Folktales, Trans-locality and the Construction of Social Values by Children

How pertinent are heritage folktales in transmitting cultural and social values of a nation to children? For centuries, childrens worldviews have been largely shaped by folklores that carry social values, beliefs and philosophies that are unique to the people and communities of a nation. Within the context of trans-locality, this paper will discuss two popular folktales shared amongst the Malay Archipelago, mainly, Indonesian and Malaysia, Bawang Merah Bawang Putih (Shallots and Garlic) and story of the cursed son known as Si Tanggang in Malaysia or Malin Kundang in Indonesia by looking at; i) the similarities and differences in the construction of these stories, ii) the body of shared moral values amongst the people of the Malay Archipelago transmitted through these folktales and iii) how these shared moral values have a positive impact on Malaysian children exposed to these stories. This paper argues that although the stories may differ accordingly through the locality of the cultural adaptation, the on-going process of acculturation and assimilation which influences communitys perception, however, what remains relevant and binds these communities of the Malay Archipelago especially Malaysia and Indonesia are the social values. This paper goes on to posit that although Malaysian children from different backgrounds and ethnicity (Malay, Chinese and Indian) have been exposed to the different versions of the primarily Malay based folktales from Indonesia and Malaysia, this does not seem to be a problem for them to construct social values connected to their societies and contemporary settings. This paper further indicates that by presenting the children as actors and story-tellers through performative platforms, specifically, Wayang Kulit as in this research, they not only are able to present a better understanding of the social values from these different versions of the stories but also are able to re-contextualize these values to their daily lives. As a result, they acquire new skills and understanding in constructing new social values whilst drawing an analogical relationship between the trans-locality of the imagined situations in these folktales and their living realities.