AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 10. Number 3. August 2026 Pp.207-218
Universitas Trunojoyo Madura,Bangkalan, Indonesia
Mohamed Ben Ahmed, Oran 2 University, Oran, Algeria
Indonesia with their archipelago has a various kind of the stories. The first children tale’s author who compile and explore an Indonesian’s tales in Indonesia is Murti Bunanta. She explores Indonesia to gather inspiration for her stories. This paper attempts to observe her three works (Si Bungsu Katak/The Youngest Frog, Mengapa Tubuh Udang Bengkok/Why the Shrimp’s Body is Crooked, Ampak dan Musang yang Cerdik/Ampak and the Clever Civet) and shows how they make distinct contributions to Indonesian identity and culture. This paper also investigates and traces the Indonesian folktales with other folktales such as from Europe. Her creative retellings reveal processes of cultural transformation and adaptation, as evidenced by shared motifs between Indonesian folktales and those from Europe and other regions. At the same time, they share a similar narrative structure. According to German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther, the index in motif classification is used to search for folktales with similar motifs. By investigating the index based on Uther, it can be determined whether other stories are present and whether Bunanta’s Indonesian folktales reflect Indonesia’s culture and identity. A qualitative, ethnographic approach using the Aarne Thompson Uther (ATU) index was employed in this study to examine transformations of other folktales. The uniqueness in Bunanta’s folktales could portray using Aarne Thompson Uther index observations and the folktales from the Indonesian by referring to other tales.
Harits, I. W., & Naima, G. M. (2026). Murti Bunanta’s Works and Its Adaptation of Indonesian Folktales. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 10 (3):207-218
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Imron wakhid Harits, PhD is an Associate Professor in Children’s Literature and English Education, he teaches at Department of English at Universitas Trunojoyo Madura, Indonesia, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Imron_Harits/publications and his email address: imron.haris@trunojoyo.ac.id, imronwakhidharits@gmail.com
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1848-7753
Ghenim Mesmoudi Naima is a professor of English Literature at the University of Mohamed Ben Ahmed, Oran 2, Algeria. She earned a PhD in Comparative Literature on Sufism in Algeria and Transcendentalism in the United States. Her field of interest is comparative literature with a focus on postcolonial Africa, and the challenge between remembering and forgetfulness. She is a professor at Mohamed Ben Ahmed, Oran 2, Algeria. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-7740