e-Journal Patriarchy in Maternal Society Belu Est Nusa Tenggara I Ketut Suar Adnyana Balinese Department, Faculty of Education University of Dwijendra Denpasar Made Budiarsa English Department, Faculty of Letters Udayana University Ni Made Dhanawaty Indonesian Department, Faculty of Letters Udayana University Ni Nyoman Padmadewi English Department Undiksha University Abstract This present study, which analyzed patriarchy in maternal society in Belu, is a qualitative one. Four couples were determined as informants. They were determined using snow ball sampling technique. The data were collected through non participatory observation and interview. The observation in the family domain was focused on the communication between the husbands and wives. What was observed was recorded in the field note book. What was observed was every speech event and the focus was the topic discussed, where and when the speech took place, and who took part in it. In addition, the researcher also recorded every speech event using a voice recorder, a handycamp and a camera. From the speech events observed, it was found that the men had superordinate position and the women had subordinate position. The dominating position could be observed from what linguistic strategies were used in communication. The men showed the power they had using instruction, interruption, and quiet strategy. The power the men had indicated that patriarchy was applied in the Belu maternal community. There were several similarities in regard to their speech behaviors between the maternal community and paternal community. Keywords: Patriarchy, maternal, speech strategies 1. Introduction Derrida states that in a binary pair one party gives privileges to the other (Fromm, 2011: 27). Similarly, in a maternal community, women are given privileges such as the facts that the families are determined based on the maternal line and that the ownership of property passes from mother to daughter. This is also applicable to the Belu maternal community. Apart from giving privileges to the women, there are also several expressions such as liu rae loto and ina maromak which are used to glorify the women. Based on the privileges provided to the women and the expressions used to glorify them, traditionally, it can be stated that the women in the Belu community have superordinate position. The difference in how the women and men are traditionally treated, if analyzed based on what is proposed by Coates (1986), results from the difference in approach which considers that the women and women are different. Such a difference causes the women’s linguistic behaviors to differ from the women’s. In general, in a paternal society the men are considered having all the power in the family domain. Based on such a view, in a maternal society the women are considered having all the power in the family domain. In the paternal society, the women’s position is made similar to the men’s. The study conducted by Adnyana (2012), which explored the daily linguistic behaviors of the maternal community in Belu, indicated that the family authority rested on the men. The patriarchy in the maternal community in Belu could be observed from the people’s linguistic behaviors reflected by how orders and interruptions were given and the quiet strategy used. Based on what was described above, in this present study the paternal forms in the Belu maternal community in East Nusa Tenggara are discussed. 2. Research Method The present study was conducted in some areas where the Tetun ethnic group lives. The Tetun ethnic group is one of the ethnic groups living in Belu Regency and adhering to matriarchy. The Tetun people live in three districts; they are West Malaka District, Weliman District, and Wewiku District. Among the 17 districts, only six adhere to matriarchy, and three of which such as West Malaka District, Weliman District, and Wewiku District, are entirely matriarchal. Three districts such as Rinhat District, Central Malaka District, and East Mala District adhere to patriarchy as well as matriarchy (Adnyana, 2012: 56). Out of the three districts which entirely adhere to matriarchy (West Malaka District, Weliman District, and Wewiku District), only one, that is, West Malak Barat, was chosen as the location where the present study was conducted. It is made up of 20 villages, and one of them, that is, Uma Lor Village, was chosen as the village where the present study was located for several reasons. They were 1) most of the people living at Uma Lor Village belonged to the Tetun Ethnic group; 2) it used to be the kingdom center in the past as could be proved from the fact that there were three tafatic (royal) buildings; they are Tafatik Makdean Rai, Tafatik Kaberan Rai, and Tafatic Rabahasa Hain. 3) Topographically, it is far enough from the regency capital and the provincial capital. It is about 86 kilometers from the regency capital and 400 kilometers from the provincial capital, meaning that the people living in it were less affected by globalization than those living at the other villages. The primary data, which were in the form of speeches, were obtained from the Tenun ethnic group community. The data included their daily conversations and the conversations taking place in the traditional meetings. Therefore, to make the data collected valid, comprehensive and reliable, the key informant was firstly determined using snowball sampling technique. Then the following informants were determined based on who were referred to by the key informant and so forth (Sugiyono, 2008: 125). The determination of the informants was discontinued when the data obtained were regarded as having represented the linguistic facts the Uma Lo’or ethnic group people living in Belu Regency had. The observation and non participatory method was used to obtain the data needed (Moleong, 2002: 126). The observation made in the family domain was focused on the communication taking place between the husbands and wives. What was observed was recorded in the field note book; what was focused was the topics, where and when the speech events took place, and who were involved. In addition, every speech event was also recorded using a voice recorder, a handycamp and a camera. 3. RESULTS Based on what was described above, the patriarchy adhered to by the maternal community could be observed from the fact that the conversations were dominated by the men. Such domination was realized through what was ordered, interruption, and quiet strategy. 3.1 Order Order was one of the strategies used by the men in the maternal community when they communicated each other. In general, an order was used to ask someone to do something. The orders used by the men to communicate with the women can be illustrated as follows. Situation : This conversation took place in the afternoon. The husband was looking for something in the cupboard in the waiting room, while mother was in the kitchen. 1. S : Imbei, mai lai Ibu seni cepat ‘Mum, come here at once’ 2. I : Nan sa? Ada apa ‘What’s the matter’ 3. S : Modi kunci mai Ambi kunci nya ‘Take the key’ (After some time) 4. S : Lae lais Cepat ‘Cepat’ (Quickly) 5. I : Heinlai sebentar ‘Sebentar’ (Just a moment) 6. S : Ah, mode kunci nia laci INTJ ambil kunci di laci ‘Ah ambil kunci di laci’ (Ah, take the key in the drawer) (Adnyana, 2012: 200) From the conversations above, it could be observed that the husband ordered the wife to do something. The first order was made to ask the wife to get close to the husband. This was done to avoid the wife from misunderstanding what was ordered by the husband. After the wife was getting close to the husband, the husband gave another instruction to the wife to take the key (line 1 -3). After some time, the husband gave another instruction to the wife to take the key (line 3). After some time, the husband instructed the the wife to give the key to him immediately (line 4). After some time, the wife failed to find the key; as a result, the husband once again asked her to take the key from the drawer (line 6). If the order given by the husband to the wife was observed, it could be seen that the husband was in the superordinate position. The instruction given by the husband to the wife reflected such domination. When the wife was ordered to do something by the husband, she always did it without arguing. That showed that the wife was in the subordinate position. The sentences uttered by the husband were classified into what is referred to as mood derivable (Blum-Kulka et al., 1999). The imperatives uttered by the husband showed high degree of directness; the reason was that the mood of the sentences was in accordance with the words forming them (Wijana, 1996: 32-33). Having several traditional privileges, the wife should be in superordinate position. However, as far as the speech events above are concerned, the contrast took place. The husband was in superordinate position. In such a position, the husband had the right to order the wife. In the paternal society, the men had superordinate position, and; as a consequence, the men controlled the households. The position of the husband in the paternal society was similar to the husband’s position in the maternal society. This was a paternal form in the maternal society. Being in the subordinate position did not necessarily mean that the wife did not have the right to order the husband. The wife had the right to order the husband; however, the way in which she ordered the husband was different as illustrated below. Conversation 2 1. S : Orasida kalo listrik moris bele soru kalan? Sebenar kalau listrik menyala bisa tenun malam ‘Sebentar, kalau listrik menyala bisa menenun pada malam hari?’ 2. I : Bele, soru kalam bele. bisa tenun malam bisa ‘Bisa, menenun malam hari.’ 3. S : Soru too jam 10 bele to. Tenun sampai jam 10 bisa kan ‘Menenun sampai jam 10, bisa kan?’ 4. I : Tulun Bapa, hola nia. tolong Bapak, ambil DET. ‘Tolong Bapak, ambil itu’ 5. S : (mengambilkan benang untuk istrinya) 6. I : Jam 10 hai hanawa jam 10 baru istirahat ‘Jam 10 baru istirahat.’ : Tulun ida nia. Tolong satu DET ‘Tolong yang satu itu’. 7. S : (mengambilkan potongan bamboo untuk istrinya) (Adnyana, 2012: 228) In conversation 2, the wife ordered the husband using the word tulun ‘tolong’ (help) (line 6 and line 4). The use of the word tulun caused the order given by the wife to sound more polite. The word tulun indicated that the wife was in subordinate position. Being in subordinate position, the wife ordered the husband in such a polite way that he did not feel that he was ordered. Spencer and Oatey (2001: 22) stated that such a choice made the order given have the impact of politeness. Such a choice in strategy could not be separated from the power the husband had in the household. This phenomenon was also applicable to the paternal society. Being in subordinate position, the wife ordered the husband politely as illustrated by the above example. The following conversation was taken from the dissertation written by Padmadewi entitled ‘Tuturan Masyarakat Buleleng dan Konstruksi Gender’. She did not state that the speech she discussed was made by the paternal community. Conversation 3 1 S : Pak kal ke depan o? Pak mau ke depan ‘ Pak mau ke depan ya? 2 S : Kenken kal minum? Bagaimana mau minum? ‘Kenapa? Mau minum? 3 I Ya pak tolong kalau mau ke depan Ya pak tolong kalau mau ke depan ‘Ya pak, tolong kalau akan ke depan’ (Padmadewi, 2005: 129) In line 3, the wife ordered the husband to do something using the word ‘tolong’. The wife used it to give the impression of politeness. That indicated that the husband had power so the wife chose an appreciate word to order the husband. From the analysis of conversation 2 and conversation 3, there was a similarity in the strategy used by the wife to order the husband, that is, the use of the word ‘tolong’. It could be concluded that the way in which the husband communicated in the paternal community was the same as the way in which the husband communicated in the maternal community; and the way in which the wife communicated in the paternal community was the same as the way in which the wife communicated in the maternal community. This phenomenon strengthened the fact that there was patriarchy in the maternal community. 3.2 Interruption Interruption is one of the strategies used in communication. Someone is stated to interrupt if he/she interrupts another while speaking (Coates, 1986: 153). The results of several studies showed that both men and women chose this strategy in communication. What has been argued is who makes more interruptions in communication? However, according to Adnyana (2012), the men (the husbands) made more interruptions than women for various objectives as described in the following table. Table 1. Use of Interruptions by Men and Women Gender Linguistic Strategy Linguistic Features Meaning The husband Interruption Interrupting the wife’s speech using imperative Interrupting the wife’s speech using interrogative Interrupting the wife’s speech using interrogative Interrupting the wife’s speech by repeating the wife’s statement - Interrupting the wife’s speech using interrogative Refuting the wife’s statement Confirming Disagreeing with the wife’s opinion Controlling the speech topic Evading from the topic Obtaining information The wife Interruption - Interrupting the husband’s speech using interrogative Adding information Obtaining information Table 1 clearly shows how the interruptions made by the men were different from those made by the women. The men made interruptions to repute the wife’s opinion, ask for confirmation, disagree with the wife’s opinion, control the topic, evade from the topic and to obtain information; however, the wife made interruptions to add and obtain information. The interruptions made by the husbands were used to show that the husband had power over the wife. Such power was not analyzed from the quantity of the interruptions made by the husband, but based on the variations of the interruptions made by the men. The men used six (75%) interruptions; however, the women used two (25%) interruptions. Out of the six interruptions made by the men, four indicated the power the men had over the women. The four types of interruptions were (1) reputing what was stated by the wife, (2) disagreeing with the wife’s opinion, (3) controlling the topic, and (4) evading from the topic (Adnyana, 2012: 298). Tanen (1990) stated that the interruptions made in speeches indicated domination. The husband dominated the speeches as he had power in the household. The power the husband had in making interruptions was not so different from the power the husband had in the paternal community. Padmadewi (2005) stated that the couples with higher education made interruptions with different objectives. The husband making interruptions to repute the wife’s opinion, disagree partially with the wife’s statement, and disagree with the wife’s behavior indicated that he was more skillful in communicating things and that he was responsible for the family. However, the wife made interruptions to show that she knew the topic being discussed. From what was discussed above, it could be stated that the husbands in Buleleng Regency had power over their wives. Such power was realized in the form of interruptions. If the husbands in Buleleng Regency, as the paternal community, were compared to those in the Belu community, as the maternal community, the husbands were in superordinate position in their families. This phenomenon showed that the power the husbands had in Buleleng Regency was the same as the power the husbands had in the Belu maternal community, indicating that there was patriarchy in the Belu maternal community. 3.3 The Strategy of Being Quiet Being quiet was one of the linguistic strategies chosen both by the husband and wife. Padmadewi (2005) stated that the men and women used the strategy of being quiet in communication with different objectives. Being quiet did not indicate powerlessness. The following table presents the strategy of being quiet used by the men (the husband) and women (the wife). Table 2. The Difference in Being Quiet Strategy Used by the Men and Women Gender Linguistic Strategy Linguistic Features Meaning Remarks Being quiet - Not giving access to the wife The husband Being quiet - Disagreeing with what was proposed by the wife - Acknowledging mistakes The wife Being quiet - Avoiding conflicts with the husband - Stating agreement - Acknowledging mistakes (Adnyana, 2012: 317) Table 2 showed that the men used the strategy of being quiet to indicate that they did not give access to the women, disagreed with what was proposed by the women, and acknowledged mistakes. However, the women used the strategy of being quiet to avoid conflicts with their husbands, to show agreement, and to acknowledge mistakes. If the strategy of being quiet used by the men was compared to that used by the women, it could be stated that the men used the strategy of being quiet to show that they had power over their wives, and that the women used the strategy of being quiet to show that they were cooperative in communication. From the strategy of being quiet used by the Buleleng community in general and the husbands and wives with higher education in particular, it could be stated that the strategy of being quiet was used by the men (the husband) to express refusal, show strength, and to maintain their status. However, the strategy of being quiet used by the women was used to express loyalty, powerlessness, and their husbands’ superiority. From such comparisons, it could be concluded that the husband in the maternal community had the same position as the husband in paternal Buleleng community. This showed that there was patriarchy in the Belu maternal community. Such patriarchy could be observed from their linguistic behavior. 3.4 Conclusions Based on what was discussed in 3.1., 3.2., and 3.3, it could be concluded that traditionally, the women had several privileges; the families were determined through the maternal line and the ownership of property passed from mother to daughter. However, such privileges were not reflected by their linguistic behavior. Based on their linguistic behavior, it was the men who had super ordinate position. This could be observed from how imperatives were used, how interruptions were made, and the strategy of being quiet was used. The men’s linguistic behavior showed that they had power in their families. The power the men had indicated that there was a patriarchy in the Belu maternal community. Acknowledgements In this opportunity, I would like to express my appreciation to Prof. Dr. Made Suastra, M.A., as the main supervisor, Dr. Ni Made Dhanawaty, as co-supervisor I, Prof. Dr. Ni Nyoman Padmadewi, M.A., as co-supervisor II, and the board of examiners: Prof. Dr. Aron Meko Mbete, Prof. Dr. Drs. Ida Bagus Putra Yandnya, M.A., Prof. Drs. Made Suastra, Ph.D., Dr. A.A. Putu Putra, M.Hum., Dr. Made Satyawathi, S.S., M.Hum. for their comments and suggestions.