Perception of Karo People towards Local Wisdom of Folklore

“Si Beru Dayang” in Sugihen Village

Emma Marsella

Lecturer of Indonesian Literature major, Faculty of Culture Science, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Universitas no.19

Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: People’s Perception, Local Wisdom, Folklore, Karo.

Abstract: “Si Beru Dayang” myth folklore is one of cultural heritage of Sumatera Utara, specifically in Karo regency.

A research of Karo people perception toward “Si Beru Dayang” is conducted to avoid cultural extinction of

Karonese which could be a conceivable capital of regional development of Sumatera Utara. In particular,

this study aims at describing Karo people perception toward values of local wisdom found in “Si Beru

Dayang” myth folklore. This research makes use of descriptive qualitative method with observation and

interview technic. Recording and keeping note from informants are applied in data collection. Sociology of

literature approach is used in analysing data. The approach concerns on several concepts of myth and

folklore found in “Si Beru Dayang”. Sociology of literature deals with a strategy of understanding social

life as a complex, interconnected, interdependence, and meaningful network. Social life is also regarded as a

construction of social reality owned by a group members, community or society. The research result shows

that based on Karo peopel perception, myth of folklore “Si Beru Dayang” comprises of two categories

namely a group of people who believe the myth and those who do not.

1 INTRODUCTION

Folklore is part of traditional literature (Barone,

2011). In folklore there is certainly a myth. That is,

between folklore and myths related to each other.

Myth also serves as part of a complex global system,

which involves energy, problems, and interacting

ideas (Glotfelty, 1996). People’s perception of Karo

myth folklore ‘Si Beru Dayang’ is still believed to

grow and live in Karo District. However, the

existence of folklore may gradually decline if the

mythical functions of folklore are regarded as

merely superstitions. Excavation of the public

perception of the role of folklore ‘Si Beru Dayang’

as a local wisdom is one way to know the existence

of the folklore and can be one of the cultural

documents that are expected to be one of the main

sources that lived or held by someone or society that

furthermore form mental attitude or mindset.

Humans live with myths that restrict all its

actions. Fear and courage for something is

determined by the myths around it. But according to

Te Lin (2000) with the rise of rasionalism in 19

century, myths only become a weird story about the

Gods, a false belief, and symbolic stories. In fact, the

myth is not just stories about gods and others. A

myth is created to explain the disharmony of nature,

though there is also a myth that is born not to

explain anything. Therefore, many myths keep the

local wisdom that is able to harmonize human and

life. According to Sibarani (2012: 112), local

wisdom is the original wisdom or knowledge of a

society derived from the noble values of cultural

traditions to regulate the order of community life.

Some myths in Karo folklore have been booked

by Z. Pangaduan Lubis with the title of Folklore of

Karo. The mythical stories include Mr. Bagunda

Raja and Manuk in Nanggur Dawa, The Origin of

Rice, Princess Ginting Pase, and others. These

stories have myths that contain wisdom values like

the story of Origin of Rice. In another version, the

story is titled ‘Si Beru Dayang’. The myths in the

story about a fruit that is embodiment of a child

named Beru Dayang. The fruit is cut into pieces and

planted and maintained properly until it grows like

rice. The myth taught humans not to quarrel in

fighting for fruit and how to take care of good rice,

how to crushing and cooking it.

Karo society perception analysis on Karo

folklore is doing in order to Karo’s people especially

1204

Marsella, E.

Perception of Karo People towards Local Wisdom of Folklore “Si Beru Dayang” in Sugihen Village.

DOI: 10.5220/0010069612041208

In Proceedings of the International Conference of Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental and Ramiﬁcation Researches (ICOSTEERR 2018) - Research in Industry 4.0, pages

1204-1208

ISBN: 978-989-758-449-7

young generation do not lose confidence to the

culture that gave birth and bring up their character.

Thomas Lickona said, “When we think about the

kind of character we want for our children, it’s clear

that we want them to be able to judge what is right,

care deeply about what is right, and than do what

they believe to be right, even in the face of pressure

from without and temptation from within”

(Abourjilie, 2002). People of good character are

individuals who have polite attitude and behavior,

peace love, and so on. Therefore, folklore in general

must contain the values of wisdom. Susilo and

friends (2017) in International Journal For

Innovative Research in Multi discilpinary Field vol.

3, page 84-89, ISSN: 2455-0620 with the title

“Local Wisdom of The Karo Batak’s Manuk

Sidanggur Dawa-Dawa Folkore” concluded that in

the folklore there are values of local wisdom such as

religious values, social values, and the value of

cooperation.

2 METHODS

Data collected through initial observation, record

and noted, and interviews with ethnic Karo

informant from Karo District. The approach used in

the study using descriptive qualitative methods.

Bogdan and Taylor (in Moleong, 1998: 3) states that

qualitative procedures produce research that reveals

qualitative data with an approach directed at the

background and the individual as a whole or seen as

a whole. According to Karl and Miller (1986: 9)

qualitative research is a particular tradition in social

science that is fundamentally dependent on the

observation of human in its own region and the

relation of the field of social sciences and humanity

with activity which is based on scientific discipline

to collect data, clarify, analyze and interpret facts

and the relation between the facts of nature, society,

behavior, and spiritual of human to discover the

principles of new knowledge and methods.

The approach of sociology of literature is also

used in this study because the approach of sociology

of literature focuses on a number of folklore and

mythical concepts in Si Beru Dayang folklore. In the

sociology of literature, there are strategies related to

the understanding of social action by considering the

life of society as a complex, interconnected,

dependent and meaningful, the construction of social

reality owned by every member of the group,

community and society.

3 DISCUSSION

3.1 Karo People’s Perception toward

Local Wisdom of the Myth of

Folklore “Si Beru Dayang”

Myth of folklore ‘Si Beru Dayang’ is about a child

who transformed into a fruit, then the fruit is cut into

pieces and planted and maintained properly so that it

grows like rice. People believe that if they together

maintain the Beru Dayang then the rice will flourish

and giving the good results for the community. The

same story about the myth of rice fertility is also

found in the Javanese society, the folklore Dewi Sri.

The figure of Dewi Sri is considered a goddess who

gives fertility to the planting of rice. It is told that

the grave of Dewi Sri brought out fertile plants such

as rice, coconut, banana, etc.

The myths in the folklore of Dewi Sri and Si

Beru Dayang is about the occurrence of plants,

especially rice, are found in some areas of Indonesia.

The core of myth is almost all the same, that is,

plants come from a human body. This story theme

are interesting because they relate to the worship of

fertility also reflects the figures sacrificed as a

symbol of the seed of plant. Seeds of plants must be

broken or destroyed first, then will grow young

shoots.

People’s perception of myths of folklore Si Beru

Dayang departed become two perception, that are a

group that is still believing the folklore and group

which is not believing the story. Those groups, is

group based on age categories and group based on

background of education. Group of age consists of

old and young ages.

The education groups departed into some class,

that who are not school, graduate of elementary,

graduate of junior high school, graduate of senior

high school, and graduate from college.

3.2 Groups Which Believing in

Folklore "Si Beru Dayang”

The perception from the old ages, is still believes

there’s a story of Si Beru Dayang. The old ages still

consider folklores like Si Beru Dayang must keep

the eternal so that human keep appreciating rice

plants and not throwing rice or another food.

The perception of Karo people who still believe

in the local wisdom of the myth of "Si Beru

Dayang" is evidenced by Karo people still

convinced that Karo people can live prosperous with

the staple food of fruits and tubers. The belief is

Perception of Karo People towards Local Wisdom of Folklore “Si Beru Dayang” in Sugihen Village

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recognized by people based on one story of folklore,

namely "Si Beru Dayang".

The beginning of the story of Si Beru Dayang

when the welfare karo people suddenly dim. Never

imagined before the darkness will overshadow the

life of the Karo tribe. The prolonged dry season does

not end. The soil is so dry that the trees wither away

before it can bear fruit. As a result, almost all the

inhabitants of the region suffer from hunger.

However, the King who led the moment did not

remain silent. He ordered his people to perform

various rituals. Like the ceremony Mindo Udan (ask

for rain) and ceremony Erpangkir Ngarkari

(cleaning up to get rid of bad luck). However, all

efforts are not always bringing results.

The drought continues to infect the entire region.

The catastrophe became more and more so that

citizens were getting weaker and emaciated. Based

on the story, the people of Karo, especially the

elderly people believe that the calamity that comes

in a village could be due to human activity itself

who likes to do evil. Therefore, they always teach

their children to always do good so that disaster does

not come in Karo village.

Then the story continues when a child dies then

transforms into a fruit then the fruit is cut into pieces

and planted and maintained properly so that it grows

like rice. The community believes that if they

together take care of Si Beru Dayang then the rice

will flourish and produce results for the community.

In keeping "Beru Dayang", Karo people are working

hard again, reaping, and planting the seeds of rice.

They believe that "Beru Dayang” must always be

protected". Karo community gives betel offerings to

Beraspati Taneh as a thanks. All rituals must be

done with all the heart and sincerity.

Furthermore, the Karo tribe people cooperate to

hold Merdang ceremony (sowing seed). The

ceremony is believed to be a ritual or appeal to

Beraspati Taneh (God of Land Rulers) to deign to

keep the rice planted so that the rice grows fertile

and ready to be harvested with abundant yields.

Such is the belief of the people of Sugihen Village,

especially the elderly who still believe in the local

wisdom of Si Beru Dayang story. They argue that in

the story of Si Beru Dayang there are values of

unity, cooperation, and sincerity in doing a job.

In addition to the old age group, community

groups that do not go to school until graduate junior

high school is also still many who believe with the

power of the character "Si Beru Dayang" that can

fertilize rice crops. One of the causes of this group

believes that stories are obtained orally from mouth

to mouth and spread from one generation to another

through verbal communication. Stories are delivered

in an interesting and memorable way so that people

also tend to convey to others.

The function of folklore is seen from the cultural

function, that is (1) the children and grandchildren

know the origin of their ancestors that the ancestors

always tried to tell Si Beru Dayang story to the

grandchildren so as not to be forgotten until in the

future, and (2) people can take experience and

appreciate the services of previous figures. People of

Karo appreciation for Beru Dayang services that

create rice is to maintain the condition by still telling

the same thing over and over again.

3.3 Societies That Do Not Believe in

Folklore "Si Beru Dayang”

Community groups that do not believe in local

wisdom in the Si Beru Dayang folklore are from the

young age group. They do not trust the myth of

folklore "Si Beru Dayang". Young people think that

the folklore of "Si Beru Dayang" is a mere story that

does not really happen because impossible human

can transform into rice. It is impossible that there is

a God of soil fertility so there must be a ritual in

such a way as to ask for something.

Those who graduate from high school to college

begin to have no belief in such a story, because in

this group their mindset is advance and modern, so

no longer believe things that do not make sense.

This group also already know the religion.

Therefore, they believe that the power is from God,

not from humans or any creatures.

Among the younger generation is less interested

in the myth of folklore because it is considered

irrelevant to the development of the era in the era of

globalization is all-modern and modern. In ancient

times, folklore has experienced a period of greatness

so greatly affect the mindset of society. However,

now the folklore has begun to be abandoned or has

lost prestige in the midst of society. One of the

causes of young people are no longer interested in

folklore is recognized by the public because of the

story line and figures are considered outdated. Even,

the younger generation has lost interest in reading

and listening to folklore commonly tells with forests,

animals and the imaginary world. Young people

seem to be not so happy when they see characters

playing in the forest, but they are more interested in

life in a frenzied metropolis, full of crowds. The

younger generation actually feels funny when

reading a folktale with a figure who has supernatural

powers or can change shape.

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According to people who do not believe the

myths in folklore, to get local wisdom does not have

to go through the stories of gods and stories that

make no sense because it will cause people to trust

about the gods and something that is not acceptable

sense. To this faction, folklore is only entertaining

and not mandatory to be passed on down to

generations. However, as one cultural asset, there is

no harm to be documented. Modern society must be

forward-thinking and modern by using logic and

technology. young people already do not believe the

myth of folklore "Si Beru Dayang", the community

recognizes if there are values that can be taken

through the story such as the value of mutual

cooperation which is the work ethic of Indonesian

society.

Various public perceptions of the mythical

folklore "Si Beru Dayang" indicate that the

existence of folklore myths is only believed in the

old and the educated community who are not in

school and only junior high school graduates. This

cultural heritage still exists because there are still

many youth in rural areas who do not continue their

education so that they indirectly become agents of

local cultural heritage, especially the Karo culture in

the form of folklore.

The myth of folklore "Si Beru Dayang" contains

many values of local wisdom that can be realized in

the daily life of the people of Indonesia. The values

of local wisdom in the mythical folklore such as (1)

the leadership of the King in collaboration with his

people, (2) the belief of the people to their King, (3)

the importance of keeping the mandate, and (4) the

cooperative nature that must be preserved as

character of Indonesian nation and state. In addition,

the local wisdom of this myth reminds us to restore

the identity of the Indonesian nation on the

agricultural economy that leads to prosperity and

prosperity of the people of Indonesia.

In addition, traditional rituals such as Merdang

ceremony which are the cultural treasures of the

Karo people, may awaken us all about the hard

work, efforts, and efforts that farmers have in such a

way as to produce an abundant and good rice

harvest. As an agrarian society, of course we should

be more appreciative of rice as staple food of the

people of Indonesia, especially domestically made

rice. By loving home-made rice, and cultivating rice

crops, meaning we appreciate the efforts of the

farmers, and participate in maintaining soil fertility

in our country, Indonesia.

Various perceptions of society to the myth of

folklore Si Beru Dayang shows that the existence of

folklore myth is only trusted in the old class and

society of educational background is not attended

school and only who graduated from junior high

school. This cultural heritage still exists because

there are still many teenagers in rural areas who do

not continue their education and indirectly become

agents of local cultural heritage, especially the

culture of Karo in this case is folklore.

The perception of Karo people towards Si Beru

Dayang’s folklore can be seen in the following

chart:

Figure 1: Chart of Karo people’s perception in the story of

“Si Beru Dayang”.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The results show that based on the perception of

Karo people, the myth of Si Beru Dayang folklore is

a group that still believes and the group that has not

trusted the story of Si Beru Dayang. This group is

divided into two groups anymore, that are groups

based on age and group based on educational

background. The reason for the perception of the

group which still believe in this story, are (1) still

assume that the folk tales must be preserved, (2) that

humans appreciate rice and not waste food, (3)

stories are obtained orally from mouth to mouth and

continue from one generation to another through

verbal communication, and (4) the story is delivered

in an interesting and memorable way. The reason for

the perception of people who do not believe this

story, are (1) the notion that this story is a mere story

that does not really happen because it is impossible

for human turned into rice, (2) their mindset is

Perception of Karo People towards Local Wisdom of Folklore “Si Beru Dayang” in Sugihen Village

1207

advanced or modern, and (3) already know religion

and believe in God.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was funded by University of Sumatera

Utara in accordance with the TALENTA research

implementation contract of University of Sumatera

Utara Estimate Year 2018 No.:

2590/UN5.1.R/PPM/2017, date March 16, 2018

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