Portrait of Muna Language Wisdom and Inheritance of Values in Katoba Rituals in Overseas Muna Communities

Abstract

The Muna community wherever they go will bring their traditions with them. One of the traditions they have is the katoba ritual. This ritual is the obligation of parents to carry it out, especially for their children who have entered the age of puberty (7-11) years. Its implementation outside the Muna area will result in the dynamics of language use, especially the katoba ritual language which was originally Muna language shifted into three languages ​​in its delivery, namely Muna, Indonesian, and Arabic. This is because the katoba children who live overseas are no longer fluent in Muna. This research aims to describe the portray the wisdom of the Muna language and the inheritance of values ​​contained in the katoba ritual in the overseas Muna community in Kendari City. This research uses qualitative and ethnographic approaches. The research findings show that the use of the Muna language in the katoba ritual is very vital because contains language wisdom and values ​​are represented in the Muna language. Even though the katoba children in Kendari City no longer understand the Muna language, an imam took the initiative to use it in Muna/Arabic, and translate it into Indonesian. This is done so that the values ​​contained in it can be inherited properly. The values ​​contained in the katoba ritual in the overseas Muna community in Kendari City are: religious values, moral values, philosophical values, ethical values, and tolerance values.