Forms, Functions and Values of Mbata Singing in Penti Ceremony at Tana Rata Village, Kota Komba District, East Manggarai Regency

Mbata song as the one of cultural that heritage at East Manggarai which is rich with the values and teachings for the human life. Mbata song is the ancestral heritage of the people in East Manggarai, which is always performed at traditional ceremonies at the Sa’o or one of the ceremonies who held by the government. One of the traditional ceremonies in this area is Penti Ceremony. Penti ceremony has a noble meaning beside of that as a thanksgiving to God or Mori Ndewa who is a god and ancestor of the harvest, also as a medium of reconciliation, or peace between villagers, and as the main place for the process of meaning of identity and a portrait of reality of how important is gratitude to the Creator and ancestor or Embu. There are three aspects of focus in this research, namely the form, function and values of Mbata Song in Penti Ceremony. This research is a qualitative descriptive study using by ethnographic approach and structuralism approach. Based on the results of the study, it was found that 1) The form of singing used in the Mbata Song at Penti ceremony is a solo that is sung first by mori mbo (host) and then in sako (answered) by the people involved and knows the song; 2) its function: a) as a means of ceremony and ritual, b) as the meaning for accompanying the dance and media communication, c) as a means of entertainment and d) as an educational facility for young generation; 3) its values: a) educational values, b) religious values and c) sociological values.