Ulama Dayah and Semantic Transformation: Authorized Localization of Arabic Loanwords in Acehnese Rituals

Abstrak

Arabic terms used in Acehnese religious rituals may acquire locally distinctive meanings while retaining their association with Islamic textual traditions. Studies of loanword semantics have documented such changes, but have paid less attention to how localized sacred meanings gain religious legitimacy. This study examined patterns of semantic transformation and the role of Ulama dayah in interpreting and authorizing Arabic loanwords in Acehnese rituals. Using a qualitative interpretive design informed by linguistic ethnography, it drew on interviews with 15 purposively selected informants, participant observation, and document analysis. Arabic source meanings were compared with contextual ritual uses, while recurring relationships among religious instruction, ritual enactment, and community recognition were analyzed. The findings identified semantic narrowing, broadening, specialization, cultural reinterpretation, and sacralization. Localized meanings were sustained through the interaction of lexical adaptation, interpretation by Ulama dayah, repeated ritual use, and collective acceptance. The study developed Authorized Localization of Meaning as a framework connecting semantic transformation with religious authority and social practice. Its theoretical contribution is to identify religious authorization as a mechanism through which changed sacred meanings become legitimate and endure.

Kata kunci

• Arabic Loanwords
• Semantic Change
• Ulama Dayah
• Acehnese Rituals
• Authorized Localization of Meaning
• Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
• Language and Linguistics