Structures of Representational Metafunctions of the “Cheng Beng” Ceremony in Pematangsiantar: A Multimodal Analysis

Abstract

This research discusses structures of representational metafunctions in the Chinese cultural ceremony known as Cheng Beng. The visual multimodal components were the primary focus since the culture of the Cheng Beng ceremony was dominated by visual aspects showing the process of conducting the ceremony. The methodology used in this research was the descriptive qualitative approach. The visual data sources were obtained from four phases in conducting Cheng Beng, with twenty-five pictures for every metafunction of visual communication. After applying the analysis to the data, the researcher found that structures of representational multimodal metafunctions used in the Cheng Beng ceremony in Pematangsiantar applied: the actional process (actor and goal) and reactional process (reactor and phenomenon) with the circumstances (locative and means).