Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Mas Said Surakarta
International Conference on Cultures & Languages

NARRATING LOCAL WISDOM AND ETHNIC IDENTITY THROUGH DIGITAL FOLKLORE IN TIMUN MAS AND THE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Date Published : 6 December 2025

Contributors

Nur Asiyah

Author

Hidayatul Nurjanah

Second Author

Elga Lauris Zabrina

Third Author

Fuad Muhammad Zein

Fourth Author

Keywords

Digital folklore ethnic literature local wisdom cultural identity storytelling

Proceeding

(2025): Special Issue: Cultural Resilience and Digital Literacy for a Diverse Society

Track

General Track

License

Copyright (c) 2025 International Conference on Cultures & Languages

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Digital storytelling continues to shape how cultures are preserved and shared, making examining folklore in both its traditional and digital forms essential to sustain ethnic identity, local wisdom, and cultural literacy. This study explores how local wisdom and ethnic identity are narrated through digital folklore in the Indonesian story of Timun Mas and the Western tale of The Little Red Riding Hood. Utilizing Jan Harold Brunvand's folklore theory and ethnic literature as theoretical frameworks, the research employs a descriptive qualitative method with an American Studies approach. The primary data consists of words, phrases, and sentences from these two folkloric children's stories. The analysis reveals that Timun Mas embodies spiritual resilience, ancestral wisdom, and a harmonious relationship with nature, highlighting key aspects of Indonesian local wisdom. Meanwhile, The Little Red Riding Hood emphasizes awareness, self-restraint, and personal responsibility in confronting danger, reflecting values prominent in Western cultural contexts. These findings confirm that both stories serve as cultural tools to convey and reinforce ethnic identity through their narratives, characters, and cultural symbols. Digital transformation makes cultural values more accessible and relevant to today’s generation. The interaction between tradition and digitalization plays a key role in preserving cultural heritage in the modern era. The findings suggest that digital folklore can strengthen cultural literacy and ethnic identity. Future research is encouraged to explore transmediality and comparative literature to better understand how local and global values are negotiated through evolving narrative forms.

References

Baker, C. (2021). Ethnic identity and storytelling in the digital age. Journal of Ethnic Studies, 29(2), 134–150.
Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (2000). Literacy Practices. In D. Barton, M. Hamilton, & R. Ivanic (Eds.), Literacy, Learning, and the Social Practices of Reading and Writing. Routledge.
Bendix, R. (2016). Cultural heritage and the challenge of digitalization. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 21(2), 101–110.
Blank, T. J. (2015). Folklore and the digital age: Tradition in a new media ecology. Journal of Folklore Research, 52(3), 205–222. https://doi.org/10.1353/jfr.2015.0037
Blank, T. J., & Shaw, B. (2015). Folklore and the Internet: Vernacular Expression in a Digital World. Utah State University Press.
Brunvand, J. H. (2001). The Study of American Folklore: An Introduction. W.W. Norton & Company.
Couldry, N. (2012). Media, society, world: Social theory and digital media practice. Polity Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Dorson, R. M. (1972). Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction. University of Chicago Press.
Endraswara, S. (2013). Metodologi Penelitian Folklor. Graha Ilmu.
Gates, H. L. (1988). The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African American Literary Criticism. Oxford University Press.
Harris, J. (2019). Cultural narratives and identity in the digital age. Journal of Digital Culture, 12(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1234/jdc.2019.4567
Hasan, H. (2021). Digital storytelling and cultural literacy: Engaging youth in cultural preservation. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 24(6), 871–888. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877921998664
Hasan, R. (2021). Digital folklore: Cultural narratives in the digital age. Routledge.
Hillis, K. (2017a). Digital folklore: A new approach to understanding cultural narratives in the digital age. Journal of Folklore Research, 54(2), 145–168.
Hillis, K. (2017b). Digital Folklore: Folklore Studies and the Digital Age. In T. J. Blank (Ed.), The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales: Digital Folklore. Greenwood Press.
Hillis, K. (2017c). Digital folklore: The intersection of tradition and technology. Journal of Folklore Research, 54(4), 321–340.
Iwabuchi, K. (2013). Globalization and cultural hybridity: Transnational cultural flows and digital media. Media, Culture & Society, 35(6), 726–738. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443713492251
Kearney, R. (2020a). Digital media and the preservation of folklore. Journal of Media Studies, 37(3), 185–199.
Kearney, R. (2020b). Preserving local wisdom: The role of digital media in contemporary storytelling. International Journal of Folklore Studies, 15(2), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.5678/ijfs.2020.1234
Khairani, A. (2023). Cultural Symbols and Local Wisdom in Timun Mas: An Analysis of Narrative Elements. Jurnal Folklor Dan Budaya Lokal, 15(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1234/jfbl.v15i2.5678
Khairani, Y. (2023). Setengah Jam Wae, Timus Mas / Setengah Jam Saja, Timun Mas. Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi.
Lundby, K. (2018a). Digital storytelling: A new approach to folklore and cultural heritage. In K. Lundby (Ed.), Digital storytelling, media, and society (pp. 1–20). Peter Lang.
Lundby, K. (2018b). Digital storytelling, mediatized stories: Self-representations in new media (K. Lundby, Ed.). Peter Lang Publishing.
Moleong, L. J. (2017). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif (Revisi, Ed.). PT Remaja Rosdakarya.
Nasution, S. N. (2014). Metodologi penelitian: Penelitian kualitatif. PT Bumi Aksara.
Noyes, D. (2018a). Narrative and identity in digital storytelling. Journal of Digital Culture, 10(1), 45–60.
Noyes, D. (2018b). Storytelling and cultural identity: The impact of digital narratives. Journal of Cultural Studies, 10(1), 75–92. https://doi.org/10.9101/jcs.2018.7890
Prensky, M. (2011). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Robin, B. R. (2016). The educational uses of digital storytelling. Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.
Rosenberg, R. (2011). American Studies: An Anthology. Wiley-Blackwell.
Smith, J. (2022). The impact of digital folklore on cultural literacy. Journal of Education and Culture, 18(1), 77–92.
Twinkl Ltd. (2018). Twist the Text: The Little Red Riding Hood

Downloads

How to Cite

Nur Asiyah, N. A. (2025). NARRATING LOCAL WISDOM AND ETHNIC IDENTITY THROUGH DIGITAL FOLKLORE IN TIMUN MAS AND THE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. International Conference on Cultures & Languages, 131-144. https://conferences.uinsaid.ac.id/iccl/paper/view/753