DEATH AS CULTURAL TEXT: HERMENEUTICS OF TORAJA LANGUAGE AND CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY

Abstract

Death in Toraja society is not only understood as a biological event, but as a cultural experience that is expressed and interpreted through language. This article aims to examine the Toraja language about death as a cultural text by using a language hermeneutic approach combined with a contextual theological perspective. This research uses a qualitative-interpretive method through literature study and analysis of cultural texts on terms, expressions, and narratives of death in the Toraja language. The results of the study show that the Toraja language (especially in Aluk To Dolo) interprets death as a gradual process, maintaining the deceased as a social subject that remains related to the community, and framing death through the metaphor of a journey rich in symbolic meaning. Hermeneutic readings show that the Toraja language of death forms a relational, communal, and dynamic understanding. The contextual theological implications of this study confirm that cultural language can be a space for reflection on faith that is grounded and dialogical. Thus, this article contributes to the study of language and literature, especially in understanding the narrative of death as a cultural text, as well as enriching the development of contextual theology in Indonesia.