Muna is a Western Austronesian language spoken more than 300,000 people on the island of Muna, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Classified as threatened on the EGIDS scale, Muna is experiencing declining intergenerational transmission, with language shift accelerated by outmigration and the dominance of Indonesian in urban and multi-ethnic settings. This decline endangers not only the vitality of the language but also oral traditions that embody cultural knowledge, such as Palenda.

Palenda is a distinct form of metaphor in Muna. While earlier research variously translated it as satire, parable, riddle, or figurative verse, no systemic study has been conducted to establish its linguistic and cultural profile. In some studies, the definitions of Palenda and Kabhanti (a sung oral tradition in Muna) have even been conflated, with Palenda translated as Pantun or equated with Kabhanti itself. However, while Kabhanti is a rhyme that is sung, Palenda is not tied to performance but functions more broadly as metaphorical expression in both oral literature and everyday speech. It reflects how the Mieno Wuna conceptualize life, drawing on socio-cultural contexts such as seafaring and agriculture, and encoding values of resilience, empathy, and social criticism.

This project investigates the forms, functions, meanings, and socio-cultural values embedded in Palenda, providing the first comprehensive account of this local category of metaphor. Theoretically, the study demonstrates how metaphor in Palenda both reflects and shapes worldview, contributing to debates in linguistics, cognitive semantics, and linguistics anthropology. Practically, it documents oral traditions, provides a foundation for culture-based Muna language teaching, and informs preservation policies. Beyond academia, the project also highlights the cognitive and social value of metaphor as a tool for creativity, perspective-taking, and empathetic communication.

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