45 by word, the meaning will be the land and the water. Examining the meaning of
the literal meaning of the words tanah and air, the researcher who is also an Indonesian native reader finds that the words tanah air do not have any sense.
However, if those words are seen from the Indonesian idiomatic expression, the words tanah air means a place where somebody born. Literally, the words
tanahair do not have any relation with a country where somebody was born Kamus Idiom Bahasa Indonesia, 1984. However, the Indonesian native readers
will directly understand that the meaning of tanah air is the place where somebody was born. Yet, for the Indonesian, in a particular situation the word
tanah air may also refer to Indonesia as a country. The third example is Punggung bukit. It is used five times in the novel.
The literal meaning of punggung is the back, a body part, and bukit means hill. Literally, the words Punggung bukit mean the back side of a hill. However, the
sense of punggung bukit in Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk is the upper side of a hill. The word punggung is the language expression to express the upper side of the hill,
because the word punggung and upper side of something share the same idea. The illustration is when somebody lies his face down, his back will be his upper
side of his body. Thus, punggung or the back can be used to express the upper side of something.
b. The Rarely Appeared Dead Metaphors in the Form of Phrase Idiom
After examining the examples in the previous discussion on the frequently appeared dead metaphor in the form of phrase idioms, the researcher also
discusses the rarely appeared dead metaphor in the form of phrase idioms. The
46 findings are categorized into the rarely used dead metaphor because their
occurrences are less than four times in the novel. However, when the researcher counts their occurrences, the average of the occurrence of rarely dead metaphors
is only once. Table 4.3 illustrates the findings of the rarely appeared dead metaphors in the form of phrase idioms.
Table 4.3 the Findings of Rarely Appeared Dead Metaphors in the Form of Phrase Idiom in Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk.
No. Dead Metaphor
Page
1. Berhutang nyawa
33 2.
Perawan kencur 57
3. Air muka
153 4.
Perjaka lapuk 310
5. Induk semang
372
The examples shown in table 4.3 are the findings which are categorized into the rarely appeared dead metaphors. The first example of the rarely appeared
dead metaphors is berhutang nyawa. Literally, the meaning of the word berhutang is being in debt and the meaning of the word nyawais life. Therefore, if the words
berhutang nyawa are seen literally, berhutang nyawa means owing somebody’s
life. Without giving attention to the primary sense for each word, the Indonesian readers will directly understand that berhutang nyawa means someone who
ever
been helped by other Kamus Idiom Bahasa Indonesia, 1984. However, in the novel, the words berhutang nyawa are used to illustrate
the life of Ki Secamenggala, who was believed as the ancestor of Paruk people. In his life, Ki Secamenggala was well known as a bandit, who did a lot of crimes
such as killing and robbing people. However, when he grew old, he chose to
47 retire, and then he built Dukuh Paruk. Realizing that the Paruk people were the Ki
Secamenggala ’s descendants, they believe that they had the obligation to pay for
Ki Secamenggala ’s “debt” for having done many misdeeds against people in his
life. Therefore, when the disaster of tempe bongkrek happened, and many Paruk People were killed by the poisonous tempe bongkrek, the Paruk people believed
that it was one of the ways to pay Ki Secamenggala’s “debt”. Thus, berhutang
nyawa in this novel means murdering a lot people. The second example of the rarely appeared dead metaphors is perawan
kencur. The Indonesian reader will directly understand that in the novel, perawan kecur means a young virgin girl. The meaning of perawan is a virgin girl.
However, the literal meaning of the word kencur does not have any relation with the word young. Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Online 2013 defines kencur as
a root crop, which can be used as spice and medicine. Therefore, to understand the meaning of perawan kencur, the native readers do not need to think about the
primary sense for each word because the words perawan kencur belong to the idiomatic construction of the Indonesian lexicon. The words perawan kencur in
this novel are used to illustrate how young Srintil was when she was inaugurated as a ronggeng. Srintil started to become a ronggeng when she reached the age of
eleven. It is an irony because an eleven-years-old-girl should face a life, which is very close with sexuality. Thus, in this novel, perawan kencur means a very
young virgin girl. The last example is induk semang. According to Kamus Idiom Bahasa
Indonesia 1984, induk semang means the owner of a lodge or a landlady. The
48 literal meaning of induk is mother and semang means a special relation between
someone who lends her money and her debtor KBBI Edisi Kedua, 1991. However, in the novel, the words induk semang does not refer to the owner of a
lodge. In this novel, induk semang means a woman who seems to be a boss for a prostitute place. In Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk, Srintil was not only a ronggeng
dancer but also a prostitute. A prostitute is considered that she has debts to her induk semang because induk semang had given her job for her to earn money in
her prostitute place .
A prostitute should pay her induk semang by sharing her wages with the induk semang like what Srintil does with her induk semang, Nyai
Sakarya.
c. The Rarely Appeared Dead Metaphor in the Form of One-Word Idioms.
