An Ethnosemantic Study of Palu Toponym and Its Association with Natural Hazards

This research investigates how the naming of locations in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia describes the geographical and social conditions in the local area. After the earthquake and tsunami on September 28


Introduction
The semantic element of a place or area is intriguing to scrutinize because they carry certain contextual and historical information.Humans give a name to a place not without reason but as an attribute so that people can recall it as a differentiator between one area and another.The differences can be marked based on the characteristics of society, culture, natural wealth, and geography.A name of a place, or in linguistics called toponymy, is essential as a rudimentary knowledge of the community Several researchers in Indonesia have carried out research related to toponymy.Such as the Toponym of Cirebon Regency and City by Anshari et al. (2017) and the Toponym of Lamongan Regency by Camalia (2015) using an analysis of ethnosemantic studies and linguistic anthropology.In Indonesia, an area's naming can be based on culture, nobility, history, folklore, building construction, and natural phenomena.It is intended so that people can acquire necessary information regarding the areas they visit so that immigrant communities can know an area's history, traditions, customs, rules, and geography.(Sari, 2022;Triana et al, 2022;Kumala et al, 2022;Halfian et al, 2022, & Nugraha, 2023) Using a different approach, Mandillah (2022) accepts that the name of an area is affiliated with the morphosyntactic structure of a language, so Mandillah researched named areas in the West Kenya region, Bungoma County.It was revealed that their toponyms were assembled based on history, topographical features, and climatic conditions.In addition, Kyzy Gojayeva (2022) observed toponyms in fiction using the Azerbaijani language, which differs from previous research.Sociopolitical relations and religious affiliation are believed to be the determining factors in forming a toponym.However, this has a different approach and reality because the toponym names are exemplified in works of fiction.In addition, Steenwijk (2022) also mentions toponyms in the Val Resia area.However, this observation introduces how toponyms and demonyms alter based on socio-cultural developments.
However, the previous studies have yet to thoroughly clarify how toponyms and local culture are associated with natural phenomena, especially potential natural disasters.Moreover, Palu, that is famous for its tectonic plates and is also an area prone to earthquakes, so there are toponyms related to this natural phenomenon.
In contrast to previous studies, this research examines the names of urban villages in Palu, including the name Palu, the capital of the province of Central Sulawesi.Previous research has yet to take an approach that merges how toponyms in an area can be a trait of potential disasters.The toponyms, of course, have a historical, socio-cultural, and geographical background that has gone through a long process and has yet to be fully revealed.
The naming of Palu, for example, also contains diverse meanings.The city of Palu is the word Topalu'e which means uplifted land, because this area was originally part of the sea; due to an earthquake and shifting of the tectonic plates, the area that was previously the ocean was lifted and formed a valley that is now become a city, Palu.Another term also states that the name Palu comes from the Kaili language, namely volo, which means bamboo that grows from the Tawaeli area to Sigi Regency (Karsana, 2019).Local humanists, cultural observers, and historians confirmed this in the city of Palu, that previously parts of Palu were covered with bamboo.
Not only related to the ins and outs of the naming of Palu, the toponymy of urban villages in Palu, which generally employs the local language, also possesses various meanings.Almost all of the 46 urban villages in Palu use the Kaili language.The naming of the area is based on the background of geographical phenomena that exist or have occurred in physical, biological, geological, socio-cultural, and historical aspects.Based on the problems and discussion above, the researcher wants to uncover the semantic meaning of the toponyms in the urban village of Palu, Central Sulawesi.These names will be scrutinized with an ethnosemantic approach to reveal where these regional names' origins and authentic meanings are taken from the Kaili language.

Literature Review
Toponym is a study that observes the form and pattern of names for a place or geographical name.The name of a place is closely associated with the social community and culture.Toponyms are unique and different from other words in arbitrary language systems because toponyms recollect an event or experience of someone who utilizes them (Radding & Western, 2010).Toponym studies are often mistaken for cross-disciplinary studies, even though linguistic studies consider toponyms as linguistic mapping, a valuable indicator in regional mapping and historical and cultural reconstruction (Giraut, 2020).In addition, toponyms are a sub-study of semantics in linguistics because they concentrate on the meaning of a place or area.This study is also often associated with geographic linguistics, namely the study of the distribution of territorial areas characterized by the naming of an area (Khomutnikova et al., 2020).This is compelling because the name of an area will partake in a transformation for centuries based on social events and natural events that occur in that area.It means that the name of an area can change based on these factors, and by tracing the name of the area, research can uncover the history and culture of the past.Toponym develops with science, geography, history, culture, and language.So, an area or culture can disappear, but ethnolinguistic evidence can provide a semantic conception and the remaining evidence of that culture.Toponym is also related to literature, where a region gives names to specific sites accompanied by oral-literary traditions to provide a vivid and stimulating description of events (Leo Agung & Akhyar, 2019).Of course, history filled with traditional art is more attractive for mundane people to follow and digest than detailed descriptions.So that the process of transmitting information using literature as a medium is more efficiently disseminated in society as an educative and exciting learning device.In this study, the researcher notices that the toponyms in Palu are rich in history.Moreover, every small area in this city has a solid oral literary saga.By studying toponyms using an ethnosemantic approach, the researcher expects to provide explanations and a complete picture of the toponym phenomenon in Palu.

Research Methods
The present study is descriptive qualitative research designed to contribute to theory, practice, policy, social issues, and action (Flick, 2022).This study attempted to describe toponyms with an ethnolinguistic approach to urban villages in Palu through data, both written and oral.The researcher JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics), 8(1), 2023 desired to find out the meaning and background of the village's naming, which has not been clearly revealed so far (Rasyid et al., 2016).Sources of research data come from informants or locals who are considered to understand the history and background of the naming of urban villages in Palu, such as historians and cultural figures, as well as community leaders.In addition to exploring for data through information from informants, the researcher also aimed and collected data that already exists in written form or through local folklore.The data that were collected were analyzed by compiling, classifying, and describing them.
The researcher purposely and deliberately determined informant criteria in this study: 1).Informants are seen as members of the public who are professionals in the fields of culture, language, and regional history, 2) Informants are also actively involved as academics in educational institutions, and 3) Informants were community leaders or traditional leaders.The researcher selected four individuals to be an informant to cooperate.The first informant is SL, a humanist and educational figure who is a Kailinese art and history expert.The second informant is RM, a local artist who comprehends local culture and history well.The third informant is DD, a traditional Kailinese figure with deep experience and knowledge about toponyms.Furthermore, the last one is TS, an educational figure, lecturer, humanist, and historical figure most respected in the city of Palu and who masters 21 dialects of the Kaili language and several dialects of languages in Sulawesi.From them, the researcher piloted information exploration and verification related to the relationship between toponyms and cultural, historical, and literary contexts.
In this study, the researcher conducted interviews with tribal leaders, cultural figures, and local historical figures to verify the data obtained to provide an accurate illustration of the phenomenon.These figures were interviewed using open-ended interviews, so they were comfortable and could provide a more extensive explanation of related phenomena.The interview was attended to by the researcher and converted into a transcription so that it could be interpreted and grouped later.This research employs a qualitative approach because researchers believe a qualitative research model can provide an accurate picture of the essence of meaning and reality.Concerning toponyms, the researcher noticed that descriptive research could provide descriptions and explanations of how the names of areas in the urban village of Palu originate and their relation to ethnosemantic elements.The collected toponym data was compartmentalized based on aspects and themes.Then the researcher specified the meaning and semantic relationship of the area's name.Furthermore, the researcher corroborated with traditional leaders, languages, humanists, and historians.The confirmed information was then interpreted to produce conclusions based on scientific evidence.

Results
The naming (toponym) of areas, especially urban villages in Palu, is interesting and ought to be taught to the public.Moreover, the people of Palu are heterogeneous where; they are inhabited by various tribes and languages community; of course, not all of them know the toponym or meaning of these names.The names of these urban villages are not just markers or characteristics of an area but, in fact, have implications that are adapted to their historical, socio-cultural background and geomorphological conditions.
To highlight local identity and part of local wisdom, the local government is also trying to maintain the names of these villages, which still use the Kaili language.Moreover, most of the speakers actually live in the Palu Valley area (Palu, Donggala Regency, and Sigi Regency).Like the current usage of street names in Palu, which also utilizes the Kaili language a lot.
Based on data from the Government Section of the Regional Secretariat of Palu, almost all of the 46 urban villages in eight sub-districts in Palu use the Kaili language.This data does not include the naming of a number of places that used to be settlements in Palu.Such as Tamalanja (Ipil-ipil tree), Tatari (a type of knee-high weed), Uvetumbu (water spring), Tatanga (central village), Tanah Runtuh, and Karampe (stopover center & harbor).
Based on the mapping, urban villages toponyms in Palu turn out to contain quite a variety of meanings but broadly speaking, they can be grouped into four parts, namely: biological toponym (flora and fauna), historical (historical) toponym, geomorphological toponymy, and socio-cultural toponym.This toponymy is the naming of a place established on the portrayal of the animals and plants that are around that area.So, in biological toponyms, the naming of a place is based on the names of animals and plants that grow or live around that place.
Based on the results of the research, the names of the urban village in Palu actually possess a lot of biological implications (flora and fauna).The proof is, of the 46 existing urban village, 17 of them are taken from the names of plants and animals.This means that the naming of urban village in Palu is dominated by plants and animals.This is due to the practice of the Kaili people, who used to name a place according to the plants that were there.Before becoming a developing area and becoming the provincial capital of Central Sulawesi, the City of Palu used to grow a lot of miscellaneous plants.For example, the naming of the Talise urban villages, because previously, there were many Catappa trees growing in that area.Even though later these trees are now rarely found anymore because they have diverted into residential and office areas.
Likewise, the naming of the Nunu urban village is located in the Tatanga District.In this area, it was once known that there were many Ficus trees.However, over time, only a few trees remained.The naming of the Balaroa urban village was also due to the fact that there used to be many Balaroa trees (similar to hibiscus trees).The area was one of the points of the liquefaction disaster on September 28, 2018, which killed thousands of residents; almost no trees are found anymore because they have turned into densely populated residential areas.However, after liquefaction occurred, most of the area was prohibited from being used as a settlement and entered the red (dangerous) zone.
Other villages whose names were formerly named because they were overgrown with plants include Silae (bamboo), Birobuli (Birobuli trees), Siranindi (Cathedral Bells plant), Kamonji (Breadfruit), Kayumalue Ngapa (Tree), Taipa (Mango), Lasoani (Thorn trees), Tavanjuka (Melinjo), Mamboro (Mamboro tree) and Donggala Kodi (Donggala tree).The characteristics of this urban village, according to its name, are now almost invisible.The Kaili people who live in the Palu Valley give the name of a village or urban village based on plants that are constantly found in that place.
Apart from being based on plants, there is also the naming of sub-districts in Palu because there are many animals found in that location, such as the water snail, Besusu.Although these animals are almost no longer encountered today because the area has now become a densely populated settlement, especially in the urban center area.The Besusu is divided into three, namely West, East, and Central Besusu, which is divided by a small river that is part of the East Palu District.

Historical Toponymy
The researcher uncovered that several urban villages contain ethnolinguistic information based on the toponym.Those historical events or incidents are closely affiliated with the formation of that zone.These historical events can be general (national) or specific (according to the local community).
According to Liliweri (2014), "Cultural is socially innate, or tradition passed from past generations to future generations," and culturally symbolically is "the basis of meaning shared by society."The toponymy of a place is a collective arrangement and is passed down between generations.So, to find out the meaning of a place name, historical and symbolic cultural studies are required.
Likewise, the naming of urban villages in Palu is also influenced by many aspects, and one of them is the historical aspect.The names of some urban villages by their ancestors are based on the history of the place's formation.History is not only related to natural events and disasters but also customs.The name Kampung Baru, which has now changed its name to Kelurahan Baru, for example, according to historians, means a place that was previously empty and then made into a new settlement.Likewise, the naming Pantoloan Boya means redemption with a cloth.Based on local folklore and community leaders, the area was once part of a small kingdom in the Palu Valley.If there are people who violate the tribal law, then the penalty is to make up for it with a cloth.However, the naming of the region based on history also raises multiple interpretations.Such is the case with the name Petobo.This urban village which became a silent witness to the enormity of the liquefaction and claimed thousands of lives, in Kailinese, means a place for a massacre.That said, this place which borders Sigi Regency, used to be a slaughterhouse for people who opposed the king or committed transgressions.Those who commit violations will receive severe punishment from the king or regional leader at that time.In this place, a historical event also occurred when a woman named Taboge Bulava was about to be married to a man from the Kaili Tara tribe.However, they made an agreement that the dowry that would be handed over to the bride was the construction of an irrigation canal from the Kawatuna river to Petobo.Watkinson & Hall (2019) argued that this improper irrigation pattern and structure caused liquefaction when the 2018 earthquake occurred.Earthquakes only triggered land shifts which result in landslides due to the reduction of soil density structure and also the geographical conditions of Central Sulawesi, which are prone to tectonic earthquakes.In addition, The Kaili people in Palu believe that the Petobo area is uninhabitable because it can cause devastation, so the area only becomes a location for tribal war.
However, along with the development of population mobilization, Petobo began to be inhabited by multicultural people so that people from new settlements did not know that this location was uninhabitable based on local customs.In addition, most of the area in Petobo is paddy fields, plantations, and agricultural irrigation (Bradley et al., 2019), causing the potential for landslides and liquefaction to occur at any time when a tectonic earthquake occurs.

Socio-Cultural Toponymy
Socio-cultural toponym means naming a place based on a grant from someone who has authority over that place.So, toponymy established on socio-culture is based on a contribution by an individual who has an essential role in that place.There is also because the zone is the center of community activity.
The naming of places in Palu undoubtedly goes through a protracted process, not only based on biological (flora and fauna) and historical aspects, but other phenomena such as social culture also affect the naming of a place.Rais (2008) expresses that multiple names of geographical elements were given by humans when they first populated an area based on parables or mythology and also bonded to the history of human settlements.Thus, the toponym of a place cannot be isolated from human activity, and the naming of the place becomes an identity distinguishable from other places.
Likewise, naming villages and sub-districts in Palu cannot be disconnected from socio-cultural aspects.The naming communed to social activities at that time, such as gardening, animal husbandry, medicine, and craftsmanship, like Poboya, which means sheep farm.From the past until now, the area has been a place for sheep and goat husbandry.However, these sheep farms are no longer naturally found because the land where livestock spread has been transformed into residential areaslikewise Tipo, which means a place to weave mats.The village was formerly known as a place for producing woven mats.Many people work as mat weavers, a source of livelihood besides gardening and fishing.They use the local language as the area's name and a marker of where they accomplish their activities.
The name Pengawu, which means a place of medication, is also closely related to the people's social background at that time.The location was formerly known to the public as a place to take ingredients for medicines.Nevertheless, the area, which is part of the Tatanga District, has turned into residential areas, offices, and businesses.1.4 Geomorphological toponymy Naming places in Central Sulawesi, including Palu, relatively has a long process.Not only witnessed from socio-cultural phenomena but geographical phenomena also seriously impact the naming of a place.Bintarto and Hadisumarno (1979) separate geographical and environmental phenomena into physical and non-physical ones.The physical environment phenomenon consists of topological, non-biotic, and biotic aspects.The topological aspect is the physical environment related to an area's location, shape, shape, and boundaries.In contrast, non-biotic aspects are aspects of the physical environment consisting of soil, water, and climate.The biotic aspect is an aspect of the physical environment consisting of humans, animals, and plants.The non-physical environmental phenomena consist of social, economic, cultural, and political aspects.
The toponym of the area based on geomorphology means the naming of a place based on the shape of the land of an area (city, district, sub-district, village, urban village, hamlet, and others) associated with the existence of that place.So, the toponym of sub-districts and urban villages is based on the shape of the land in the area.
The toponym of a place or village in Palu is also based on the shape of the land or geomorphology.Currently, some of the names of urban villages in Palu are determined based on the land's condition and the place's geography.Such as Buluri (hill/mountain), Watusampu (sharpening stone/whetstone), Kabonena (lots of sand), Baiya (dry area), Kawatuna (rocks), Tatura (collapsed ground), Tondo (edge area) and Duyu (landslide).
The name Kabonena, for example, means much sand because, in that area, the contours of the land are mixed with sand.Understandably, formerly the area that is now part of the Ulujadi District was part of the sea before it finally experienced natural processes and the effects of earthquakes and plate shifts.
Moreover, the naming of Tatura and Duyu became part of the disaster mitigation efforts by the ancestors of the Kaili tribe.The two areas had previously disasters that claimed many lives.In Duyu, floods have been recorded several times apart from landslides.For this reason, those previous two areas were not recommended as residential locations.However, in reality, the two locations are currently residential areas.After the earthquake, tsunami, and liquefaction on September 28, 2018, the regional government designated Duyu as a permanent shelter for thousands of disaster survivors.They are generally victims of the earthquake and liquefaction in Balaroa Village and its surroundings.However, it is risky because, based on the toponym, the place is prone to landslides.For this reason, the goverment should select a safer location for shelter.
Likewise, with Tondo, which means the edge or outskirts, the area is located on the edge of the Talise beach and is also on the outskirts of a location prone to landslides, so it is known as a landslide.When the earthquake occurred on September 28, 2018, some areas, especially along the coast, experienced cracks and collapsed into the sea.Not only landslides and landslides but parts of the Tondo, which are now permanent housing locations for thousands of disaster survivors, are also prone to and are frequently hit by floods.
Based on the results of this research, naming the urban village area also supports the community in recognizing the geographical conditions of the urban area.Communities can know the potential for disasters in their area, so they are always vigilant and make early anticipation exertions.Moreover, many locations that are currently residential areas in Palu are vulnerable and prone to disasters.Therefore, research with linguistic, cultural, and historical approaches can outline why the indigenous people manipulated toponyms to inform the populace and avoid losses.

Toponyms, Linguistics, and Beliefs of Indigenous Tribe
In the Kaili tribe culture, no evidence of penmanship has been found.In the pre-cartographic era, it would not be easy to map an area without using the local language to determine the toponym.JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics), 8(1), 2023 Toponym is designed according to the local language and provides a topographical portrayal of an area (Akbarova, 2022).Its relation to linguistics is that the sense contained in toponyms is associated with specific contexts such as social, cultural, historical, flora and fauna, geography, and even potential disasters (Moyo & Nombembe, 2022).In the past, the indigenous Kaili tribe did not yet have clear reasons to describe why a natural phenomenon occurred, so they composed a fictional story as a prohibition and warning so that it was straightforward to understand and became a social fact in their culture (Babamuradova, 2022).
In line with the current research, Halfian (2022) illustrates that area name is determined based on societal conventions, sociocultural figures, and geographical conditions.Even the land surface's or the earth's appearance also determines toponymy.In contrast to Halfian, Setyo et al. (2022) consider that social aspects and historical geography can a general description of the origin of an area's name.The name of an area is also closely connected to saga and folklore, the truth of which needs to be scientifically investigated.Apart from that, the uniqueness of the naming of an area is also determined by the language background.For example, in the Philippines, local names and terms are closely associated with Spanish language discourse, which introduced by Portuguese sailors (Rodrigues, 2022).In addition, several cities were planned to be named after British colonial officials in Malaysia.These names give an overview of the history of an area.For example, George Town in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, has so much history that it became a marker of friction between the British Empire, colonies, and multi-ethnicities.The place's name has been maintained until now and has become a historical heritage (Rungkhapan, 2022).
In addition, this toponym has a historical background, in this case, in the Palu, Balaroa area, which is the zone where liquefaction occurred.Since long ago, the indigenous people of Kaili believed this was an uninhabitable place, so the natives had a special lexeme for liquefaction disasters, namely "Nalodo" (Triyanti et al., 2022).Furthermore, Balaroa is a plant or tree of Katimahar (Kleinhovia hospita).These plants tend to grow in secondary forests or on the banks of rivers.The researcher considers that there has been a disaster similar to the evidence of this plant, which tends to appear in secondary forests after damage or changes in the geographical face.
The researcher strongly believes that folklore and art can adequately describe past experiences or events (Fujii et al., 2021;Indriana et al., 2021).The name of a region is a window of the history and differentiae of a nation, so toponyms must be considered because they contain essential information and reflect people's way of life in ancient times.These names also illustrate how and from where humans migrated.It gives an outlook on human life from the beginning until particular cultures liquefied away and disappeared, swallowed up by acculturation and modernization (Agmon, 2022).Thus, the naming of an area needs to be accompanied by an explanation that is efficiently unrestricted to the public, but this is sometimes noticed as an attempt to scare people.However, let us look at it from a disaster management perspective.This can speed up the evacuation process and increase public awareness of potential disasters in their area (Atanga & Tankpa, 2022;Li et al, 2022).The government should refrain from covering up important information like this because disaster mitigation knowledge is essential for people who live in disaster-prone areas.In the future, the researcher hopes there will be efforts from the government to provide disaster mitigation management education and be transparent on this issue.

Conclusion
Based on the research results above, the names (toponyms) of urban villages in Palu contain eclectic meanings.They are generally dominated by the names of plants (flora).These results accurately describe that in the past Kaili tribe anointed a place based on local vegetation.Nevertheless, apart from geographical conditions, the toponym is also based on people's habits and past events in the area.The toponym of the Palu urban village consists of four parts, namely: biological aspects, geomorphological aspects, historical aspects, and sociocultural aspects.The results of this study still need to be improved, considering the limited data and the broad scope of the research.However, at least it can provide insight into the knowledge of the community about the meaning of the toponym of urban village areas in Palu.In the future, there will also be research that is reviewed from other sciences by exploring further the of the Palu area, especially from the historical aspect of the disaster.Thus, it is crucial, considering that Palu is a disaster-prone area often hit by disasters, especially earthquakes.

Table 1 .
The toponyms of Palu urban villages

Table 2 .
Toponymy of urban village in Palu based on biological aspects

Table 3 .
Toponymy of urban village in Palu based on historical aspects JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics), 8(1), 2023

Table 4 .
Toponymy of urban village in Palu based on socio-cultural aspect

Table 5 .
Toponymy of urban village in Palu based on geomorphological aspect