An ethnostylistics analysis of Dondi’ utterances: Symbolic meaning in the Rambu Solo’ funeral ceremony

Abstract

This study aims to examine the language styles and symbolic meanings embedded in dondi’ speech performed during the Rambu Solo’ traditional ceremonies of the Toraja people through an ethnostylistics approach. As a form of oral expression within death rituals, dondi’ speech conveys complex cultural, emotional, and cosmological values. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach. The data consist of dondi’ speech analyzed based on three dimensions: language style, symbolic meaning, and ethnostylistics interpretation. The findings identify four dominant language styles: repetition, metaphor, simile, and personification. Repetition functions to establish rhythm, reinforce meaning, and represent recurring patterns in ritual practices and collective experiences. Metaphor expresses abstract concepts, particularly life and death, through concrete symbols drawn from the natural environment. Simile clarifies cultural meanings through explicit comparisons with familiar phenomena, while personification attributes human emotions and characteristics to elements of nature. From an ethnostylistics perspective, these linguistic forms reflect the Toraja worldview, which is contextual, symbolic, and closely integrated with language, culture, and cosmology. Thus, dondi’ speech serves not only as a communicative medium but also as a means of representing, preserving, and transmitting cultural values within the Rambu Solo’ ceremony.