The Local Wisdom of Mangarou Totok Incantation towards Natural

Resources in Simalungun Ethnic: An Anthropolinguistic Study

Nenni Triana Sinaga

, Robert Sibarani, Pujiati, Budi Agustono

Post-Graduate Department in Linguistics, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, North

Sumatra, Indonesia

Keywords: Local Wisdom, Mangarou Totok, Natural Resources, Anthropolinguistics.

Abstract: The purpose of this research are 1. To find the process of treatment of newborn baby teeth, 2. To find the

types of local wisdom in Incantation of mangarou totok in simalungun ethnic. This research were applied

anthropolinguistics approach. The parameters of analysis use interconnection, evaluability, and

sustainability. Based on the research findings, local wisdom of mangarou totok incantation towards natural

resources in simalungun ethnic indicates that it can be used as local wisdom to conserve the natural

resources. Some plants used as ingredients such as: sitabar banana midrib as the main ingredients and betel

nut, gambier, lime, areca nut and pepper as the supporting ingredients. Then healthy, politeness,

environment care, preservation, cooperation, social loyalty, commitment, positive thinking and compliment

were found in the mangarou totok incantation. The value of this research presents the significant

contribution to sustainable of natural resources. The societies does not know anymore the function of sitabar

banana midrib can be used to treatment of newborn baby teeth especially simalungun societies. Then, this

research gives the contribution to societies as an economically. Simalungun societies do not need to spend

much money to buy the chemical medicine from doctor. Mangarou totok incantation is tradition of

simalungun ethnics that needs to maintain as a local wisdom and sustainability of natural resources.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Incantation of mangarou totok is one of

incantation in simalungun ethnic. Incantation of

mangarou totok is traditional medicine from

simalungun ethnic. The function of incantation of

mangarou totok is to treat the newborn baby teeth.

As we know, while the newborn baby teeth, they

will feel pains and sometimes will have high fever.

Simalungun ethnic believe that, the incantation

of mangarou totok able to treat the newborn baby

teeth. Incantation of mangarou totok uses the banana

midrib as a material to treat the newborn baby teeth.

Banana midrib processed according needs to treat

the newborn baby teeth. Banana midrib is cut long

and as big as adult’s finger. Incantation of mangarou

totok is read by a shaman. Shaman reads the

incantation of mangarou totok while he is grasping

the banana stem that has cut as a material to treat the

newborn baby teeth. After the shaman reads the

incantation of mangarou totok in banana midrib that

have cut then the banana midrib may be given to the

baby.

Banana plant is a natural resources that live in

our environment. Banana plant grow in tropical

climate like Indonesia. Usually, Banana midrib is

used to treat injured body. Some of research result

said that Banana midrib can obstructing

efflorescence of the bacteria in human body.

Because of it, banana midrib is a natural resources

that can become a traditional medicine. Simalungun

ethnic has uses banana midrib as a traditional

medicine before the chemist medicine founded.

Besides traditional medicine, incantation of

mangarou totok is one of local wisdom in

simalungun society that very seldom used at this era

especially for new generation and we can called it

nearly extinct because the society especially

simalungun ethnic already use modern treatment

with chemistry medicines.

Nenni Triana Sinaga is a Ph.D. Student at Post-Graduate

Department in Linguistics, Faculty of Cultural Sciences,

and University of Sumatera Utara (USU). Her interest is

in oral tradition, linguistics, and indigenous languages an

cultures.

Triana Sinaga, N., Sibarani, R. and Agustono, B.

The Local Wisdom of Mangarou Totok Incantation towards Natural Resources in Simalungun Ethnic: An Anthropolinguistic Study.

DOI: 10.5220/0009902000002480

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (ICNRSD 2018), pages 303-308

ISBN: 978-989-758-543-2

303

Chemistry medicine is easy to get and also have

the same function with traditional medicine. The

society especially simalungun ethnic more prefer

using modern medicine rather than traditional

medicine, and it makes the incantation of mangarou

totok did not found any more in simalungun ethnic.

Based on the explanation above that this research

wants to find the process of treatment of newborn

baby teeth and the types of local wisdom in

incantation of mangarou totok. Then this research

used a qualitative paradigm with interactive model

and applied method, direct participatory observation,

written documents, and in-depth open-ended

interview. In-depth open-ended interviews were

applied to invent the information of incantation of

mangarou totok from informant (it’s called as datu

who knows about incantation of mangarou totok in

simalungun ethnic). Then to analysis data, the

researcher applied the interactive model according to

Miles and Huberman (2014).

2 CONCEPT HEADING

2.1 Local Wisdom

Local wisdom comes from the culture of societies

that inherited from generation to generation orally.

Local wisdom is a science that obtained from the

local community. Local wisdom can be used to

regulate human life in order to become a good human

being, to tune in order to achieve peace and

prosperity. Sibarani (2014) said that the local wisdom

is the positive values of culture. It means that not all

the positive values of culture at the past are good to

use in this era or this time, so sometimes some of the

positive values at the past cannot be used for the

generation in this times. So that the local wisdom

comes from positive cultural values that can still be

applied and utilized wisely in the present.

According to Sibarani (2017), Local wisdom is

the good ideas that come from societies wise,

wisdom, a good values, virtuous possessed, guide

and implemented by the societies. Then local

wisdom is the local genius or community’s wisdom

derived from the lofty value of cultural tradition in

order to manage the community’s social order or

social life. This definition emphasize on wisdom to

manage the social life that come from noble culture.

Then the other definition of local wisdom is the

value of local culture having been applied to wisely

manage the community’s social order and social life.

Its mean that emphasize on culture noble used to be

wise or wisdom manage the social life. Manage the

social life means solve the social problems of

societies likes crime and poverty.

More assertive Sibarani (2018) said that local

wisdom is the indigenous knowledge or local

wisdom of a society derived from to make peace and

improve the community welfare. Its means that the

local wisdom effort the peace and prosperity as a

basic to build the characters of human life especially

begin from child or young generation. And then

there are two types of core local wisdoms, namely:

local wisdom for people welfare or prosperity and

local wisdom for human beings’ peacefulness or

goodness. The local wisdom which can be used to

increase the welfare includes hard work, disciplines,

education, health, mutual aid or cooperation, gender

management, culture creativity and preservation, and

environment care. The local wisdom having purpose

to create peacefulness comprises the politeness,

honesty or integrity, social loyalty, harmony,

commitment, positive thinking, and compliment.

2.2 Incantation of Mangarou Totok

Incantation of Mangarou totok is one of incantation

in simalungun ethnic. Incantation of Mangarou totok

used to treat the teething. This incantation usually

done on the newborn baby teeth. The incantation of

mangarou totok needs plants to support the process

use is banana midrib. The banana midrib is cut into

the fingers of an adult. The banana midrib used

because it is very soft and safe for the baby health.

Here, we can see the text of incantation of

Mangarou totok in simalungun language as bellow:

Marsuksama hubani boras patini tanoh on.

(Open)

Ham siraja bangkut appa ham siraja musul-usol.

Usal-usol hon ma pisau balati ni si ucok/butet

Ase ulang tama “aroan ni” (core)

Iya sahmat.......iya sahmat......iya sahmat......iya

sahmat.........iya sahmat.....iya sahmat......iya

sahmat. (Close)

(Sources from Informant, location in Nagori Dolok

village, 01 September 2017)

2.3 Natural Resources

Natural resources is everything that not made by

humans hands. Natural resources is from the nature.

Natural resources plural: industrial materials and

capacities (such as mineral deposits and

waterpower) supplied by nature (Meriam, 1828). Its

means that the natural resource comes from the

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nature that contributes to human life such as plants,

river, material and the other.

2.4 Anthropolinguistics

Anthropolinguistics is a parts of science that focuses

on study of languages or speaking in anthropology

concept. According to Duranti (1997) said that

anthropological linguistics is as a study of language

as a cultural resources and speaking as a cultural

practice. Then Hymes (1963) also said that

anthropolinguistic is the study of speech and

language within the context of anthropology. Foley

(1997) said that anthropological linguistics is view

of language through the prism of the core

anthropological concept, culture, and such as seeks

to uncover the meaning behind the use, misuse and

non-use of language, its different form, register and

styles. It is an interpretive discipline peeling away at

language to find cultural understanding.

Based on the explanation above, we can

conclude that anthropolinguistics is the study of

language and speaking as a symbol of cultural.

3 RESEARCH RESULT

The Process of Mangarou Totok incantation in

Simalungun Ethnic:

a. Make demban panurungi in Simalungun

Tradition.

First, we will prepare the demban panurungi.

Demban Panurungi is the requirement to request

medicine from a shaman. Demban Panurungi

contains lime, gambier, areca nut, pepper and

covered with a betel nut. The way to covered

also must according to simalungun tradition. We

can call demban panurungi if all the

requirements have completed. If it is

uncompleted, it still called as a betel nut.

Figure 1: Demban Panurungi, sources from Nagori Dolok

in Simalungun district, 25 October 2018.

b. After demban panurungi has been prepared, now

we must give demban sayur (betel nut) to

shaman. Demban sayur also comes from the

betel nut, but if we want to request or ask

medicine to shaman, we must give the betel nut

which is called as demban sayur in simalungun

ethnic.

Figure 2: Demban Sayur, sources from Nagori Dolok in

Simalungun District, 25 October 2018.

c. Demban sayur is betel nut that will be given to

someone if we wants to ask or request something

but here it will give to shaman because a patient

wants request medicine of newborn baby teeth.

Demban sayur is a term for requesting medicine

in various type of diseases in simalungun ethnic.

Demban sayur is a sign or way of pleading

respectfully to a shaman or to everyone in

simalungun tradition.

d. After patients gives demban sayur to a shaman,

than shaman holds the demban sayur as a sign

that the shaman accepts the patient’s request.

e. After, shaman accepts the demban sayur from

patients, then shaman ask the demban panurungi

from patient as a requirement for requesting

treatment.

f. Then, shaman take and cut the banana midrib

which has been prepared into 7 parts and cannot

be separated. Not all type of banana midribs are

used. Instead, only special banana midribs,

namely Sitabar banana midrib.

g. Next, shaman takes and grasping demban

panurungi while reading the mangarau totok

incantation and eating and chewing the demban

panurungi until smooth.

h. After that, shaman take banana midrib and reads

the mangarau totok incantation in banana midrib.

And then, spouting the demban panurungi to

sitabar banana midrib. The ways to spit it out are

four times at the top and three times behind it

while mentioning “pain, pain,pain,pain” and

behind “pain,pain,pain”.

The Local Wisdom of Mangarou Totok Incantation towards Natural Resources in Simalungun Ethnic: An Anthropolinguistic Study

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Figure 3: Shaman is reading the mangarou totok

incantation and spouting the demban panurungi in sitabar

banana midrib. Sources from Nagori Dolok in Simalungun

District, 25 October 2018.

i. After that, banana midrib can be given to the

child to bite. If the first banana midrib can be

given, then give again the second banana midrib

until he/she doesn’t want to bite anymore. If the

child has thrown away the banana midrib then

don't take it anymore, it must be thrown away.

Then when the child is getting bored, don't give

it anymore. The rest is stored in a place that

cannot be reached by children. This banana

midrib must be given out for a maximum of

seven days but may also expired in one day. And

then the banana midrib must be given in a row

and don't miss it.

Prohibitions or roles that should not be done in

Manarou Totok Incantation:

a. Must uses sitabar banana midrib.

b. Cuts must be 7 rows and may not separate.

c. Must be expired in seven days and better in one

day.

d. If children have thrown the banana midrib, do

not to take it anymore.

e. Must be given daily.

The local wisdom found in an incantation of

mangarou totok is as below:

a. Healthy

An incantation of mangarou totok is an incantation

contain about the healthy. The incantation purpose

to treat the baby teeth. Usually, when the baby into

eight or nine old month, the baby’s gums will swell.

The baby will get high fever, diarrhea and

sometimes throw up. The baby also never stop

crying because the baby feel pain. But when the

baby treated with incantation of mangarou totok

with the simple treatment using sitabar banana

midrib, the baby did not get sick. The ingredients

also really simple, the ingredients have in our

environment or have in our garden. Simalungun

societies believe that the incantation of mangarou

totok able to cure the baby teeth diseases. This

incantation is very useful to simalungun societies

because it can help them to cure their baby diseases.

Simalungun societies is easier to visit the shaman

while their baby sick because the shaman live near

or in their village. Simalungun societies also can get

the treatment at a low cost because the shaman does

not determine the price while the participant comes

for treatment.

b. Politeness

Incantation of mangarou totok teach us to be polite

and respect person. It can see from the participant

while they visit shaman to ask the treatment. The

participant comes and talk with soft voice. The

participant must using the sarong while they comes

to shaman for the treatment. When the participant

want to talk to shaman, participant must use the soft

voice to talks to shaman. And then, the participant

must sit down and bow his/her body in front of

shaman. After that, the participant give the betel nut

to shaman that we call as demban sayur in

simalungun tradition and participant convey his/her

request about the baby diseases. When the process of

mangarou totok incantation take place, the

participant only silent and listen to shaman

instruction.

c. Environment care

Banana and betel trees are plants that need to be

cultivated and preserved. These plants contains local

wisdom as natural resources that can be utilized by

the community especially simalungun ethnic for

traditional medicine.

Besides that, not all banana tree is used to be

traditional medicine. For example in mangarou totok

incantation uses

sitabar banana midrib. Sitabar

banana tree is one of kind’s banana tree that have in

our environment especially in simalungun district.

Sitabar banana tree used for traditional medicine

because it is advice given by the ancestors or

parents. Sitabar banana tree is different from the

other bananas. Sitabar bananas are rarely found

because not many know that this banana tree can be

used as a medicine. This banana is also rarely

planted because the fruits are small and cannot be

sold.

Because of it, it is very important to protect and

preserve the environment by continually cultivating

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Sitabar bananas. If this plant is extinct, there will be

no more material used for traditional medicine,

therefore the people of Simalungun will lose their

local wisdom.

d. Preservation

Incantation of mangarou totok needs the ingredients

to successes the process to implement the

incantation of mangarou totok. The ingredients must

be preserved as a natural resources to maintain the

local wisdom of simalungun ethnic. The main

ingredient is sitabar banana midrib. Sitabar banana

midrib is types of bananas that are rarely planted by

the simalungun community because the fruits are

small so that the fruit does not sell well. The

characters of the sitabar banana also different with

the other banana. Sitabar bananas have different

leaves than other bananas. Sitabar banana leaves are

not as wide and as long as the other bananas and

midribs are reddish in color. Therefore, sitabar

bananas are very important to preserve so that the

totok mangarou incantation can still be used.

The other ingredients are betel nut, gambier,

lime, areca nut and pepper. These ingredients are

also used for traditional medicine as a natural

resources that needs to preserved by cultivating

these plants.

e. Cooperation

One of the purposes of local wisdom is cooperation.

Cooperation is very important in perform of

mangarou totok incantation. The good cooperation

from shaman and patients are really important. For

example, the patient must prepare the ingredients of

mangarou totok incantation before ask the medicine

for their baby teeth such as prepare the demban

sayaur, demban panurungi and the other. The

shaman ask the patient or participant to do the roles

of mangarou totok incantation. The patient must

listen and doing the roles that shaman given. Patient

must give the sitabar banana midrib to their baby

with the maximum seven days. The patient must

keep the sitabar banana midrib far away from the

children. So the shaman and the patient must have

good cooperation to succeed the performance of

mangarou totok incantation.

f. Social Loyalty

Social loyalty is also one of the purpose local

wisdom. Social loyalty that have in the performance

of mangarou totok incantation while the shaman

wants to help and treat the baby diseases. The

shaman show that he care of the baby. He knows

that the baby need help and also he don’t wants if

the baby get sick. He feel that the baby is the same

like his grandson or part of his family. Because of it,

an incantation of mangarou totok is incantation that

teach us to care each other as human social that

sources from local wisdom especially in simalungun

ethnic.

g. Commitment

Incantation of mangarou totok

show the good

commitment between shaman and the patient. When

the patient visit the shaman, patient have known

about the roles that he/she must do. The patient

automatically agree about the shaman instruction.

Because of it, incantation of mangarou totok teach

the society especially simalungun ethnic to be a

commit person.

h. Positive thinking

Shaman and patient beside have a good cooperation,

commitment, also must be positive thinking. Patient

believe that the shaman able to treat the baby teeth

so that the patient came to shaman to get a treatment.

i. Compliment

In most of incantation of simalungun ethnic contain

the compliment. One of incantation is mangarou

totok incantation. There are two compliment in

mangarou totok incantation, the first praise to the

creator of the universe, the second to the human.

Before shaman read the incantation’s core of

mangarou totok, shaman give praise to creator of

universe. When the shaman said

“Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, Nabi Muhammad

Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam”, it is show that the

mangarou totok incantation is incantation that

contain compliment to creator of universe. The

second is compliment for human. It can show when

the patient wants give thanks to a shaman by give

the money.

4 CONCLUSION

The Local Wisdom of Mangarou Totok incantation

towards natural resources in simalungun ethnic

indicates that mangarau totok incantation can be

used as local wisdom to conserve the natural

resources. Incantation of mangarou totok use some

plants as ingredients such as: sitabar banana midrib

as the main ingredient and betel nut, gambier, lime,

areca nut and pepper as the supporting ingredients.

There are types of local wisdom that contains in

incantation of mangarou totok such as: healthy,

politeness, environment care, preservation,

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cooperation, social loyalty, commitment, positive

thinking and compliment.

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