Sulawesi Language Texts

64 SULAWESI LANGUAGE TEXTS

SEKO

The Seko Padang language is spoken by approximately 4700 speakers in both
Central and- South Sulawesi. It is located in the mountains northwest of Masamba
(about four days walk) near the Central Sulawesi border in Luwu district. About
half of the people have resettled in the Palolo valley near Palu in Central Sulawesi.

Linguistically Seko shares some of the features found in other languages of
the area, but also stands alone in a number of aspects. A separate set of
pronominals is found following the verb, but is used in negative or benefactive
constructions (NB) in most instances, while the PAN ergative pronominal system is
all but lost. Two goal-focus (GF) prefixes are found depending on whether or not
there is a specified actor. The suffix -i which has been glossed as LOC here,
encompasses more than the normal locative-indicating suffix; it indicates that
whatever the scope of the sentence is, it may act as a "direct object" to the verb.

The following text was written in June 1988 in Ape' village, Palolo by Wilem
Tatiba Landoo, a leader of a minor clan among the Seko. The marriage custom he
describes is a traditional one and rarely used nowadays. Marriage ceremonies now
tend to follow the style of mainstream Indonesian custom. This expository text has
some hortatory functions as well because it not only tells something about family
relationships and marriage, but it also tells the listener what certain of those
relationships should be like.

SANGKORING
Marriage Customs

Jadi ' pararanna ku mihaka : ma i Inanna Palu '
jadi* pa- rara -na ku mi- haka: ma i ina -na Palu'
so AJR~begin-3PO IsPRO INT-glad go at mother-3PO Paul

marapaheng ka' tempo mampatidolu kaminna
mam-pa- hea -ing ka' tempo mam-patidolu kami -na
TRN~CAUS~give-BEN INB time TRN~account lpxPRO-3PO

sampantaladiang .
sang-mantaladi-ang
one- sibling -NR

First of all, I am thankful to Paul's Pertama-tama saya berterima kasih
mother for giving me the opportunity to kepada ibunya Paulus yang memberikan
tell about my family. kesempatan kepada saya untuk

menceritakan tentang keluarga saya.

SEKO

65

Jadi • kami sampantaladiang ara karo • a tau ,
jadi' kami sang-mantaladi-ang ara karo'a: tau
so IpxPRO one- sibling -NR are eight person

hampo" mate mo ti italu.
hampo' mate mo ti italu
but die CMP this three

Ki lima
ki 1 ima
IpnPRO five

ra i ti ung tuho:
ra i ti ung tuho:
left only this that live

Jadi* dea ti
jadi* dea ti
so 3PR0 this

tu dolungki mate mo nasang. Dea ti
tu dolu -ki mate mo nasang dea ti
person before-lpnPO die CMP all 3PR0 this

ada*na tu Padang ma i tu dolu,
ada* -na tu Padang ma i tu dolu
custom-3PO person Padang go at person before *

parallu nisangadi ti tu dolu, ha
parallu ni- sangadi ti tu dolu hang
need SGFnoA-respect this person before NEC

mading i nitiapa', Mene: ho
mading i ni- tiapa* mene: ho *
allow 3NB 3GFnoA-disrespect as also

pinukaa ma i adinna.

pinu- kaa ma i adi: -na

one_who_is-older_sibling go at younger sibling-3PO

There were eight children in my family
but three have died. Now there are only
five of us living. As for my parents, they
are dead. The [Seko] Padang people's
custom in relatmg to their parents is
that the parents must be respected.
They may not be disrespected. This is
also the ^vay an older sibling [should]
relate to his younger sibling.

Saya bersaudara delapan orang, tetapi
tiga orang meninggal. Jadi, sekarang
hanya ada lima orang yang hidup.
Sedangkan orane tua saya, semuanya
sudah meninggal. Dalam adat oran^

tSeko] Padang orang tua harus di-
lormati. Mereka tidak boleh

dipandang rendah. Demikian juga
seorang kakak terhadap adiknya.

66

SULAWESI LANGUAGE TEXTS

Na pulemu ti adinna pan^ na sangadl

na pu- lemu ti adi: -na pang na sangadl

3GFwA hAve-love this younger ^sibling- 3 PO and 3GFwA respect

ti kaanna Pang ma i ala'na tu dolu

ti kaa -na pang ma i ala' -na tu dolu
this older_sibling-3PO and go at bet\ifeen-3P0 person before

na anaka ha mading i patlapa' pang ha madlng
na anaka hang mading 1 pa- tiapa' pang hang madlng

and child NEG allow 3NB AJR-disrespect and NEG allow

i pasongkong ma i tu dolunna. Sangadinna parallu
i pa- songkong ma 1 tu dolu -na sangadl-na parallu
3NB AJR^'sass go at person b0fore~3PO rather '•'3PO need

na sangadl [ti] tu dolunna, saba* dea mo tl
na sangadl ti tu dolu -na saba^ dea mo ti
3GFwA respect this person before''3PO because 3PRO CMP this

dihata na ita
dihata na ita
god 3GFwA see

to, tu dolunna. Jadi*, mene: mo
to tu dolu -na jadi * mene: mo
that person before-3PO so as CMP

to ti, ala'na tu dolu, ba*tu inanna sola:
to ti ala' -na tu dolu ba'tu ina -na sola:
that this Jt>etween-3P0 person before or * mother^^SPO with

anakana, pang anakana dea mo pinukaa
anaka-na pang anaka-na dea mo pinu- kaa
child-'3PO and child-SPO 3PPO CMP onewho^is'-olderjsibling

ma i pinuadi: •

ma i pinu- adi:

go at one_who_is-younger_sibling

The younger sibling must be loved and
the older sibling must be respected.
And as for the relationship between
parents and children: Jthe children]
may not be disrespectnil nor sassy
toward their parents. Rather, they must
respect their parents, because this is the
way the spints directed our ancestors.
So, this is what the relationships are like
between parents and their children, and
between their children, that is, older
siblings and younger siblings.

Adik mesti disayangi dan kakak mesti
dihormati. Ba^ anak terhadap orang
tuanya, anak tidak boleh kurang ajar
atau membantah kepada orang tuanya.
Mereka hams mengnormati orang tua-
nya, sebab demikiamah adat yang diberi
oleb roh-roh kepada leluhur kita. Jadi,
begitulah hubungan' antara orang tua
atau ibu dan anaknya, dan hubungan
antara anaknya, yaitu antara kakak dan
adik.

SEKO

67

Pang 1 kibahine mi ti besanna te anaka,
pang 1 ki- bahine mo -i ti besa-na te anaka
and CND INT-woman CMP~CND this one -3PO this child

dea ti ada*na to Padang maringang da
dea ti ada' -na to Padang ma- ringang da
3PRO this custom-3PO person Padang AJR-light 3EMP

tongang , karena i na kibahine mo i na
tongang karena i na ki- bahine mo i na
truly because CND 3GFwA INT-woman CMP CND 3GFwA

mangkorai mo bahine , ti: muaiie ra ka bahine
mang-kora-i mo bahine ti: muane ra~ka bahine
TiW- find~LOC CMP woman this man whether wometn

ra ka, ha mangking i na isang tau boso:«
ra'ka hang mangking i na isang tau boso:

whether NEC so that 3NB 3GFwA know person many

Sangadi na isang po teng dea mo tu dolunna
sangadi na isang po=teng dea mo tu dolu -na
except 3GFWA know only 3PRO CMP person before-3PO

bahine pang na isang tu dolunna muane. Moo
bahine pang na isang tu dolu -na muane moo
woman and 3GFwA know person before~3PO man saying

"alo dea to innea mo ti muane,
alo dea to inne:-a mo ti muane
day 3PRO that here ~F CMP this man

Ina, Ama'*.
ina ama
mother father

Now, if one's child marries, the custom
of the [Seko] Padang people is truly
easy, because if one is going to get
married, (if a man or a woman meets
someone Uiey hope to marry), it's not
necessary that a lot of people get in-
volved. Rather, it is necessary oruy that
the parents of both the man and woman
agree. Saying, "Mother, Father, on such
and such a day the wedding will take
place."

Adat perkawinan orang Padang tidak
berbeht-belit karena manakala
seseorang akan menikah (lelaki atau
perempuan mendapat pasangan) tidak
melibatkan banyak orang. Cukup men-
iadi urusan oran^ tua mempelai laki-
laki dan mempelai perempuan, berkata,
"Ibu, Bapak, hari sekian perkawinan
dilaksanakan."

6S

SULAWESI LANGUAGE TEXTS

Dea ti ling na pake tu Padang i na sikore,
dea ti ung na pake tu Padang i na si- kore
3PRO this that 3GFwA use person Padang CUD SGFwA REC-dlsh

na konai sua: Nalayu i latenna moo
na kona:-i sua: Malayu i latenna moo
3GFwA say ^LOC words Malay at now saying

"perkawinan" ,
perkawinan

marriagB

maringang da tongang .
ma- ringang da tongang
AJR-light 3EMP truly

Kana' da teng sikore, besa
kana* da teng si- kore besa
enough 3EMP only REC-dish one

karibang besa tulu manoko, siasei. Pang dea to tulu
karibang besa tulu manoko si- ase -i pang dea to tulu
plate one egg chicken REC-wash-LOC and 3PR0 that egg

manoko sola:
manoko sola:
chicken with

karibang na toka'
karibang na toka*
piate 3GFwA hold

to amanna bahine
to ama -na bahine
that father-3PO woman

na pidihatai, Na konai i laling sua:na
na pi- dihata-i na kona:-i i laling sua: -na
3GFwA INST~god -LOC 3GFwA say -LOC at in words~3PO

mene: tee moo "Te tulu manoko makalebu na mene:
mene: tee moo te tulu manoko ma- kalebu na mene:
as this saying this egg chicken AJR-round and as

rang mo ho ti: i laling kasikoringammu se,

rang mo ho ti: i laling ka-si- koring -ang-mu se
later CMP also this at in NR~REC-cooking_pot-NR -2PO PL

The Padang people's custom when they
marry, nowadays called by the Malay
term "perkawinan", is not burdensome.
All that one needs to do to marry is to
have one plate and one chicken egg
[boiled, which is divided and eaten by
the two, after the two] wash each other's
hands. And [before eating the egg] this
egg and plate are both held up by the
woman's father who prays, saying words
like this, "As this egg is whole, so it will

Adat perkawinan orane Padang, yang
sekaran^ disebut dalam banasa
Indonesia "perkawinan", sangat seder-
hana. Dalam upacara perkawinan
cukup menyediakan sebuan mangkok
dan sebutir telur rebus [yang dibelah
dua, dimakan bersama, sesudah]
masing-masing saling mencucikan
tangan. [sebelum mempelai memakan
telur itu] Mangkok vang berisi telur
rebus itu diangkat oleh ayah mempelai
perempuan serava menaikkan doa,
Telur ayam ini bulat, semoga seperti

SEKO 69

kaslpubahineaioniu se, makalebu dea ' u

ka-si- pu- bahine-ang-mu se ma- kalebu dea' u

NR-REC~have~woman ~NR ~2PO PL AJR-round until 2PRO

kapatei ise.

ka- pa- mate-i se
AFF-CAU5-dle ~LOC PL

anunna i na sipubahine tu Padang*
anu -na i na si- pu- bahine tu Padang
object^SPO CND 3GFwA REC-have-woman person Padang

be from now on in your home, your itulah juea bulatnya rumah tanggamu,
marriage, until you die.** So, that's the sampai kalian menemui ajal**. Jadi,
way it IS when Padang people marry. demikianlah adat istiadat perkawinan

orang Padang.

Jadi • ,

mene:

mo da ti

jadi*

mene:

mo da ti

so

as

CMP 3EMP this

SULAWESI LANGUAGE
TEXTS

Barbara Friberg

UNHAS-SBL

Editor

A Publication of
Hie Suminer Institute of Linguistics, Inc.

in cooperation witli

Hasanuddin University

Ujung Pandang, Soutli Sulawesi

Dallas
1990

ISBN 0-88312.215-4
(also microfidie AP 15, ISBN 0-88312-300-2)

ISSN 1040-4414