We report non-resonant x-ray Raman scattering (XRS) measurements from hexagonal boron nitride for transferred momentum from 2 to 9 $mathrm{AA}^{-1}$ along directions both in and out of the basal plane. A symmetry-based argument, together with real-sp
ace full multiple scattering calculations of the projected density of states in the spherical harmonics basis, reveals that a strong pre-edge feature is a dominantly $Y_{10}$-type Frenkel exciton with no other textit{s}-, textit{p}-, or textit{d}- components. This conclusion is supported by a second, independent calculation of the textbf{q}-dependent XRS cross-section based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation.
