A Cultural-Semantic Analysis of Meaning, Symbolism, and Social Values in the Sasak Folklore Princess Cilinaye

Abstract

Princess Cilinaye represents a significant Sasak oral tradition, yet previous studies have focused primarily on its narrative structure, moral messages, and cultural functions, with limited attention to the cultural meanings embedded in linguistic and symbolic expressions. This study analyzes the manner in which language, symbolism, and narrative events serve as representations of the Sasak cultural worldview and the social values it fosters. The present study utilizes an interpretive qualitative design, incorporating a cultural-semantic and ethnographic-textual approach, to analyze a published manuscript, four oral versions, and ethnographic data from twelve purposively selected storytellers, elders, cultural practitioners, and Sasak scholars in Lombok, Indonesia. The data were collected through textual analysis, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. These data were then examined through thematic coding. The findings indicate that linguistic expressions encode concepts of kinship, authority, reciprocity, and communal responsibility, while symbolic elements convey legitimacy, moral transformation, and collective identity. The emergence of social values is a multifaceted process that occurs through the interaction of language, symbolism, and narrative structure. The study demonstrates that Princess Cilinaye functions as a cultural-semantic system for preserving and transmitting indigenous knowledge and the Sasak worldview. It contributes to the fields of Cultural Semantics, Cultural Linguistics, Folklore Studies, and Indigenous Knowledge Studies by offering a framework for the documentation of folklore, the promotion of cultural education, and the preservation of heritage.