Teach your children Indonesian language AND cultural values by getting them to read or watch Indonesian folktales. Some of the popular ones are:
- Timun Mas
- Keong Mas
- Bawang Merah Bawang Putih
- Malin Kundang
- Jaka Tarub dan 7 Bidadari
In this article, we will discuss different types of resources you can get your hands on, so that you can expose your children or students (if you are an Indonesian language teacher), to Indonesian folktales, wherever you are. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
TIMUN MAS
Timun Mas is a Javanese folktale telling the story of a brave girl that tries to escape and survive from a giant who wants to eat her alive. This book is perfect for beginner Indonesian because this book is a bilingual Indonesian – English book. The Indonesian sentence appears above the English sentence in classic bilingual text.
If you live in one of these countries: the US, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and India, you can easily buy this book on either Kindle or Paperback format from Amazon.
Otherwise, you can buy the book here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Indonesian-English-bilingual-books-series-Timun-Mas-and-Worksheets-4617396 | teacherspayteachers.com website allows you to buy this book in a digital download format (PDF), and to buy any item on the website you need to have a Paypal account as your payment method.
KEONG MAS
Keong Mas is also a popular Javanese folklore about a princess cursed into a golden snail. The story teaches the power of kindness and that good always triumphs over evil. This book is an all-time Indonesian children’s classic and its short length also makes these books easy to read, even for beginners!
If you live in one of these countries: the US, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and India, you can easily buy this book on either Kindle or Paperback format from Amazon.
Otherwise, you can buy the book here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Indonesian-English-bilingual-books-series-Keong-Mas-and-Worksheets-4617441 | teacherspayteachers.com website allows you to buy this book in a digital download format (PDF), and to buy any item on the website you need to have a Paypal account as your payment method.
BAWANG MERAH BAWANG PUTIH
Bawang merah dan bawang putih (literally translates as: red onion and garlic) is a story about two siblings with opposite characters: one good and one bad, and an evil step mother. It has the same theme and moral as Cinderella. If you, your children or your students have an intermediate to advanced degree of fluency in Indonesian, you could watch the adaptation of the folktale in form of Indonesian sinetron (Indonesian soap opera). There are 108 episodes total. Fortunately you can watch all of the episodes for free on Youtube. This is a good approach if you want to practice your listening skills as well as learning more of colloquial Indonesian in everyday conversation.
MALIN KUNDANG
Malin Kundang is a story about an ungrateful son from a poor family. He grew up hating his circumstances. He worked hard and eventually became successful, but in the midst of success he forgot where he came from. He denied his own mother, because he was embarrassed acknowledging his own mother in front of his wife, who came from an elite family.
For this story, you, your children or your students can enjoy this story on Youtube as well. However, an intermediate level of fluency is required because this cartoon animation does not have a subtitle in Indonesian.
JAKA TARUB DAN 7 BIDADARI
The story of Jaka Tarub blends ancient myths about the existence of mythical world (khayangan) and its residents. The story is about a poor young man who stole an angel’s shawl prohibiting her from going back to her mythical world and got stuck on earth. The two eventually married but with time Jaka’s doing was revealed and Nawang Mulan (the angel who became Jaka Tarub’s wife) had to leave to go back to her mythical world. The story put emphasis on one’s honesty and integrity.
Similar to Malin Kundang, the Youtube link you have here is narrated in Indonesian, without English subtitle, hence, it’s a good source if you, your children, or your students have at least an intermediate level of fluency to avoid any confusion in understanding the plot. Happy watching!
Last words..
So that’s a wrap for compilation of resources where you can enjoy Indonesian folktale stories. We do hope you have a great time learning Indonesian while having fun with these folktales.
