Boablingin Sings of The Helong Soul : A Semiotic And Cultural Reading of A Traditional Song
English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70942/ciencias.v8i2.532Keywords:
Boablingin, Helong Tribe, Traditional Song, Semiotics, Cultural Identity, Oral Tradition, Indigenous HeritageAbstract
This research explores the cultural, semiotic, and social meanings embedded in the traditional song "Boablingin", which originates from the Helong tribe of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. As part of a rich oral tradition, the song plays a vital role not only in preserving musical heritage but also in transmitting values, beliefs, and the Helong people's worldview. Using a descriptive qualitative method, data were collected through documentation studies, in-depth interviews with local elders, and textual analysis of the lyrics. The findings reveal that Boablingin contains symbolic representations of nature, love, community solidarity, and ancestral reverence. These elements reflect the interconnectedness between humans and the environment, a fundamental aspect of Helong cosmology. Moreover, the song functions as a cultural text that reinforces ethnic identity, strengthens intergenerational transmission, and resists cultural erosion in the face of modernization. This study not only contributes to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, but also offers a model for integrating semiotic analysis and ethnographic approaches in the study of indigenous music traditions.
Downloads
References
Isu, R. J. (2020). Tuturan ritual Be’eula dalam upacara kematian pada masyarakat Desa Oetutulu Kecamatan Rote Barat Laut Kabupaten Rote Ndao. Ciencias: Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pendidikan, 3(2), 102–114.
Isu, R. J. (2021). Ritual adat Dab’ba pada masyarakat Desa Eilogo Kecamatan Sabu Liae Kabupaten Sabu Raijua: Sebuah kajian perspektif linguistik kebudayaan. Retorika: Jurnal Pembelajaran Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 2(2), 60–70.
Isu, R. J. (2022). Paralelisme makna tuturan ritual Saeba Bunuk Hau No pada guyub tutur etnik Dawan di Desa Nunle’u, Kecamatan Amanatun Selatan, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan, Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur. Retorika: Jurnal Pembelajaran Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 3(1), 1–13.
Isu, R. J. (2023). Makna upacara Bau Lolon pada masyarakat Desa Puhu Kecamatan Adonara Timur Kabupaten Flores Timur. Jurnal Arjuna: Publikasi Ilmu Pendidikan, Bahasa dan Matematika, 1(4), 1–12.
Isu, R. J. (2024a). An analysis meanings of Hapo Ana (Thanksgiving for the birth of a child) ritual speech in Raerobo communities of Sabu Raijua Regency. Ciencias: Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pendidikan, 7(2), 24–33.
Isu, R. J. (2024b). Lexical paraphrases in Tonis (a poetry of Dawan or Uab Meto) marriage process in South Central Timor District. Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies, 13(1), 65–73.
Isu, R. J. (2025). An analysis of illocutionary meaning of the ritual speech “Saeba Bunuk Hau No” in Spaha Village, Kolbano Subdistrict, South Central Timor Regency. LingPoet: Journal of Linguistics and Literary Research, 6(2), 102–110.
Kartomi, M. J. (2012). Musical journeys in Sumatra. University of Illinois Press.
Koentjaraningrat. (1996). Pengantar ilmu antropologi. Rineka Cipta.
Lestari, F. (2020). Lyrical structure and cultural values in traditional songs. Journal of Cultural Studies (fictional).
Mohajan, H. K. (2020). Qualitative research methodology and its scope in health services research. Journal of Neurological Research and Therapy – Open Access Pub. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Nettl, B. (2005). The study of ethnomusicology: Thirty-one issues and concepts. University of Illinois Press.
Research in Nursing & Health. (2017). Qualitative description (p. 23). Wiley.
Sandelowski, M. (2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health. Wiley.
Tan, X., & Chua, Y. (2017). Indigenous song traditions of eastern Indonesia. Journal of Ethnomusicology (fictional).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ciencias : Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pendidikan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Ciencias : Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pendidikan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
