Dependency on Supernatural Beings
The third presentation of the dependency on supernatural being is by showing the consequences that human being receive. The consequences are due to
trespassing the condition set by the supernatural being. This presentation can be accessed in the macropropositions that supernatural beings might set rules and
conditions which human being must apply. In other words, human being depends on the wisdom or insight by supernatural being to live properly. The consequences
might be positive or negative for the human characters. However, topically, the negative consequences appear more prominently than the positive impact. The
negative consequences are the result of disobedience. The positive consequence seems to be a result of makeup actions after experiencing the negative
consequence, i.e. in folktale 3. In folktale 3, the human character experiences both negative and positive
consequences. Both of the consequences are the results of the character’s response
toward the supernatural being’s advices or sayings. However, the negative consequences appear first as a result of ignored warning. Later on, the positive
consequences come as a makeup result overcoming the negative consequences. Excerpt 19
Hearing the sound of running water, the captain forgot the warning of the djinn
and stumbled away from the beach and up a small bluff covered in ivy in search of the stream that he could hear. But as soon as he set foot on
the ivy he was beset by an agony of itching that immediately made him forget his thirst. A12331
The negative consequence comes because the human character forgets the warning given by the supernatural fish. The human character suffers from the agony of
itching.
The itch might logically come from particular ivy. The ivy might naturally be poisonous and cause the itch. However, more importantly, the captain has been
warned by the supernatural fish to not venture the island. This situation delivers the idea that human being is not knowledgeable. Further, human being is careless and
ignorant since provided by the condition, the main character does not pay much attention to the warning.
The positive consequence is resulted from the obeisance to the supernatural fish’s advice. The consequence is the fact that the human character finds out the
cure for the itch and gets cured. The folktale, in this case, does not highlight the power in terms of physical power but of knowledge. This is due to the story that the
human character does the effort to overcome his itching problem after being advised by the supernatural fish.
Excerpt 20
… the djinn said to him, “The source of the curse is the ivy that covers the
whole island. You must bear the pain and pull it all out. Take it down to the beach and burn it
– then the curse will be no more and you may even settle in this place.
“And so it was that the captain single handedly tore up the ivy and burned it on the beach.
A12360
The supernatural being says the advice to the human character. The saying is the
solution to the itching problem. The excerpt shows that the human character does
not lack of physical strength but more of knowledge. The folktale mentions that the captain single handedly tore up the ivy and burned it on the beach.
That mentioning proofs that in fact the human character is physically powerful.
Being a condition giver, supernatural beings sets rules for human beings. In relation to power relation, therefore, they are authoritative. In folktale 1, the
supernatural being sets the condition to the human character that human might not eat a particular fish. In folktale 3, the supernatural being warns the human main
character to not venture the island. In folktale 5, the supernatural being orders the other main characters not to attack each other.
Excerpt 21 When he looked up again, the deer was gone and there stood before him the
radiant figure of a woman . “Put down your spear, my son,” she told him.
“Would you kill your own sister? “Instantly, all the memories from his childhood came back to him and Si Gerong fell to his knees.
“Yes, she is
Orah. I bore you together. Consider her your equal because you are
sebai.”A12564-68
Excerpt 21 shows the depiction and the power of the supernatural being in folktale 6. The supernatural being is depicted as a beautiful and shining figure by
the word radiant.
She is believed as the main characters’ mother. Moreover, she
proclaims it by herself by saying I bore you together. This depiction strengthens
the power of the supernatural being since she holds the authorship by being the mother.
In folktale 1 and folktale 3, the supernatural being’s authority is in line
with the nowadays customs. The supernatural beings in those two folktales give the rules or conditions accordingly to what are believed by the society. In folktale 1,
the supernatural being forbids the human character to eat a particular fish namely teri
fish. She give that condition for the human character taking her as the wife. The condition must be obeyed due to the powerlessness human character. In addition,
the life of the human character becomes better because of the help of the supernatural being. In other words, the supernatural being brings prosperity to the
human character. To keep the prosperous condition, the human character might not disobey the condition. In the folktale, it turns out that the human character disobeys
the condition.
Excerpt 22 The crack slowly widened until the sea began to fill it and Empu Mburing
saw his beloved wife slowly disappearing, for they were now on two different islands.
A12182
The disobedience results in the separation between the supernatural being and the
human character. They are physically separated on two different islands. This
separation might also suggest the consequence that the human character should take. He loses the prosperous life.
In folktale 3, similar condition applies that the supernatural being sets a condition or a rule that is in line with the custom of the society. Similarly also, the
custom is about forbidding to eat a particular fish. The difference lays on the reasons why the supernatural being gives the rule. From the narrative, the supernatural
being is the one which provides help to the human character. Excerpt 23
But the ikan layar remains sacred to the people of Mesa and none will let its meat pass their lips A12366
In the folktale, the society keeps the particular fish sacred. Thus, the society does
not eat a particular fish namely ikan layar because the society respects the fish. Further, the society might also consider the consequences of ignoring the condition
set by the supernatural being in the form of ikan layar. The authority of the supernatural being is shown in utterances. For instance,
the supernatural being in excerpt 21 utters commands in imperatives and in
interrogative. The commands in the excerpt are presented by the words put down and consider. The question
“Would you kill your own sister?” is a rhetorical
question that is intended to command the main character to not kill his twin. Those
utterances leads to the extraction of the macropropositions that supernatural beings set rules and conditions and human being must obey them in order to live properly.
In addition to the supporting ideas of the ideology, folktale 6 presents the powerless state of human beings that leads to the dependency on supernatural being
power. The macroproposition is indexed as 6E. The constructed macroproposition is that prayer is powerful. The power of the prayer is depicted that it can change
human being’s fate. In other words, human being’s character is dependent to the supernatural power, i.e. prayer. In the folktale, the human character becomes a stone
due to her prayer. Excerpt 24
She was silent again for a long time and then she said, “But if none of that
is true, for what reason should I live in this world? I ask then that you turn me to stone so that all will know that I did not commit the sin of which I
have been accused . A12655
Excerpt 25 But she could not, for her feet were rooted to the floor. Soon she could not
feel her legs, or her torso, or her arms. At last, she looked down at the statue of a child in her arms
and then her vision became dull and grey until at last
she too became stone
. A12657-59
Excerpt 24 is the prayer that the human character utters. The utterances might be
considered as a prayer since she asks something to someone she addresses by you. The one that she addresses by you might be interpreted with God or any
supernatural being possessing power to turn her into stone. The purpose of the prayer is to prove that she does not commit the deed which she has accused for.
Excerpt 25 shows the process of her becoming a stone. The power of the prayer influences also her son. The child becomes a stone also in her arms. By having this
narrative, the society might believe in the power of saying as prayers. The folktale
does not mention explicitly that the utterances by the human character are prayers. However, the society, thus, might consider that any sayings might become true
since they might be prayers. In relation to supernatural power, the prayer might become true by the supernatural grant. Therefore, the society’s life and fate might
depend on the supernatural power.