Metaphors of mourning in Acehnese culture: A conceptual mapping analysis

Abstract

Death is a universal phenomenon shared by all human beings, yet its interpretation through language simultaneously reflects both universality and cultural diversity. Across societies, death metaphors reveal deep-seated worldviews and values, showing how people everywhere grapple with mortality while expressing it in distinct cultural forms. This study aims to analyze Acehnese metaphors of death, highlighting their cultural significance and the ways in which they convey beliefs, emotions, and social attitudes. Employing qualitative methods and purposive sampling with interviews of 10 informants, the data were analyzed using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The findings revealed 17 metaphors surrounding death in Aceh, with 10 conveying positive connotations that reflect a cultural inclination to find solace and meaning amid loss, framing death as a transformative journey or a return to the Creator. Positive expressions, commonly used in religious recitations, consolatory speech at funerals, and everyday conversations about loss, included phrases like geutinggai tanyoe [left us], geuwoe bak Tuhan [gone home to God], geucok pulang [been taken back by God], geujak [departed], and geupeulikôt dônya [turned his/her back to the world]. Conversely, 7 negative metaphors highlight emotional challenges and societal fears. Impolite terms such as maté [is dead], keumah [is done/finished], and wabah kireueh [scraped by a plague] carry negative connotations and lack the respect typically associated with discussions of death. The study also highlighted the use of figurative language by adults when explaining death to children, including phrases like geujak [he/she has gone] and jak beuet [gone to study (the Qur’an)]. Given the study’s qualitative scope and reliance on ten purposively selected informants, the findings should be viewed as culturally specific insights rather than universally generalizable claims. These limitations mean that the results capture in-depth cultural meanings within Acehnese society but may not fully represent the diversity of individual experiences or be generalized across other cultures. Nonetheless, they underscore the value of localized metaphor analysis in revealing how communities linguistically frame universal human experiences such as death.