Microsoft Word - Gunayayasa E_journal 1 CEPUNG SASAK: ORAL TRADITION IN LOMBOK WEST NUSA TENGGARA Ida Bagus Kade Gunayasa1, I Nyoman Weda Kusuma2, I Wayan Cika2, I Nyoman Suarka2 1Postgraduate Program, Udayana University 2Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Letters, Udayana University E-mail: - ABSTRACT The problems discussed in this study are the process of the creation of Cepung Sasak (abbreviated to CS), its structure, its context of image, its function and meaning. The data needed was collected by ethnographic method and library research. Four main theories were adopted for analyzing the data; they are the structural theory, the Lord’s formula, the theory of literary semiotics and the functional theory. The objectives were achieved by analyzing the process of the CS creation, its textual structure, its context of image, its function and meaning in the middle of Sasaknese community. Based on the results of the data analysis, it can be inferred that the elements forming the CS structure are form, formula, theme, sound and style. One of the cultural contextual elements which does not play any role is the particular event underlying the image. The process of its creation takes place within and outside the plots. Its plots function to recall the past, to educate, to amuse, to express interethnic group solidarity, to control social matters, to resist social matters and to give religious teachings. The meanings of the CS are love and affection, acknowledgement of social stratification and collective awareness. The novelties in this study are the formula and theme are different from those introduced in the Lord’ theory. The Lord’s theory of formula is not entirely applicable to the CS. The reason is that the process how the CS is created is not based on formula but on the pattern of rhyme and stimulus such as flute, rebab (two-stringed musical instrument), music produced by the mouth and pengeriong ‘penurut’ (another musical 2 instrument). The process of how it is created is not the same as that stated by Lord. It is similar to that stated by Finnegan, that is, it takes place within and outside the plots. However, Finnegan does not include the element of stimulus. In this case, the main function of the CS is as amusement. Its meaning is to stimulate social solidarity in all aspects of Sasaknese community life. Key words: Cepung Sasak; collectivity; spontaneity; fetishism; contextual 3 1. Background and Problem Cepung Sasak is a Sasaknese unique literary oral tradition. It is a combination of gending lakaq and pasasakan song and is supported by two different ethnic groups with their own respective religion and culture. It is orally inherited from generation to generation both vertically and horizontally. In addition, it is assumed to have strong affiliation with its supporting community, for which it is necessarily preserved as not many people can be its narrators. Then it can be classified into (1) performing art; (2) oral tradition. Four data sources are used in this study; they are three transcriptions of CS and their translations and one interview. This study is a field work conducted in Lombok. The problems discussed are the process of the creation of the CS, its textual structure, its context of image, its functions and its meanings. All of the four problems refer to the main problem, that is, how its convention is in its supporting community. Ideally, this study aims at explaining the process of the creation of the CS, its textual structure, its context of image, its functions and its meanings. The objectives were achieved by analyzing the text of the CS image which is related to the Sasaknese community life as its supporting community. In general, this study aims at preserving, developing and publishing the CS literary tradition. In order to achieve the general aims mentioned above, it was considered to centralize the study logically, qualitatively and systematically. This is in accordance with the problems formulated in the specific aims mentioned above, that is, to describe the process of the CS creation , its textual structure, its context of image, its functions and meanings. The answers to the problems are expected to enrich the literary work theories, to be useful to the other studies in literature in Lombok, to be a comparison to the other research in oral literature conducted in other regions and to acquire new insights into and new understanding of oral tradition. In practice, it is expected that this study (1) may give contribution to the improvement, betterment and preservation of the community’s culture, and strengthen the accepting behavior of the community of the CS oral tradition which has been getting marginalized; (2) may reveal what is marginalized, that is, the role of oral tradition in all aspects of the community life in Lombok; and (3) may contribute to the realization of solidarity especially the solidarity among the ethnic groups and cultures in Lombok. 4 2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework There are six works discussing Cepung. Some are in the form of research and the others are in the form of books such as those written by Anak Agung Ketut Karang (1992), I Made Bandem and Fredrik Eugene de Boer (1995), I Made Bandem and Sal Murguyanto (1996), Gunayasa (2001), Sudirga (2004), and Salman Alfarisi (2010). However, what they have discussed is partial in nature; in addition, they have not observed the special characteristics of the CS which feature this current study. Four interrelated theories are adopted to analyze the CS oral tradition; they are (1) the structural theory which was adopted to analyze its formal structure; (2) the formula theory introduced by Lord which was employed to analyze the process of the CS creation; (3) the theory of semiotics which was used to analyze the symbolic discourses in the CS; and (4) the functional theory which was adopted to the CS functions in its supporting community. 3. Research Method This study is a qualitative one which mainly focuses on the analysis of the CS oral tradition text. Then, in order to achieve the maximum results, three approaches which are interrelated to each other were adopted; such as the structural approach, the Lord’s formula and the qualitative approach. The data needed was obtained from two sources: (1) the primary data source which is in the form of oral tradition text; (2) the secondary data source which are in the forms of books and the results of interview relevant to this current study. The data needed was obtained through library research, observation, recording and some interviews with a number of informants considered to be familiar with the CS oral tradition. In this study, the CS narrator is the key informant and the key instrument is the researcher himself. The data especially that related to the process of the CS creation (the pelakaq’s opinion), its context, functions and meanings were ethnographically analyzed. The data on its structure was analyzed using the formula introduced by Lord and the structural theory. The formula theory introduced by Lord was applied by observing the words, the phrases and even the lyrics or half lyrics. Those elements were discussed to find out the patterns. 5 4. Cepung Sasak: Oral Tradition in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara The process of the CS creation takes place within and outside the plots. The lakaq created within the plots is the lakaq of love, while that which is created outside the plots is lakaq monyehan. The creation of the CS does not only employ formula but also the patterns of rhymes and stimulus such as flute, rebab (two-stringed musical instrument), the music produced by the mouth, and pengeriong ‘penurut’. That fact shows that the Lord’s formulate is not entirely applicable in the CS. Therefore, the main thing in the CS creation is the stimulus and the appearance of the rhyme pairs in every sentence forming the lakaq. The elements forming the CS formal structure include: form, formula, theme, sound, and style. Form refers to the way in which thoughts in the form of sentences are realized. The thoughts are presented in the CS with the theme of conflicts in addition to the other themes which are informative in nature. The formulas in one lakaq are made up of the formula of one sentence, the formula of one word or phrase, the formula in the form of one syllable and the formula of prefixes. The addition of adjusting words or sounds such as naro, nuwa kendo, kendo kendi, kendo kendo, kendi kendo, dila, la, ya and gama is not included in the formula of both words and phrase. As far as the theme of laqaq is concerned, there is no difference between the theme for the young and that for the old. The theme of laqaq includes love and religious matters (poverty is included). The combination of the gending theme (minor theme) forms the theme of the plots, which is concerned with love and affection. The sounds in lakaq include rhyme, alteration, assonance, and intonation. The rhyme of lakaq is the deep one which can also be either the perfect rhyme or the imperfect rhyme. Rhyme is the laqak beauty element. Rhyme appears in pairs in every sentence. The words forming the rhyme depend on the sentences used and the repetition as well as the addition of words or adjusting sounds such as naro, nuwa, kendo, kenko kendi, kendo kendo, ama’, dila, la and so forth. Rhyme is the basis for creating laqaq. Alteration is generally formed with heavy sounds which are combined with light vowels making it sound light. The heavy sounds reflects rigid and hard situation. Half alliteration and assonance form rhyme. The combination of alliteration and rhyme can add the beauty of lakaq. The concept of intonation (metrum) introduced by Lord is not applicable in the 6 CS. The reason is that as far as the CS is concerned, there is no permanent distribution of syllables. Intonation is close to the existence of rhyme as one of the syllables forming the rhyme is always stressed. The element which features the CS is style which is formed by diction, parallelism and figurative expressions. The words in the CS generally have denotative meaning. The language used in the CS does not need too many figurative expressions as a means of making meaning concrete. The figurative expressions used are metaphor, euphemism and parable. In this case, the figurative expressions may beautify the CS. One of the most dominant language styles is parallelism, which functions to make meaning clearer and to beautify the CS. The parallelism found in the CS includes (1) structural parallelism; (2) parallelism with the same word or phrase repeated in particular position and (3) interval parallelism. The element which is also important apart from structure is the context of plots. The CS plots contain context of situation and context of culture. The context of situation is made up of the pelakaq, the listener, the music and the setting. The interaction between the pelakaq, the listener and the music are the essence of a plot. The context of culture generally enriches the context of situation. The norms which are in effect in the community, as part of the context culture, beautify the plots of the CS. One element of the context culture which is not in effect is particular events underlying the plots. The theme of the plots telling about marriages is the same as the theme of the plots used for amusement or used to commemorate great national days. This shows that what is stated by Baumun that particular events influence genre is not applicable in the CS, which is performed for every event especially wedding ceremonies. The functions of the CS include: recalling the past, educating, expressing solidarity among ethnic groups, showing social control and giving religious teachings. These functions are only applicable to particular listeners. The function of recalling the past is basically included in its function to amuse. The main function of the CS which is still maintained up to now is its function as a means of amusement. Therefore, it can be stated that its main function is as a means of amusement. The meaning of the CS in the Sasaknese community includes love and affection, ritual, acknowledgement of social stratification and collective awareness. The four 7 meanings of the CS mentioned above are related to each other. The unity which is shown by the CS can be noted from its role to motivate all aspects of the Sasaknese community life. 5. Novelties of the Study The novelties of the study are: 1) The CS creation takes place within and outside the plots, patterns of rhyme and stimulus such as flute, rebab (two-stringed musical instrument), pengereong ‘penurut’. These are the main elements in the CS creation. This means that the Lord’s formula and what is stated by Finnegan are not entirely applicable in the CS. 2) As far as the CS is concerned, there is one group of formula, that is, the formula in one lakaq. Such a formula includes (1) one sentence; (2) one word or one phrase; and (3) one syllable. The addition of words or adjusting sounds such as naro, nuwa, kendo, kendo kendi, kendo kendo, kendi kendo, dila, la, ya and gama is not included in the formula of words or even phrase. The formula mostly used in the CS is the formula of one sentence. 3) The definition of theme introduced by Lord does not work in the plots of the CS which do not have any episodes but only have gending (songs). The songs are part of the plots which present minor themes; however, they are not regularly sequenced as they are not stories. 4) The Bauman’s theory concerning the role of ‘events’ in determining genre does not work in the plots of the CS. The reason is that the CS can be performed to commemorate various events. 5) The main function of the CS is as a means of amusement; and its main meaning is to inspire social solidarity in all aspects of Sasaknese community life. 6. Conclusions The findings in this study show that the Lord’s theory of formula is not entirely applicable in the CS. The reason is that the creation in the CS is not only based on the formula but also on the pattern of rhyme and stimulus such as flute, rebab (two-stringed musical instrument), the music produced by the mouth, and pengereong. The element of 8 stimulus is not included in the Lord’s theory, although it is the main element in the creation process. The creation in the CS takes place within and outside the plots. This is different from what is stated by Lord that the creation of people’s poems takes place in the plots. The concept that theme, according to Lord, is related to episodes does not work as far as the plots in the CS are concerned. However, what is available in the CS is gending (songs), which are part of the plots presenting one or several minor themes and which are not regularly sequenced as they are not stories. They are related to rhymes. Moreover, the Bauman’s theory concerning the role of “events” in determining the genre presented in the plots does not work in the CS creation either. Therefore, the CS, as one of the oral traditions which is still in existence in the Sasaknese community life in Lombok can be performed to commemorate whatever events. The reason why part of the Lord’s theory does not work in this study is that the objects investigated are different. The CS functions include recalling the past, educating, amusing, expressing inter ethnic group solidarity as well as a means of social control, social resistance and religious teachings. Those functions only work for particular listeners. The function of recalling the past is basically included in its function as amusement. Its main function, which is still maintained up to now, is its function as a means of amusement. Therefore, it can be stated that the main function of the CS is as a means of amusement. The meanings of the CS for the Sasaknese community include love and affection, ritual, acknowledgement of social stratification and collective awareness. The four meanings mentioned above are related to each other. Thus, the unity shown by the CS to the Sasaknese community can be noticed from its role as a motivation motivating social solidarity in all aspects of the Sasaknese community life. 7. Acknowledgments Thank Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, God the Almighty, that it is His blessing which has kept the writer healthy making the dissertation entitled “Cepung Sasak: Oral Traditioin in Lombok West Nusa Tenggara” , as one of the requirements to complete the Doctorate Program at the Linguistics Program, Concentration of Literary Discourse, the Postgraduate Program of Udayana University, can be completed. 9 The completion of this dissertation cannot be separated from many parties. Therefore, in this opportunity, the writer would like to thank the Rector of Udayana University, Vice Rector I, Vice Rector II and Vice Rector for International Relation Affairs, who have motivated and provided the researcher with facilities to pursue further study. The writer would also like to extend his thanks to the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Vice Dean I, Vice Dean II and Vice Dean III and to all the lecturers at the Faculty of Education of Mataram University. Being indebted also goes to the institution which has provided the writer with scholarship through the BPPS (P2T) of Udayana University, the Rector of Udayana University, the Director of Postgraduate Program of Udayana University and her staff members, Head and Secretary of the Doctorate Program in Linguistics, and Head of the Concentration of Literary Discourses of Udayana University and his staff members. The writer would also like to extend his thanks to Prof. Dr. I Nyoman Weda Kusuma, MS, as the main supervisor; Prof. Dr. I Wayan Cika,M.S., as Co-supervisor I and Dr I Nyoman Suarka, M.Hum., as co-supervisor II for their attention, patience and carefulness who have encouraged and motivated the writer from writing the proposal to the completion of this dissertation. The writer would also like to express his thanks to the board of the examiners such as Prof. Dr. I Nyoman Kutha Ratna, S.U.; Prof. Dr. I Made Suastika, S.U.; Prof. Dr. Aron Meko Mbete; Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A., Ph.D.; Dr. H. Rusdiawan.,M.Pd. for their highly meaningful criticism, suggestions and input for the betterment of this study. Finally, the writer would like to thank all other parties which cannot be mentioned one by one who have helped the writer in completing his doctorate program at the Postgraduate Program of Udayana University.