Bynames in the Baduy Dalam as a Conception of Family Relationships

Abstract

The Baduy people of the Banten Province in Western Java are one of many peoples that make up the larger Sundanese ethnic group in Indonesia. The life of the Baduy Dalam (the Inner Baduy people) is interestingly bound to their customary rules and norms including those regulating their naming system. This research discusses the Baduy naming system which has a unique concept of naming a child using part of his/her parents’ byname. In the research, 493 people and their bynames were selected from a total population of 1,202. The names were collected from the Family ID Cards of those living in three Baduy Dalam villages — Cibeo, Cikeusik, and Cikartawana. The study also utilized interviews with informants who have considerable knowledge about the bynames of the Baduy people. These interviews were conducted to see when and how the names of Ayah, Ambu, Ki, and Ni were formed. In Baduy tradition, parents are called Ayah (male) and Ambu (female) followed by the name of their child. Similarly, grandparents are called Ki (male) or Ni (female) followed by their grandchild’s name. It is not always the first child or a male child whose name is taken for his/her parents’ or grandparents’ byname. The choice is taken based on agreement among family members. The research was informed by the study of personal names known as anthroponomastics, and more specifically, by Eva Brylla’s anthroponomastic theory of the byname (Brylla, 2018).