Customary Values and Daily Communication of the Baduy Community in Indonesia

Abstract

This article describes how customary values have implications for communication practices in the daily life of the Baduy people, one of the famous indigenous communities in Indonesia. Utilizing the ethnography of communication method, this study describes how customary values in the Baduy community have contributed in establishing local-ecological consciousness and primordial outlook which is reflected in their communication on daily basis. Practically, the Sundanese language used by the Baduy people is different from the main Sundanese, especially in the context of dialect and structure as they do not have any concept of language level which is commonly found in mainstream Sundanese while their dialect is more loud and straight. Furthermore, in daily communication, they also apply language taboos through a sort of law and norm so-called “pikukuh” by prohibiting of certain words which philosophically related to their basic belief. Therefore, language taboos in the Baduy community can also be understood as symbolic messages based on their local-primordial outlook.