Journal of Islamic Science, Culture & Social Studies
Culture

Indexical Hierarchies in Ulu Kapuas Malay Mantras: Vernacular Islamic Multilingualism in West Kalimantan

Yusriadi Yusriadi1✉ , Hermansyah Hermansyah2 , Ismail Ruslan3 , Shin Chong4 , Hui Pan5
123 Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Pontianak
45 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Malaysia
Download
PDF
Published
15-10-2026
Pages
61-73

Abstract

Ritual multilingualism in Islamic communities is often viewed as syncretic, hybrid, or acculturative. Such forms rarely reflect an indexical hierarchy of language use. This study examines how linguistic hierarchy is organized within the Ulu Kapuas Malay or Melayu Ulu Kapuas (MUK) incantations of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The study draws on 72 incantation texts categorized by the community as tawar, cuca, ilmu, and jayau, supported by in-depth interviews with custodians of the MUK cultural traditions, as well as contextual field documentation. The data were coded according to language choice (MUK, Arabic, and Indonesian) and structural position within the ritual text (opening, core, and closing), and then analyzed qualitatively to identify recurrent functional patterns in ritual performance. The interpretation focuses on how these patterned distributions index religious authority, cultural legitimacy, and communicative mediation. The findings show that ritual multilingualism in this corpus is not an eclectic mixture but a structured semiotic hierarchy. MUK consistently serves as the performative core of ritual action and grounds it in emic cosmology. Arabic appears primarily in the opening and closing formulas of the incantations, serving to frame the rituals and sacralizing and legitimizing in ritual. Meanwhile, Indonesian functions more peripherally as a narrative and mediating code, occasionally supporting communicative clarity without displacing the ritual role of the MUK. By demonstrating that local efficacy and Islamic legitimacy are jointly produced through distinct linguistic roles, this study enhances the socio-linguistic understanding of the relationship between language and religion from the perspective of local communities.
Keywords: Indexical Hierarchies Islamic Ritual Multilingualism Malay Mantras Ulu Kapuas

References

  1. Agha, A. (2005). Voice, Footing, Enregisterment. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 15(1), 38–59. https://doi.org/10.1525/jlin.2005.15.1.38
  2. Agha, A. (2006). Language and Social Relations (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511618284
  3. Alsaawi, A. (2022). The use of language and religion from a sociolinguistic perspective. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 32(2), 236–253. https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00039.als
  4. Amin, F. (2014). Kitab Berladang: A Portrait of Hybrid Islam in West Kalimantan. Studia Islamika, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.15408/sdi.v20i1.349
  5. Bhatt, I., Barnawi, O. Z., & Ahmad, R. (2025). Exploring a Sociolinguistics of Islam. Applied Linguistics, amaf043. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amaf043
  6. Blommaert, J., Collins, J., & Slembrouck, S. (2005). Polycentricity and interactional regimes in ‘global neighborhoods.’ Ethnography, 6(2), 205–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138105057557
  7. Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
  8. Duranti, A. (Ed.). (2005). Language Ideologies. In A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology (1st ed., pp. 496–517). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996522
  9. Faisal, I. A., Syam, C., & Priyadi, A. T. (2018). Struktur, Makna, dan Fungsi Mantra Pengobatan Masyarakat Melayu Semitau Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu.
  10. Fudge, B., GhaneaBassiri, K., Lange, C., & Savant, S. B. (2022). Non Sola Scriptura: Essays on the Qur’an and Islam in Honour of William A. Graham (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003252221
  11. Gal, S. (2005). Language Ideologies Compared. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 15(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1525/jlin.2005.15.1.23
  12. Graber, K. E. (2022). A cline of enregisterment and its erasure: Intersections of ideology and technology in minority-language news. Language in Society, 51(4), 551–576. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404521000403
  13. Green, N. (2023). Introduction: Arabic as a South Asian Language. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 55(1), 106–121. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743823000442
  14. Hermansyah. (2010). Ilmu gaib di Kalimantan Barat (Cet. 1). Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia.
  15. Hermansyah, H. (2014). Islam and Local Culture in Indonesia. Al-Albab, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v3i1.94
  16. Hui, P. (2025). Perbandingan Isim—Isim dalam Mantera Suku Dayak Mualang dan Melayu di Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia. Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
  17. Irvine, J. T. (2022). Revisiting Theory and Method in Language Ideology Research. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 32(1), 222–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/jola.12335
  18. Irvine, J. T., & Gal, S. (2000). Language Ideology and Linguistic Differentiation. In Regimes of Language: Ideologies, Polities, and Identities (Vol. 81, pp. 35–84).
  19. Iswahyudi, I., Prabowo, G. A., & Sholihah, F. A. (2026). Moderate and Non-Moderate Discursive Tendencies in Kitab Kuning. Ascarya: Journal of Islamic Science, Culture, and Social Studies, 5(2), 293–316. https://doi.org/10.53754/kgws7m49
  20. Keane, W. (2018). On Semiotic Ideology. Signs and Society, 6(1), 64–87. https://doi.org/10.1086/695387
  21. Kooria, M. (2019). Languages of Law: Islamic Legal Cosmopolis and its Arabic and Malay Microcosmoi. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 29(4), 705–722. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1356186319000191
  22. Kroskrity, P. V. (2010). Language ideologies. In J.-O. Östman & J. Verschueren (Eds.), Handbook of Pragmatics (pp. 1–24). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/hop.14.lan6
  23. Munawar, M., Yusriadi, Y., Juniawati, Asfar, D. A., & Tuah, D. (2025). A Dialog Between Islamic Law and Adat (Customary Law) in the Social Context of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Al-’Adalah, 22(1), 323–346. https://doi.org/10.24042/adalah.v221.24008
  24. Nieber, H. (2024). Authority with Textual Materials – Power of the Written Qur’an. Material Religion, 20(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432200.2024.2303905
  25. Nordin, Z. S., Ruslan, I., Yusriadi, Y., Hamzah, N., & Darmadi, D. (2025). Integrating Islamic Law and Customary Law: Codification and Religious Identity in the Malay Buyan Community of Kapuas Hulu. Journal of Islamic Law, 6(1), 89–111. https://doi.org/10.24260/jil.v6i1.3410
  26. Omoniyi, T., & Fishman, J. A. (Eds.). (2006). Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion. In Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture (Vol. 20, pp. 343–347). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.20.27ind
  27. O’Sullivan, M. (2023). The Multiple Registers of Arabic in the Daudi Bohra Daʻwa and South Asian Public Life, c. 1880–1920. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 55(1), 152–158. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743823000430
  28. Pratiwy, D., Swastiwi, A. W., Manugeren, M., Pardi, P., & Asnani, A. (2024). Ideology in Marine Ritual Discourse of Acehnese Speech Community. Jurnal Arbitrer, 10(4), 300–308. https://doi.org/10.25077/ar.10.4.300-308.2023
  29. Rheva, R. A., & Seko, S. (2025). Pelaksanaan Tradisi Buang-Buang Masyarakat Adat Melayu Dusun Nanga Empanang Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu. Majalah Ilmiah Tabuah: Ta`limat, Budaya, Agama Dan Humaniora, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.37108/tabuah.v29i1.1679
  30. Rippin, A. (Ed.). (2013). The Arabic language. In The Islamic World (0 ed., pp. 261–277). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203019139
  31. Silverstein, M. (2003). Indexical order and the dialectics of sociolinguistic life. Language & Communication, 23(3–4), 193–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5309(03)00013-2
  32. Subair, Muh., Syamsurijal, S., Rismawidiawati, R., Idham, I., Muslim, A., & Nur, M. (2024). Multilingualism, Technology, and Religious Moderation in Indonesian Islamic Boarding Schools. International Journal of Language Education, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.26858/ijole.v8i3.66498
  33. Sukma, A. P., Anwari, M. S., & Ardian, H. (2019). Etnozoologi untuk Ritual Adat dan Mistis Masyarakat Melayu Desa Nanga Betung Kecamatan Boyan Tanjung Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu. Jurnal Hutan Lestari, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.26418/jhl.v7i2.34560
  34. Taazimiyah, Sulissusiawan, & Sanulita. (2014). Mantra Tawar Ntamba dalam Masyarakat Melayu Desa Kelakar Kecamatan Hulu Gurung Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran Khatulistiwa (JPPK), 3(8), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.26418/jppk.v3i8
  35. Tomlinson, M. (2019). How to speak like a spirit medium: Voice and evidence in Australian Spiritualism. American Ethnologist, 46(4), 482–494. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12832
  36. Tricahyo, A., & Nursalam, Y. F. (2025). Metaphors and Idioms of Wayang Tradition: A Dialogue Between Javanese Literature and Islamic Character Values. Ascarya: Journal of Islamic Science, Culture, and Social Studies, 5(1), 60–75. https://doi.org/10.53754/iscs.v5i1.731
  37. Wijaya, A., Abidin, A. Z., & Syaifudin, M. (2025). State-Sponsored Qur’anic Exegesis and Interreligious Relations: A Comparative Study of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. Ascarya: Journal of Islamic Science, Culture, and Social Studies, 5(2), 279–291. https://doi.org/10.53754/iscs.v5i2.854
  38. Yusriadi, & Hermansyah. (2003). Orang Embau: Potret masyarakat pedalaman Kalimantan (Cet. 1). STAIN Pontianak Press.
  39. Yusriadi, Y., Chong, S., & Tuah, D. (2023). Jantuh Bebasa Masyarakat Melayu di Pedalaman Kapuas Hulu, Kalimantan Barat. Issues in Language Studies, 12(2), 116–137. https://doi.org/10.33736/ils.5075.2023

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

© 2026 Yusriadi Yusriadi, Hermansyah Hermansyah, Ismail Ruslan, Shin Chong, Hui Pan

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Indexing & Citations

How to Cite

Yusriadi, Y., Hermansyah, H., Ruslan, I. ., Chong, S., & Pan, H. (2026). Indexical Hierarchies in Ulu Kapuas Malay Mantras: Vernacular Islamic Multilingualism in West Kalimantan. Ascarya: Journal of Islamic Science, Culture, and Social Studies, 6(1), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.53754/iscs.v6i1.906
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Similar Articles

21-30 of 34

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.