Propp’s Morphology of Folktale in "La Hami"

 Propp’s Morphology of Folktale in La Hami

by

H. NASRULLAH, M.Pd

Abstract

La Hami is a famous folktale told from mouth to mouth by the people of Bima a long time ago. They believe that La Hami was the ancestor of the kings (Sultans) who reigned the Sultanate of Bima, which are now split up into three districts: Bima District, Bima City and Dompu. The folktale is analyzed using one of Vladimir Propp’s theories “Morphology of Folktale.” The Morphology of Folktale is used worldwide to analyze lots of archaic spoken literary works. There are, at least, 8 (eight) points of characters applicably used for this analysis. Out of 31 (thirty-one) elements of the story identified by Propp, 18 (eighteen) of them are applicable in La Hami.                   

Summary of La Hami*)

*)La Hami is one of the famous folklores in Bima written by one of the Indonesian famous authors Marah Rusli (1889-1968), and has been rewritten until the latest the eleventh edition (Rusli: 2002). This tells about a heroic sultan (La Hami) who ruled Bima in the beginning era of Islam Sultanates in Bima, in 18^th Century.

Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda Living in a Cave

La Hami was adopted by a childless couple, husband and wife-Ompu (Sir) Keli and Ina (Madame) Rinda. Ompu Keli and  Ina Rinda were actually a couple of anoble family from Sumbawa Sultanate. Ompu Keli was once a prime minister of that Sultanate who escaped after being betrayed by one of his ministers. He and his wife lived solitarily   in a cave on the slope of Mount Tambora. One day they found a two-month baby drowned on a river near the cave. They gladly adopted the baby and named him La Hami.

Twenty four years later, Ompu Keli dreamed that La Hami would become an important man in Bima Sultanate but La Hami should first go to the top of Mount Donggo to learn spiritual knowledge.

La Hami with Ompu Su on Mount Donggo

In the jungle of Mount Donggo La Hami met Ompu Su, who used to do meditation. Then, La Hami was allowed to learn lots of mystique and spiritual knowledge from Ompu Su for the betterment of his future. From Ompu Su, La Hami learned how to be powerful, respectful and wise.

In the cave where they lived, Ina Rinda worried very much about La Hami. “Why does he go very long time, Ompu? What’s going on to him? Does it happen something bad to him, Ompu? Ina Rinda asked her husband curiously. “Don’t worry Ina, La Hami is a powerful person. Everything is just fine with him, and just pray to Allah for his safety, Ina,” Ompu Keli replied.

No longer after that, La Hami arrived riding a horse. Ompu and Ina welcomed him very happily. “Tell your Ina (mother), what happened to you, my son? Why did you take a long time on your way home?” asked Ompu Keli curiously. Then, La Hami told the whole story.

La Hami Traveled to Bima

La Hami started telling the story from his experience with Ompu Su on the top of Mount Donggo where he learned important knowledge and magical power for his better future. After getting enough knowledge, then he went to Bima where he found people holding a wrestling contest in a large field. A lot of people were watching the competition. They applauded the superior warrior called La Wera. He had just defeated many warriors coming all around the country.  “Who else among you bravely fight with me…?” La Wera shouted boastfully. Hearing such call, La Hami got on the stage to try the magic power he had learned from Ompu Su. “After several hours of fighting, finally I came out as the winner, Ina,” La Hami said to entertain his mother.  Ina Rinda was very pleased to hear the story from him. “Go, on…, what happened then…? Ina Rinda impatiently asks the next story from La Hami. After defeating the warrior, he quickly became very famous. Everywhere, People were talking about La Hami’s success defeating the warrior. Finally, the king also heard the news. La Hami was then invited to come to the castle.

The queen and people in the castle were very surprised to see that the boy indeed resembled the king and thought that La Hami was probably the lost prince. However, this should be proved and how? La Hami was then asked by the king and the queen to live in the castle.

La Hami was kidnapped to Komodo

La Hami continued telling a very dangerous moment in his life. One day the king introduced him with Ruma Bicara, the prime minister. The king wanted him to learn many things from Ruma Bicara. Knowing that La Hami truly resembled the king, Ruma Bicara felt sure that La Hami must be the baby he drowned twenty four years ago. Then, Ruma Bicara made an evil plan. When the king ordered him to train La Hami to be a great warrior, he took La Hami to Komodo Island where he said that La Hami should learn kinds of self-defenses in an isolated island. Ruma Bicara, his employees and La Hami crossed on a small boat to Komodo Island. They expected that La Hami would die when fighting against a komodo dragon there. After they had got the island, La Hami was left alone in the island. La Hami was then helped by villagers going back to Bima by a small boat, but on the way the boat was crashed by big waves. Finally La Hami was drowned and found by people on seashore. Fortunately, he was still alive.

That is the whole story he told to Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda during his traveling. They were very happy to know the happy ending of his story.

La Hami was the Real Prince

Later on La Hami became well-known all around the country. Many people talked about him. The people not only talked about him being a powerful warrior but also being resemblance with the Sultan. Many of them speculated that he was probably the Sultan’s son who lost twenty four years ago.

After seeing La Hami, the queen became curious of who he was. One day he said to the Sultan “Ruma (my majesty), what do you think about La Hami? Isn’t he our lost son? He looks really like you, Ruma” “I feel the same, Ina Ka’u (queen).” the sultan replied.

Therefore one day, the Sultan ordered to make an investigation on La Hami’s family. Later on he was informed that twenty four years ago Ruma Bicara once drowned a baby on a small river near Mount Tambora. The baby was then adopted by Ompu  Keli and Ina Rinda who lived in a cave on the slope of Mount Tambora. Then the Sultan invited Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda to come to the castle. Based on the facts and the attributes found with La Hami when he was drowned, the Sultan and the queen finally ensured that La Hami was their true son who lost twenty four years ago.

La Hami fell in love with Indra Komala

La Hami’s fame was later on heard by Sultan Sirajuddin of Dompu. With the help of Prince of Sanggar, La Hami was introduced to Sultan Sirajuddin and the Sultan invited him to help overcome the security around Saleh Bay. There were lots of pirates led by Ponto Wanike from Bugis and Daeng (Lord) Matita from Sumbawa who frequently caused instability in his territory.

One day, Ponto Wanike and his people kidnapped Princess Indra Komala, the Sultan’s daughter. Ponto Wanike wanted to marry the beautiful Princess. They hid the Princess in a jungle near Saleh Bay. Sultan’s soldiers led by La Hami and the Prince of Sanggar battled against Ponto Wanike’s people. Collaborating with the Prince of Sanggar, La Hami succeeded in conquering the pirates. La Hami himself managed to kill Ponto Wanike.

Later on La Hami fell in love with Princess Indra Komala. That was good news for the Sultans of Dompu and Bima and therefore they set a plan to marry La Hami to Princess Indra Komala. Knowing his capability and performance, the Sultan of Dompu promoted La Hami as his prime minister with a title Ruma Ka’u Lalu Abdul Hamid.

La Hami became the king of Bima Sultanate 

Sultan Salahuddin of Bima was now getting older. He felt it was the proper time for him to resign. The Sultan realized that Ruma Ka’u Lalu Abdul Hamid who was now the prime minister of Dompu deserved to replace him. He also understood that Ruma Ka’u Lalu Abdul Hamid had experienced with lots of problematic life and had successfully overcome many big problems during his life.

Ruma Ka’u Lalu Abdul Hamid finally was promoted as the Sultan of Bima with the title Ruma Ka’u Jeneli Teke Sultan Kaharuddin.

Analysis of Characters

1.    The villain — struggles against the hero (Propp, 1928).

When Sultan Dompo invited La Hami to help him overcome the security around Saleh Bay, La Hami had to combat against lots of pirates there. There were two of them who were very powerful, namely Ponto Wanike from Bugis and Daeng Matita from Sumbawa. In this story, Ponto Wanike and Daeng Matita are considered as the villains because they were the antagonists who combated the main hero.

2.    The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off (Propp, 1928).

One of the characters who had important role in helping La Hami is the Prince of Sanggar. His roles were first introducing La Hami to Sultan Sirajuddin of  Dompu. Second, he helped La Hami defeat the pirates around Saleh Bay. The last but not the least, he helped La Hami meet Princess Indra Komala until they got married. Therefore, the dispatcher in this story is addressed to the Prince of Sanggar.

 Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda can also be categorized as dispatchers since they took a role in connecting the missing link between the sultan of Bima and La Hami.

3.    The (magical) helper — helps the hero in their quest (Propp, 1928).

One day Ompu Keli dreamed that La Hami should go to Mount Donggo to meet someone there. His name was Ompu Su. Ompu Su was a very important person in La Hami’s life since La Hami learned magical power for his future life from Ompu Su. By using the magical power from Ompu Su, La Hami could defeat many warriors, pirates, and his enemies in his life. Therefore, Ompu Su could be categorized as the magical helper for La Hami.

4.    The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain (Propp, 1928).

The princess is Indra Komala, the daughter of Sultan Sirajuddin. She was very famous with her beauty until one day Ponto Wanike wanted to marry and kidnapped her. Fortunately, she was saved by La Hami, and Ponto Wanike was finally killed by La Hami. Therefore, after getting free from the pirates Princess Indra Komala and La Hami were married.

5.    Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, and marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative (Propp, 1928).

Sultan Sirajuddin, the Sultan of Dompu invited La Hami to help him fight against pirates around Saleh Bay who often make instability in his territory. After La Hami succeeded in defeating the pirates he married one of the Sultan’s daughters named Princess Indra Komala.

6.    The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object (Propp, 1928).

Ompu Su who lived on the top of Mount Donggo was a very important person for La Hami. Ompu Su taught him kinds of magical power for the betterment of his future. It was true that he was able to defeat lots of his enemies using the magical power. Therefore, Ompu Su deserved being the donor.

The donors can also be referred to Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda because they had adopted, raised and educated La Hami since he was a baby until he became a prime minister.

7.    The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess (Propp, 1928).

La Hami is the main character of the story and therefore, he was the hero since he successfully coped with lots of problems before he became the Sultan. Even, he himself did not realize that he was actually the real prince of Bima. To become a sultan is not an instant process. However, La Hami experienced lots of obstacles before he finally could overcome those obstacles in such heroic ways. Therefore, he deserved being the hero.

8.    False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess (Propp, 1928)

The false heroes are Ponto Wanike from Bugis, Daeng Matita from Sumbawa and Ruma Bicara.

Ponto Winake and Daeng Matita were the leaders of pirates in Saleh Bay who very often caused instability in Sumbawa Island. The transportation around Saleh Bay and the supply of goods there were many times massed up by the pirates. One day, Ponto Wanike kidnapped Princess Indra Komala and set a plan to marry her.

 Ruma Bicara was actually Sultan Salahuddin’s younger brother. Therefore, the sultan asked him to coach La Hami to be a great warrior. His ambition to be a Sultan,  Ruma Bicara betrayed his elder brother by attempts to kill La Hami twice: first, drowning La Hami on a river when he was a baby and, second, abandoning La Hami alone in Komodo Island when he was twenty four years old.

Analysis of Functions (the 31 Narratemes)

Here are the 31(thirty one) elements of stories identified by Propp, plus their symbol, interpretations, and discussion. Some of these functions generally occur in pairs, such as departure and return. They may also be repeated or missing (http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/propp/propp.htm).

No	Function	Description
1	Absentation	La Hami was drowned and adopted by an ordinary person (Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda) and experienced ordinary life.
2	Interdiction	-
3	Violation of Interdiction	La Hami fought against Ponto Wanike from Bugis and Daeng Matita from Sumbawa.
4	Reconnaissance	-
5	Delivery	The villain (Ponto Wanike and Daeng Matita) attempted to find out the information where the position of Princess Indra Komala was.
6	Trickery	-
7	Complicity	-
8	Villainy or Lack	The villain kidnapped Princess Indra Komala
9	Mediation	-
10	Beginning Counter-Action	La Hami combated Ponto Wanike to set free Princess Indra Komala
11	Departure	La Hami went to Mount Donggo to learn magical power from Ompu Su.
12	First Function of the Donor	Magical power from Ompu Su was very beneficial for La Hami when he first used it to fight against a warrior named La Wera.
13	Hero's Reaction	Even though La Hami was abandoned alone in Komodo island, he could still survive. That was also due to the magical power he learned.
14	Receipt of a Magical Agent	La Hami learned magical power from Ompu Su
15	Guidance	-
16	Struggle	La Hami fought against Ponto Wanike and the pirates around Saleh Bay.
17	Branding	-
18	Liquidation	-
19	Victory	Ponto Wanike was killed. Then, La Hami won the battle.
20	Return	La Hami was invited by the king to stay in the palace.
21	Pursuit	-
22	Rescue	-
23	Unrecognized Arrival	When La Hami, for the first time, visited Bima, nobody knew that he was a real Prince.
24	Unfounded Claims	-
25	Difficult Task	La Hami was assigned by Sultan Dompu to defeat the pirates led by Ponto Wanike and Daeng Matita.
26	Solution	After having defeated Ponto Wanike and Daeng Matita, La Hami was promoted as a Prime Minister by the Sultan of Dompu.
27	Recognition	La Hami was finally recognized as the Prince of Bima after Ompu Keli and Ina Rinda showed the king the attributes drowned with him.
28	Explore	-
29	Transfiguration	-
30	Punishment	Being sentenced guilty Ruma Bicara was punished and isolated to jungle; being defeated Ponto Wanike and Daeng Matita were killed in the combat.
31	Wedding	La Hami married Princess Indra Komala and finally, he was crowned the Sultan of Bima entitled Ruma Ka’u Jeneli Teke Sultan Kaharuddin.

 

References

Propp, Vladimir. 1928. Morphology of Folktale. Retrieved on March 13, 2013. Available at Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_propp#cite_note_citation_needed-2

Propp, Vladimir. 1928. Propp's Morphology of the Folk Tale. Retrieved on March 13, 2013.Available at http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/propp/propp.htm

 Rusli, Marah. 2002. La Hami (Cetakan ke Sebelas). Jakarta: Balai Pustaka