What’s a Name? Uncovering the Heortonyms in Sundanese Ethnicity in West Java: An Ethnolinguistic Study

Abstract

This article provides an ethnolinguistic perspective of the names of various types of holidays, celebrations (heortonyms), traditions, and rituals of the Sundanese people. A descriptive qualitative method was employed to collect heortonymic data from written and unwritten sources, observations, electronic sources, in-depth interviews, and literature studies. These data were then analyzed using an ethnolinguistic approach, combining cultural and language aspects through ethnographic methods. In the cultural elements closely related to anthropology, the researchers obtained data on the system and social interaction that prevail in society. Meanwhile, in the language aspects, the data on the form and function of language in society were also gathered. The data were presented by describing the results of the data analysis. The results of this study indicated that Sundanese heortonyms could be divided into religious heortonyms (such as Eid-Al-Adha, Eid-Al-Fitr, and Isra Mi’raj), activities related to Ramadan fasting, activities related to sacred historical events (like Muludan, Rajaban), activities related to work (like the Seren Tahun tradition), activities related to various stages of human life, and practices aimed at avoiding calamities. From the discussion, it was found that these heortonyms, along with the multicultural environment, give rise to loanwords from other languages, especially Arabic. These heortonyms are directly related to history and the construction of worldviews and beliefs and are seen as distinctive language and cultural markers reflecting Sundanese values and identity.