor though that human must be reflect a wela runu where it is a small flower but beautiful, it is small in size but but big in quality. Wela runu teach a moral about a altruist.
In Manggarai culture there are more motif that appear in Songke where didn’t discussed or analyzed here. From an interview, the writer got some information that songke’s motif mostly is a form of flower describing. There are many flower which used as motif in make a Songke by Manggarai people. Like the black color in Manggarai is as symbol of greatness or power of Manggarainese.
 

       III.      Conclusion
Based on the data analyzing above, motifs in cultural textile of Manggarai which called Songke has certain massage. Means that a sign in a motif of songke symbol of something diferent where its content is consist of moral value. By this research, it is known that some sign signify a concept of human life, jok motifs symbolizes a unity of Manggarai people, Su’i motif It’s a symbol of a limited which the limited tries to make human aware or realize that all what his had or did in this world has limited, ntaal motif which relate to Manggarai ideology where symbol of the star which relate to a hope that risen up as high as star, and the last is wela runu where it is a kin of a small flower and it has a moral massege that whether they are small size Manggarai people must great in quality of life.
Monday, June 25 - 1 comments

CLITICIZATION IN MANGGARAI LANGUAGE




I.            INTRODUCTION
1.1     Background
Manggarai Language is one of some local language in Nusa Tenggara Timur Province. More than 700 thousand people in the west of Flores Island, which located in three districts, use Manggarai language in their daily life as their mother tongue. Those three districts are Middle Manggarai district, West Manggarai district, and East Manggarai district. Based on the 2010 statistic reporting (www.ntt.bps.go.id and www.nttprov.go.id) we know that Manggarai language is the language with high rate of user in Nusa Tenggara Timur Province.
The Manggarainese language is part of the Austronesian family, and therefore related to Indonesian and other Malay varieties. Based on its dialect, Manggarai language divided into four groups. They are East Manggarai dialect, West Manggarai dialect, North Manggarai dialect and Middle Manggarai dialects. Each of those dialects has sub-dialect, which have specific characteristics in morphological form, phonological form and syntactical form. In morphological form, Manggarai language has specific unique form in its lexical and morphemic form in build up a complete meaning of a word.
Clitic is a grammatical form, which can’t stand alone. So, it can be called as bound morpheme. Briefly, a morphological characteristic of clitic is that a clitic is a bound morpheme appeared like an affix [where it can’t stand alone] but it can be adjoin to all word class. Based on this characteristic, there are some phenomenon appeared in Manggarai language which has some characteristics above which suggested by writer as a clitic. Some phenomena of cliticization in Manggarai language are following:

Ise   lonto  musi        mai      ami - s
3p    sit       behind      from    1pl - 3p
They sat/were sitting behind us

Toko - s        ise
Sleep- 3Pl     3Pl
They sleep
Hi          Kode        ka’eng    wa       tana    -   i
ART      monkey    stay         down   ground - 3s
The monkey lives on the ground

Hia pa’u eta  mai bubung  mbaru hitu-i
3s  fall  above  from  roof  house  that=3s
‘(S)he fell down from the roof of the house’

The examples above show there are two cliticization phenomena appear. They are –i and –s, where –i refer to 3singular [he/she/it] while –s refer to 3Plural [they]. The more examples was founded and need to be analyzed whether it might be classified in clitic or not. Then, it will show us that Manggarai language might has unique characteristics with other local language in Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, especially in cliticization phenomenon.

1.2     Research problems
In this paper, writer will try to analyze cliticization phenomenon in Manggarai language, which focuses on Rembong dialect of Middle Manggarai dialect. The research problem will be answered by research question like what kind of the Manggarai language clitic? What is the function of the clitic appeared?

1.3     Theoretical review
Longman Dictionary defines a clitic as a grammatical form which cannot stand on its own in an utterance. It needs to co-occur with another form which either precedes or follows it. Some languages have clitic pronoun forms which are attached to the verb (2002: 76). Means that a clitic always attached to its host and will give semantic meaning when it has been attached to its host. In Manggarai language there are some clitic which attach to the verbal where after the joining there will be appear a new semantic phrase meaning. For example ta - r (go – 1Plr = we go), took - r (sleep – 1Plr = we sleep), lako-k (walk – 1sgl = I go).
Clitic is a ‘small words’ of functional, non-lexical categories such as pronouns and determiners that ‘lean on’ a preceding or following host word, and cannot appear as phonological words by themselves (Booij, 2005: 181).

Clitick Features :
·         Phonologically bound but syntactically free
·         Function at phrase or clause level
·         Cannot be integrated into standard discourse without being bound to some other form
·         Often have grammatical rather than lexical meaning
·         Belong to closed classes like pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and conjunctions
·         Usually attach to the edges of words, outside of derivational and inflectional affixes
·         Often attach to several syntactic categories of words such as head noun, non-head noun, preposition, verb, or adverb.
·         Phonologically unstressed
There are two types of clitic. They are proclitic and enclitic. proclitic occurring at the beginning of a morpheme while enclitic, occurring at the end of a morpheme.

1.4     Method and technique of data  collection
In this research, the method used is quantitative research method where the data are collected from Manggarainese language written and other morphological paper of Manggarainese language, and interview directly some people who use Manggarainese language.

1.5     Technique of data analysis
The data, which have been collected, are classified into some group base on the typology of clitic and then analyzed by morphological software name Toolbox.