Konstruksi, Reproduksi Identitas Dan Globalisasi Penamaan Diri Petamoa (Antroponim) Orang Tolaki Di Sulawesi Tenggara: Kajian Sejarah

Abstract

This article examines the development of self-naming (anthroponyms) among the Tolaki people up to the era of globalisation. Anthroponyms, or self-naming, are analysed through the lens of identity construction among the Tolaki people, specifically the structure of their naming system (petamoa), which involves the tradition of assigning first names in alphabetical order. This pattern of first names follows an alphabetical system recognised and used in Tolaki grammar. The tradition of self-naming in the form of ‘mepowangu’ (renaming by assigning the name of an ancestor or a reincarnated name) has persisted. Subsequently, interaction with external cultures brought about changes, including the influence of Islam and the emergence of a naming culture that blends Tolaki traditions with Islamic practices. Following the arrival of Christianity, colonial influence and migration, the Tolaki naming tradition has been influenced, adopting the concept of naming using clan/family names or first names. The process of self-naming has undergone internalisation, interaction and transformation, culminating in the formation of a new hybrid identity—a ‘new-style petamoa’—by blending local elements with external cultural elements, or vice versa. Today, personal identity is shifting from the local towards a global identity. Interaction with various cultures and the dynamics of space and time have led to the formation of a new identity: a new style of Tolaki self-naming that blends local elements with external cultural elements, or vice versa. This is accepted as a change because the relationships that have been established—be they in terms of habitual practices, cultural spheres, religion, or social dynamics, including strategies for the reproduction of identity—give rise to the complex cultural practices of the contemporary ‘petamoa’.