Traditional Communication and Language Power In The Deliberative Culture Of �Lonto Leok�

Communication of traditional elite power relations and language
power over silent groups in the Lonto Leok deliberation culture
greatly influences the results of deliberations which essentially ignore
the opinions of the lower community, so that the democracy that
occurs seems to represent all community opinions. Therefore, it is
necessary to know the power relations of traditional elites with the
community (silent groups) in order to gain an understanding of this
democratic context. This research was conducted among the
Manggarai ethnic group in Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara
Province using qualitative methods. Data collection was conducted by
in-depth interviews with local elites and people who practice the
lonto leok culture. To get the appropriate views, focused discussions
were conducted to match the results of the interviews. The results of
this study concluded that the lonto leok culture is a form of
deliberation in the context of the Manggarai indigenous community,
where the customary elite (traditional elite) has a very strong role in
decision-making which is implicitly supported by the power of
language to silence the lower layers of society (non-elite) to prevent
dissent.