Legend Exploration "Lau Simberu" as a Teaching Material in

Indonesia

Dian Syahfitri, Mutia Khansa Manurung, Dinda Aprianti, Sartika Sari, Madina

Indonesian language and literature education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Prima Indonesia

Keywords: Legend Exploration, Indonesian Language Teaching Materials.

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the form of the Lau Simberu Legend as described by the Karo Batak

people and explore the Lau Simberu Legend as Indonesian language teaching material. This research was

conducted because a lot of oral literature now increasingly fading due to limited human memory and lack of

awareness to preserve and preserve existing oral literature. This type of research uses a qualitative method

with a descriptive approach that aims to describe events by the facts or characteristics studied. Exploration of

Lau Simberu Legend as Indonesian Language Teaching Materials is suitable for use in Legend material both

Elementary and Junior High School level in Indonesian Language Subjects.

1 INTRODUCTION

North Sumatra is a dominant area with the Batak

tribe. The Batak tribes can be divided into six types,

namely Toba Batak, Karo Batak, SimalungunBatak,

MandailingBatak, PakpakBatak, and AngkolaBatak.

Likewise, the oral literature that was born in the area

has many high cultural values related to the

characteristics of traditions adopted by the people of

North Sumatra. In this study, the researcher chose the

BatakKaro tribe as the object of the study because in

that area there was still a lot of oral literature that was

unknown to the wider community. One of the oral

literature of the Batak Karo tribe is found in the

TimbangLawanJulu area, Sibolangit District, Deli

Serdang Regency which is almost forgotten by the

community because it is only in oral form and not

many people know about it.

Oral literature is a literary work passed down from

generation to generation in the form of oral or word

of mouth. Each region in general must have its oral

literature and characteristics in the form of poetry,

stories, and so on. Likewise, the values contained in

oral literature usually have a relationship with the

traditions adhered to by the community itself.

As for oral literature according to Danandjaja

(Saragih, et al, 2019), oral literature is part of folklore,

where folklore consists of two words, namely folk

and lore. Folk means a group of people who are

identical with identifiers both physically, socially,

and culturally so that they have differences with other

groups. Meanwhile, lore means a culture that has

been passed down from generation to generation,

either verbally or in action. So folklore can be defined

as a culture with certain characteristics that have been

passed down from generation to generation either in

the form of oral or gesture or gesture.

Folklore can be classified into three major groups

based on its type, namely oral folklore, partially oral

folklore, non-verbal folklore. Oral folklore is folklore

whose form is purely oral, such as myths, legends,

fairy tales, and so on. Partially oral folklore is folklore

in which the form is a mixture of oral and non-verbal

elements such as superstitions that are oral and added

with gestures that are considered to have magical

meanings. Meanwhile, non-oral folklore is a folklore

that is not in oral form, even though the way it is made

is taught orally, such as inscriptions or sacred

buildings. This research focuses on oral folklore,

namely legends. In the 2008 KBBI, legends are folk

tales that have a relationship or connection with

historical events. As for the characteristics of the

legend, namely, The main character in the story, in

general, humans are worldly and nomadic, considered

a true story, a history that has undergone many

changes as a result of developing by word of mouth,

and tells of a character who comes from a certain era.

Therefore, it can be concluded that legends are folk

tales that are considered to have happened and

contain magical/miraculous things or things beyond

494

Syahﬁtri, D., Manurung, M., Aprianti, D., Sari, S. and Madina, .

Legend Exploration "Lau Simberu" as a Teaching Material in Indonesia.

DOI: 10.5220/0010326100003051

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Culture Heritage, Education, Sustainable Tourism, and Innovation Technologies (CESIT 2020), pages 494-499

ISBN: 978-989-758-501-2

human reason that are related to the traditions that

exist in the society itself.

In this study, the main object of the researcher was

the Lau Simberu Legend who came from the

BatakKaro Tribe, precisely in the Sibolangit area of

TimbangLawanJulu Village. This legend tells of a

beautiful girl who came from the kingdom of Aceh.

He migrated to Tanah Karo and was appointed

BeruGurusinga. One day he went to a pond which

was considered mystical, there he saw a beautiful

flower, then he picked the flower and fell into the

pond. Nobody knew about the incident until the girl's

adoptive parents looked for her, finally, it was

discovered that she had fallen into the lake but had

not found her body. Then the Aceh Kingdom or the

girl's biological father came to the area to be precise

in the village of TimbangLawanJulu, Kec. Sibolangit,

Kab. Deli Serdang.

They also called paranormal to look for the girl's

whereabouts and her whereabouts have been found,

she said she was hidden by the Umang (the guardian)

and had died. He advised that he did not want to return

to his original place and wanted to stay there to

become BeruGurusinga, he also said that whoever

would worship him would be protected. After hearing

the message, the girl's father returned to his kingdom

without bringing the girl's body. After that incident,

many strange events occurred, such as accidents or

newborn babies died. Since then, several people have

started to make offerings to the Lake and as a result,

the strange incidents that have occurred previously

have decreased. There is also a psychic who can

interact with the girl saying that if there is a strange

disease that comes to you then come and take the

water of the lake and he will cure her of various kinds

of strange diseases and so on. From then on, the local

people believed and flocked to take the water. Then

all the people who drank the water from the lake

recovered from their illness. And more and more local

people also give offerings to the lake to ask for health

or other things. Then all the people who drank the

water from the lake recovered from their illness. And

more and more local people also give offerings to the

lake to ask for health or other things. Then all the

people who drank the water from the lake recovered

from their illness. And more and more local people

also give offerings to the lake to ask for health or

other things.

The researcher's interest in exploring the Lau

Simberu Legend is because many of the BatakKaro

people don't know about the legend. Previously, the

legend was only known by the people in the area itself

and only developed by word of mouth in the oral

form. Besides the phenomenon that is happening

nowadays, the era of oral literature is increasingly

fading due to the limited memory of humans and the

rapid development of technology, thus displacing the

existing oral literature. The development of

technology in the current era of globalization has

made it easier for humans to put literary works into

written form and introduce them through technology

so that oral literature is now starting to be eliminated.

Oral literature that used to develop before humans

knew writing is now largely unknown due to the lack

of human awareness to protect and preserve it.

Likewise, human memory or memory is also

influential in maintaining oral literature.

Therefore, researchers undertake exploration or

exploration of oral literature such as legends that are

not widely known and introduced to the wider

community to protect and preserve the oral literature.

The definition of legend exploration is the activity of

exploring or searching for a legend that has never

been known by the community before and

introducing the legend to the community. So the

researchers introduced this legend to the wider

community by exploring the legend as Indonesian

language teaching material. This study will examine

how the shape of the Lau Simberu Legend is by what

has been described by the local community and

documented to achieve its objectives as Indonesian

langu age teaching materials in printed form.

The formulation of the problem to be studied is as

follows.

1. What is the shape of the Lau Simberu Legend

as described by the BatakKaro people?

2. How to explore the Legend of Lau Simberu as

Indonesian Language Teaching Material?

Based on the formulation of the problem, the

objectives of the problem in the study are as follows.

1. This is to find out the shape of the Lau Simberu

Legend as described by the BatakKaro people.

2. To find out the Exploration of the Lau Simberu

Legend as Indonesian Language Teaching

Materials.

2 RESEARCH METHODS

Researcher researched the village of Timbang

LawanJulu, Kec. Sibolangit, Kab. Deli Serdang. This

type of research uses qualitative methods with a

descriptive approach. This study seeks to describe the

exploration of Lau Simberu as Indonesian Language

Teaching Material. The exploration method used in

this study is the direct exploration method because the

researcher makes direct observations with The

physical and visual contact.

Legend Exploration "Lau Simberu" as a Teaching Material in Indonesia

495

Data and data sources from this research are:

a. Primary Source

The primary sources in this study were

observations at the Lau Simberu location, Timbang

Lawan Julu Village, direct interviews with informants

from the local community, namely Mr. Andreas

Bento Ginting about the Lau Simberu Legend, and

documentation in the form of pictures.

b. Secondary Sources

Secondary sources in this research are data

documents, journals, the internet, books, and so on.

Secondary sources can help researchers to analyze

primary sources related to problems that are the

object of research.

The data collection technique was carried out by

the stages of observation, interviews, and

documentation.

Also, the data analysis techniques used in this

study are as follows.

1. Collect observations and interviews about the

Lau Simberu Legend

2. Compile the results of interviews and other notes

to form the Lau Simberu Legend story in

Indonesian as described by the informant and

put it in written form

3. Conduct research

4. Conclude.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Research Result

3.1.1 The Form of the Lau Simberu Legend

Is in Accordance with That Described

by the Karobatak People

The legend of Lau Simberu originating from the

village of Timbang Lawan Julu is a legend passed

down from the Batak Karo tribe. The legend tells of a

girl from the Kingdom of Aceh who went to a village

dominated by the Batak Karo tribe, to be precise in

Timbang Lawan Julu Village, Sibolangit, Deli

Serdang. In that village, he was appointed as Beru

Gurusinga by the villagers and made him the adopted

son of one of the villagers who are the Gurusinga

family. Then one day this girl went to a lake which

was considered to have mystical powers. He saw a

very beautiful flower on the edge of the lake and tried

to pick it, but as a result, he fell into the lake. The

Gurusinga family, who are the adoptive parents of the

girl, began to be confused because she had not

returned yet until finally they and the local people

looked for the girl but could not be found. Then the

girl's adoptive parents contacted the Aceh Royal

family. The kingdom of Aceh came and the villagers

called paranormal. The psychic said that the girl had

fallen into the trap and was hidden by the hermit

(guard) there. The psychic also tries to interact with

the girl and says, he likes to be there and wants to stay

there as BeruGurusinga. Therefore the girl asked her

father (Kingdom of Aceh) to return to her kingdom.

The kingdom of Aceh returned to their kingdom and

left the girl's body there. Since then, many strange

things have happened in the village, from newborn

babies who have died, accidents, and strange diseases

such as itchy spots. At that time there was a psychic

who could interact with the girl and told her, come to

my pond and pray, then take and drink my water so I

will bless you and heal you from various diseases.

Hearing what the paranormal said, the villagers began

to come there and drink the water, as a result, diseases

such as itching and the like were instantly cured so

that more believers flocked to the place to give

offerings and ask for health, fortune, and so on. Since

then the residents have called the Lau Simberu Lake

which means lau is water, simberu is beautiful. The

people of the Batak Karo tribe called Lau Simberu

because the watchman who was there was a beautiful

girl.

Besides the Lau Simberu legend also has strong

traditional and social values, wherein the KaroBatak

Tribe has a tradition that if someone migrates and

settles in the BatakKaro Tribe area, migrants are

obliged to find foster parents in the village so that it

is easier to mingle and follow the tradition. in the

Karo Batak Tribe. Likewise, the social values

contained in the legend can be seen in the incident

where the girl disappeared, so residents who know

about it immediately participate in finding the girl's

whereabouts. Indirectly, the legend has exemplary

value for the community, both listeners and readers,

that is, it has the meaning of kinship in the BatakKaro

tribe which is exemplary, caring for others, and

helping each other in any difficulty.

3.1.2 Exploration of the Lau Simberu

Legend as Indonesian Language

Teaching Materials

The purpose of this research is to explore the legend

as a teaching material, where the Lau Simberu

Legend is raised and introduced in written or oral

form in the material of the Indonesian subject legend.

The legend is suitable for use in learning materials at

both the elementary and junior high school levels. In

addition to increasing knowledge, these legends can

also add insight to students in maintaining and

CESIT 2020 - International Conference on Culture Heritage, Education, Sustainable Tourism, and Innovation Technologies

496

preserving oral literature that was previously not

widely known by the wider community. In addition,

this research is also published in a journal so that it

can be introduced to the general public.

The following are the results of the Lau Simberu

Legend story which is used as teaching material for

the legendary material for Indonesian Language

Subjects at both elementary and junior high school

levels.

3.1.3 The Legend of Lau Simberu

In the past, there was a beautiful girl who was a

descendant of the Aceh Kingdom, migrated to a Batak

Karo tribe, to be precise in Timbang Lawan Julu

Village, Sibolangit District, Deli Serdang. There he

was appointed as Beru Gurusinga by the villagers, a

tradition of the Batak Karo tribe, and became the

adopted son of the Merga Gurusinga family. The

beautiful girl likes the village because of the

friendliness of the people who makes her feel happy

and get affection. One day he went to a pond which

the local people believed was still mystical. At the

edge of the Lake, he saw a very beautiful flower, then

tried to pick the flower. As a result, he fell into the

lake. No one knew what happened at that time until

the afternoon the girl's adoptive parents looked for her

but had not found the girl. The villagers also looked

for her and called a psychic to find out the girl's

whereabouts. The psychic also said that the girl had

fallen into the trap. The residents also tried to find the

girl around the lake, but still, she or her body had not

been found. MergaGurusinga's family, who are the

adoptive parents of the girl, contacted the Aceh Royal

family, the girl's biological parents, and said what had

happened to her child. The family from the Kingdom

of Aceh immediately came to the village and called

the Paranormal to find the girl's whereabouts. They

performed a ceremony to find out the girl's

whereabouts, then the psychics began to interact with

the girl's spirit. The psychic also said that all this time

the girl's body had been hidden by the "Umang" (the

Watcher). The paranormal also said that the girl did

not want to return and wanted to stay there to become

BeruGurusinga because she liked him, therefore he

ordered his family from the Kingdom of Aceh to

return without bringing his body. He also said that

whoever worshiped him he would bless. Then the

girl's parents returned to their Kingdom in Aceh.

After that incident, many strange events occurred

around the village, such as accidents or newborn

babies died. So that some people began to worship the

Lake. From then on, the strange incidents in the

village began to decrease. There is also a psychic who

can interact with the girl's spirit saying that if there is

a strange disease that comes to you then come and

take water to the pond and he will heal it. After

hearing the statement from the psychic, people began

to come in droves to take the water and at that time

all people who drank the water would recover from

diseases such as itching, freckles, or other strange

diseases. Starting at that time, many of the local

people gave offerings there to ask for health or other

things. Until now, many people admit that the girl

often appears around the lake to reveal herself. But he

doesn't interfere unless someone has bad intentions.

The people in the village also call the Lau Simberu

Lake because "Lau" means water while "Simberu" is

the same as "Mberu" means a beautiful girl. So said

Lau Simberu because the waiter there was a beautiful

girl.

3.2 Discussion

Based on the objectives of this study, the researcher

examines the legend of "Lau Simberu" and makes it a

teaching material for Indonesian. Previously, the

legend of Lau Simberu was not widely known by the

wider community. Therefore, the researchers raised

the legend in oral and written form and introduced the

legend to the wider community, especially to the

younger generation to preserve its existence. The

lausimberu legend is used as teaching material to be

more easily introduced to the wider community

through learning at school. In addition, the legend

also has traditional and social values that can add

insight to students about the diversity of cultures that

exist in Indonesia.

This research is relevant to research conducted by

KriahentaBangun, Kristiani, et al (2019) with the title

Exploration of the Legend of the Toba Batak Tribe as

a Literary Teaching Material. Researchers explain

oral literature, the meaning of legends, and the

exploration of legends. The method used in this

research is the descriptive qualitative research

method. The results of this study contain the form of

the Parnamoraan legend described by the Batak Toba

people and how to explore the Parnamoraan legend as

teaching material in schools.

Sri Dinanta Ginting, et al (2019) with the title

Exploration of Tambak Legend in the Karo Tribe and

Its Relevance to Literature Learning at Labuhan Deli

District High School for the 2019 Academic Year.

Researchers explain the diversity of Indonesia which

has many legends, understanding folklore and

exploration. The method used by researchers is the

direct exploration method because this method the

researcher makes observations made with direct

Legend Exploration "Lau Simberu" as a Teaching Material in Indonesia

497

visual and physical contact. The results of this study

include the value of intrinsic and extrinsic elements

in the story of the legend of the pond and the

relevance of the story of the pond in learning in high

school. YP.PangeranAntasariLabuhan Deli District.

Lisa KrisdayaniSitepu, et al (2019) with the title

Exploration of the Legend of the SelangPangeran as

Teaching Materials for Indonesian. Researchers

explain oral literature, the characteristics of legends,

and the exploration of legends. The method used by

researchers is a qualitative descriptive method. The

data in this study are oral in the form of the legendary

folklore of SelangPangeran. The results of this study

contain the story of the hedgehog datuk which

includes the origin of the legend of the

SelangPangeran story as well as for teaching

Indonesian in schools.

Sri DinantaGinting and Bambang NurAlamsyah

Lubis (2018) with the title Exploration of the Karo

Tribe Mehangke Folklore as Literary Teaching

Materials in the Indonesian Language and Literature

Education Study Program, Prima Indonesia

University. Researchers explain literature, folklore.

The method used by researchers is the descriptive

qualitative method. The results of this study contain

the Mehangke folklore described by the Karo tribe as

well as to document the Mehangke folklore in the

form of literary teaching materials in the Indonesian

Language and Literature Education Study Program at

Prima Indonesia University.

Nurmansyah Triagus Maulana, et al (2018) with

the title Structural Analysis and the Value of Folklore

Education and Its Relevance as Indonesian Language

Teaching Materials in Junior High Schools.

Researchers explain literary works, folklore,

structural and educational values in folklore in

Pemalang Regency. The method used by researchers

is qualitative. The results of this study contain the

intrinsic elements of folklore in Pemalang Regency,

there is also an educational value as well as for the

relevance of Indonesian Language Teaching

Materials in SMP.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of the research that has been

done, it can be concluded that:

1. The legend of Lau Simberu comes from the

BatakKaro Tribe to be precise in

TimbangLawanJulu Village, Sibolangit

District, DeliSerdang Regency, and has strong

traditional and social values.

2. Exploration of the Legend of Lau Simberu as a

Teaching Material for Indonesian can be used

as a teaching material with the topic of the

Legend of Indonesian Language Subjects at

both elementary and junior high school levels.

3. In addition, this research is also published in

journal form to introduce the legend to the

wider general public.

5 SUGGESTION

The researcher's suggestions in this study are:

1. This research is expected to be used as teaching

material that gives positive values to students

to add insight and knowledge about culture and

traditions in Indonesia.

2. This research is expected to add insight and

knowledge to readers about the Exploration of

the Lau Simberu Legend

3. It is hoped that this research on exploratory

legends will be investigated more by other

researchers to preserve and preserve oral

literature which is almost eliminated and

forgotten by the wider community.

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