Nyai Sabirah’s folklore and sacred local heritage in Central Java

Abstract

AbstractThe folklore of Nyai Sabirah is one of the diversity of Indonesian heritage as an hereditary oral tradition. As a female emancipation figure from the descendants of the Majapahit kingdom who fled from the siege of the invasion, Nyai Sabirah played a role as the founder mother of the Bakaran village by deforesting forests and building rural communities. Nyai Sabirah’s character is sacred by the people who penetrate the space between syncretism and social reality. This article examines the folklore of Nyai Sabirah, which has intangible and tangible local cultural heritage values which include four categories of folklore (myths, legends, saga and saying). Values and social education taught by Nyai Sabirah formed the Bakaran village community with high social tolerance. The establishment of Bakaran village and batik education with eighteen local batik motifs are forms of tangible heritage of high value. Finally, folklore is not just a legacy of oral tradition, but also contributes to the heritage of artifacts and products of community civilization that characterizes the face of Indonesian vernacular culture.

Keywords

• folklore
• rituals
• tangible and intangible heritage
• tolerance
• city brand