KNOCKING ON ANCESTRAL DOORS: A CULTURAL LINGUISTIC INQUIRY INTO THE SAE TOI SANU SE’ET RITUAL

Abstrak

This study examines the Sae Toi Sanu Se’et ritual in the Oeleu community, South Central Timor Regency, Indonesia, as a premarital ceremony rich in values of respect, kinship, and social legitimacy among the Amanuban ethnic group. The phrase Sae Toi Sanu Se’et, meaning “climbing the fence and descending the stairs,” symbolizes a respectful approach to initiating marriage intentions. Using a qualitative descriptive approach and a Cultural Linguistics framework, this study analyzes the stages of the ritual and the semantic meanings in ritual utterances (Hole). Data were collected through unstructured interviews, observations, and documentation. The results reveal six main ritual stages and three dominant types of meaning in the utterances: thematic, connotative, and conceptual. These meanings reflect the cultural conceptualization of marriage, gender roles, emotional bonds, and community values. This study supports the preservation of local linguistic practices and the role of language in maintaining cultural identity and traditional knowledge.