Symbolic Communications in the Traditional Wedding Rituals of the Banjar Ethnic Community, Indonesia

Abstract

The traditional wedding ritual of Banjar ethnic community is considered a fusion of Islamic teachings with the local wisdom that comprises ritual components ranging from languages used and equipment provided to the three steps following sixteen processions. This ritual shows a very complex event. Therefore, this study aims at (1) reconstructing the wedding ritual procession, (2) analyzing verbal communication through the steps of the ritual ceremony, and (3) analyzing the symbolic meaning of verbal and non-verbal communication in traditional wedding procession ceremonies from sociocultural perspectives. This research is qualitative and descriptive through the implementation of ethnographic and ethnolinguistic approaches. It used ethnographic and ethnolinguistic approaches, supported by a descriptive method to analyze linguistic data. It examined the process of creating the construction of a marriage ritual as a means of symbolic communication from 2020-2023. Oral language used in the ritual procession is recorded, and information from informants is noted and recorded. The secondary data were adopted from written sources, such as books and articles. Finally, the data were analyzed using both the distributional and equivalent methods. The findings show that (1) the wedding ritual applies to three languages (Banjarese, Indonesian, and Arabic). Banjarese is used to express local wisdom; Indonesian is used as a formal language; and Arabic is used as a language, making the procession of akad nikah valid following the Islamic teachings, (2) the traditional Banjar ethnic group has constructed the wedding ritual as a practice of Iman, Islam, and Ihsan, implemented through three principles: (a) hablum minallah, (b) hablum minannas, and (c) hablum minal'alam. The traditional wedding ritual represents that Islam will be in the condition of rahmatan lil'aalamin.