Year: 2026 | Month: June | Volume: 13 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 57-66
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260607
Traditional Naming Patterns Among the Muna Ethnic Community in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia: Symbolism, Social Function, and Vernacular Islamization
La Aso1, La Yani Konisi*2, Aderlaepe3, I Ketut Suardika4, Bahtiar5, Nasruddin Suyuti6
1,6Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Indonesia.
2,3,4Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Indonesia.
5Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Indonesia.
Corresponding Author: La Yani Konisi
ABSTRACT
This article investigates the traditional naming patterns, focusing on how names function as carriers of cultural meaning, social structure, and religious identity. Drawing on qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews with four community informants, as well as participatory observation, and documentation of naming records, the study reveals that naming patterns not merely an act of identification but a complex cultural system that encodes historical memory, social hierarchy, and religious transformation. The findings show that naming system operates along three interrelated dimensions. First, symbolism is evident in the structure of names, where core elements refer to birthplace, birth circumstances, physical characteristics, parental traits, and significant historical events. Second, social function is marked through the use of prefixes La, Wa, and La Ode/Wa Ode, which distinguish gender and denote noble status within the traditional Muna social stratification. These prefixes serve as social markers that regulate interpersonal relations, inheritance rights, and communal respect. Third, the study identifies a process of vernacular Islamization, whereby the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, is locally interpreted and embedded into the prefixes and naming logic. Islamic doctrine has been articulated through pre-existing cultural structures rather than replacing them, producing a localized form of Islamic identity. Theoretically, this study contributes to a multidimensional framework that integrates symbolic anthropology, structuralism, functionalism, and the anthropology of local Islam. Naming patterns function simultaneously as symbolic representations, social institutions, and religious adaptations. Empirically, the research documents a system of local knowledge that remains underrepresented in global academic discourse onomastics and Islamic studies. It is concluded that naming patterns illustrate the dynamic negotiation between tradition, social order, and religious identity, offering insight into how indigenous communities sustain cultural continuity while engaging with global religious currents.
Keywords: Muna, traditional naming, naming system, symbolism, social function, vernacular Islamization
[PDF Full Text]