Echoes of a Vanishing Voice: A Linguistic and Ethnopoetic Analysis of a Betawi Peripheral Incantation from Meruya

Abstract

This study investigates a rare and endangered Betawi incantation recalled by the researcher from her late grandmother, a Betawi pinggiran (peripheral Betawi) speaker from Meruya, West Jakarta. As oral traditions within the Betawi community continue to decline, such individual recollections provide invaluable linguistic and cultural evidence of Jakarta’s indigenous heritage. Using a linguistic–ethnographic and ethnopoetic framework, the study analyzes the incantation’s lexical composition, phonological structure, and symbolic-semantic dimensions. The lexical analysis reveals hybrid influences from Betawi, Javanese, and Sundanese, while the phonological reconstruction identifies distinct Betawi markers such as vowel reduction and glottalization. Patterns of repetition and rhythmic symmetry further suggest an oral-formulaic organization characteristic of Austronesian ritual poetics. Although reconstructed from memory without acoustic data, the text functions as a living linguistic record of contact-induced adaptation and spiritual continuity. This research contributes to the documentation and theoretical understanding of Betawi ritual speech, demonstrating how memory functions as both data and method in preserving intangible cultural heritage.