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Folklore of Indonesia is known inIndonesian asdongeng (lit. 'tale'),cerita rakyat (lit. 'people's story') orfolklor (lit. 'folklore'), refer to anyfolklore found inIndonesia. Its origins are probably anoral culture, with a range of stories of heroes associated withwayang and other forms of theatre, transmitted outside of a written culture. Folklores in Indonesia are closely connected withmythology.
Indonesian folklore reflects the diverseculture of Indonesia as well as the diversity ofethnic groups in Indonesia. Many ethnic groups have their own collection of tales and folklore that have been told for generations. The stories are usually told to children as bedtime stories and havepedagogical values such as kindness, benevolence, modesty, honesty, bravery, patience, persistence, virtue, andmorality. For example, one popular theme is "the truth will always prevail, and evil will always be defeated."
While most Indonesian folkloric stories have happy endings and 'happily ever after' themes, some employtragedy and have sad endings.
Most Indonesian folklore started as an oral tradition told by storytellers and parents for generations within Indonesian villages. The stories were often sung or chanted in several oral traditions such aspantun,tembang, or children's chants. Some were performed in performing arts such aswayang and sendratari (dance drama). In Malay tradition, some of them are written in scripture ashikayat, while in Javanese tradition, several stories are connected with historical figures and historical records such asbabad or olderkakawin scriptures such asPararaton. Indian Hindu-Buddhist epics also influenced Indonesian folklore, especially through wayang and dance drama in Java and Bali. The Hindu epics theRamayana andMahabharata have become their own separate versions with Indonesian twists and interpretations that often differ from the Indian versions. The BuddhistJataka tales also has made their way into Indonesian fables and animal folklore. Jataka stories are found carved as narrative bas-reliefs on ancient Javanesecandis, such as theMendut,Borobudur andSajiwan temples; telling animal fables about the virtues of Buddha, who performed exceptional acts of kindness in his animal incarnations before being reborn as a Boddhisattva and the future Buddha.
These stories have been collected and used in theIndonesian education system, in small cheap books, usually tied in with a district or region of Indonesia. Many stories explain events or establish moral allegories using iconic or symbolic characters of the past. They also seek to explain the origins of names of people and places fromFolk etymology.
During theSuharto era, there were sections of the Indonesian Department of Education and Culture that researched and wrote reports on collectedcerita rakyat.
There are several genres of Indonesian folklore.
The story of the struggle of a common protagonist to finally achieve happiness despite facing many problems.
The stories that try to explain the origins of certain places, names and/or things.
Heroic tales of struggles, battles and war. The story of a hero's adventure and their exploits.
Animal tales, featuring animals that behave like humans or interact and speak with humans.
Witch, demon, spirit orghost tales, based on urban legends or supernatural phenomena.
