ECOLOGICAL LEXICON IN THE ACEHNESE FOLKTALE PUTERI BENSU AND MALIM DEWA: AN ECOLINGUISTIC STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/ishel.v2i1.69684Keywords:
ecological lexicon, Acehnese folktales, princess Bensu and Malim Dewa, ecolinguistics, ecological intelligenceAbstract
This study aims to identify, classify, and interpret the ecological lexicon in the Acehnese folktale Puteri Bensu and Malim Dewa through an ecolinguistic approach. Rich in cosmological narratives, the folktale preserves the collective memory of the Acehnese people regarding nature’s spatial arrangement and the spiritual-ecological relationships between creatures. This qualitative ecolinguistic study views language as an integral part of the living ecosystem. Data were obtained from the written folktale through a listening method and note-taking technique, focusing on vocabulary, local terms, and environmental metaphors. The findings reveal four main ecological domains: fauna (birds and forest animals), flora (wild plants or uteuen), topography (rivers, lakes, and mountains), and cosmology (sky and heaven). Ideologically, this lexicon reflects the Acehnese people’s ecocentric perspective, in which boundaries between human domestic spaces and sacred wilderness are strictly respected. Sociologically, the text conveys traditional environmental ethics, emphasizing that environmental destruction disrupts the natural order. This study concludes that the ecological lexicon in Puteri Bensu and Malim Dewa represents a cultural legacy of ecological intelligence preserved through Nusantara oral literature.
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