Umpasa pada Upacara Adat Masyarakat Batak Toba: Kajian Linguistik Antropologi

Lova Daniel S, Dr. Sulistyowati, M.Hum

2025 | Tesis | S2 Linguistik

Umpasa adalah tradisi lisan masyarakat Batak Toba yang tetap dilestarikan hingga kini. Data penelitian ini berupa kata, frasa, dan kalimat. Dokumentasi data diambil berdasarkan umpasa yang terdapat pada buku pegangan adat yang sering digunakan oleh masyarakat Batak Toba yang berjudul Jambar Hata: Dongan tu Ulaon Adat karya T.M. Sihombing. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa umpasa memiliki karakteristik gaya bahasa kompleks, meliputi metafora, paralelisme, personifikasi, hiperbola, simbolisme, antitesis, litotes, eufemisme, repetisi, sinekdoke, dan asindeton. Gaya bahasa tersebut tidak sekadar ornamen estetis, melainkan strategi kultural untuk mentransmisikan nilai-nilai fundamental masyarakat Batak Toba. Makna umpasa diklasifikasikan ke dalam lima kategori: makna kultural, sosial, ekologis, historis, dan nasihat. Setiap kategori mencerminkan kompleksitas filosofi Dalihan Na Tolu yang mengatur relasi sosial, spiritual, dan lingkungan dalam  masyarakat  Batak  Toba.  Hubungan  sejarah  dan  budaya dalam umpasa terungkap melalui kosmologi Batak yang membagi alam semesta menjadi banua ginjang (dunia atas), banua tonga (dunia tengah), dan banua toru (dunia bawah). Umpasa berfungsi sebagai medium preservasi memori kolektif, mengkodekan sejarah migrasi, ritual adat, serta hubungan manusia dengan Mulajadi Na Bolon (Sang Pencipta) dan sombaon (roh leluhur). Penelitian ini berupaya untuk mendokumentasi kritis untuk mencegah erosi memori budaya di kalangan generasi muda Batak Toba.

Umpasa is an oral tradition of the Toba Batak community that is still preserved today. The data of this research are words, phrases, and sentences.The study employed a qualitative documentation method, utilizing umpasa texts derived from generationally inherited books within the Batak Toba community. Data collection and analysis revealed a complex linguistic landscape characterized by sophisticated language styles, including metaphor, parallelism, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, antithesis, litotes, euphemism, repetition, synecdoche, and asyndeton. These linguistic styles transcend mere aesthetic ornamentation, functioning as critical cultural strategies for transmitting fundamental societal values and philosophical principles of the Batak Toba community. The research classified umpasa meanings into five comprehensive categories: cultural, social, ecological, historical, and advisory meanings. Each category reflects the intricate philosophical framework of Dalihan Na Tolu, which governs social, spiritual, and environmental relationships within Batak Toba society. The investigation unveiled the historical and cultural dimensions of umpasa through the Batak cosmological worldview, which conceptualizes the universe into three interconnected realms: banua ginjang (celestial world), banua tonga (middle world), and banua toru (underworld). Umpasa emerges as a sophisticated medium for preserving collective memory, encoding migration histories, documenting ritual practices, and articulating human relationships with Mulajadi Na Bolon (The Creator) and sombaon (ancestral spirits). By providing a critical documentation of these linguistic practices, the research aims to prevent cultural memory erosion among younger generations of the Batak Toba community. The study contributes significantly to anthropological linguistics by offering a comprehensive analysis of how language functions as a repository of cultural knowledge and intergenerational transmission.

Kata Kunci : Umpasa, linguistik antropologis, gaya bahasa, makna kultural, Batak Toba