Friend, Indonesia is a big nation with such a large territory. As a big nation, of course, Indonesia has diverse cultural treasures in each region. One form of Indonesian literature that was created in the past is folk poetry. Have you ever heard of the term Folk Poetry? What is Folk Poetry?
Folk poetry is the nation’s heritage in the form of poetry, rhymes, rhymes, and gurindam, which have moral, religious, and character values. Old poetry is usually passed on by word of mouth and is usually unknown to the author or author. Old poetry looks rigid because of the rules such as the number of words in each line, the number of lines in each stanza, and also the repetition of words that can be at the beginning or at the end of the rhyme or known as rhyme. So, to understand more about folk poetry, see the explanation below.
1. Gurindam
Gurindam is an old poem from India. The term gurindam comes from the Indian language, namely kirindam which means “beginning” or “simile”. Gurindam is full of religious and moral values. It is undeniable that gurindam for the ancients was very important and made the norm in life. Gurindam has the following characteristics:
a) consists of two lines in a verse
b) each line has a word count of about 10-14 words
c) each line has the same rhyme or rhymes with AA, BB, CC, and so on
d) is a unified whole.
e) the first line contains a question, issue, or agreement
f) the second line contains the answer, as a result of the problem or agreement in the first line (the content or intent of the gurindam is in the second line)
g) the contents of the gurindam are usually in the form of advice, philosophy of life or aphorisms
2. Poem
Pantun is a Malay poem that is rooted and cultured in society. Pantun is known by many names in various languages in the archipelago, tonton (Tagalog), tuntun (Javanese), pantun (Toba language) which has more or less the same meaning, namely something regular speech, educational direction, a form of politeness. The characteristics of the poem are:
a) Each stanza consists of 4 lines or 4 lines.
b) Each line consists of 8-12 syllables.
c) The last rhyme of each line is abab.
d) Lines 1 and 2 are sampiran. 5) Lines 3 and 4 are content
3. Poetry
Poetry is one of the old poetry. Poetry comes from Persia and was brought into the archipelago along with the entry of Islam into Indonesia. The word or term syair comes from Arabic, namely syi’ir or syu’ur which means “conscious feeling”, then the word syu’ur develops into syi’ru which means poetry in general knowledge. In its development, the poem underwent changes and modifications so that it became typical of Malay, no longer referring to the literary tradition of Arabic poetry.
The characteristics of the poem include:
a) Each stanza consists of four lines.
b). Each line consists of 8-14 syllables.
c). Bersajak aaaa.
d). All lines are content.
e). The language used is usually figurative.
Friend, that’s the understanding and various types of folk poetry. After learning about folk poetry, don’t forget to read the existing works and try to make your own, OK? For those of you who want to learn more, you can download the Class VII Indonesian Open Middle School module published by the Middle School Directorate at the following link .
Reference:
Class VII Indonesian Open Middle School Module “People’s Poetry”