Book Review Fighting In The Sarong - Caring For Tradition Through Short Stories

Book Fighting in a Sarong (Detha Arya Tifada / VOI)

JAKARTA - Today, finding books on cultural themes is rather difficult. Wanted, sometimes never show themselves. However, once you appear, there may be nothing left on the bookstore shelves.

So, there was no thought when he found the book Bertarung Dalam Sarung by Alfian Dippahatang. This book combines the narrative in the style of short stories (short stories) with a touch of culture. There are 18 short stories in this book. The book we can observe in less than 24 hours.

After finishing reading the book with 150 pages, a conclusion was drawn, that the 18 short stories that were written, many took advantage of the rich culture of Tana South Sulawesi as an important element to build story after story.

Of the 18 works, at least the cultural richness is most pronounced when reading four short stories entitled Ustaz To Balo, Bukan Sayid, Bissu Muda, and of course the work with the same title as the book, Bertarung dalam Sarong.

Ustaz To Balo. In this short story, the writer emphasizes the point of a sad portrait of being born as a striped human in the Bulu Pao Mountains, which stretch across the Barru Regency and Pangkep Regency, South Sulawesi.

They usually have the skin of the feet, hands, forehead, and all over the body covered with white patches which differentiate it from human skin in general. Their descendants have little choice but to live with the fate of being striped humans.

In Bukan Sayid, Alfian tells the story of the case of a child of Sayid's descent, a group of high social status who is often regarded as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. An honorable position which at the same time made him feel disappointed because his parents rejected someone he loved on the grounds that they were not from the Sayid faction.

The difference in strata is what makes the person he loves then realize so that they say: I never give up, say. I love you. I'm just trying to realize that my family life is different from yours.

Bissu Muda short stories will bring readers to feel the most enjoyable phase. Readers will be taken to follow the story of an ancient Bugis priest. The priest lives with a dream of fulfilling his vow as bissu, in order to pass on his destiny as a guardian who cares for Bugis culture itself.

"In the midst of the popular opinion that Bissu teachings tend to be considered heretical, deviant, dangerous, to violate religion," it is written on page 139.

The ultimate, fighting in the scabbard. Of all the stories, it is this story that gets the most special label. Why not, the ritual called Sigajang Laleng Lipa itself is a culture of stabbing each other using badik or family weapons that have previously been spelled in one sarong. This tradition is carried out when two parties do not find common ground on a problem.

Therefore this tradition is so special to its readers. Special because this tradition is truly unique and because this tradition is rare and almost no longer played. In addition, another feature of this story is seeing Alfian's shrewdness in spicing up the story, so that those who read will be carried away enjoying their hostile tensions for the sake of honor, pride, and fame.

Those are the four short stories that bring the most cultural elements into the story. The rest, other stories are quite interesting to listen to, especially some stories such as the Right Hand of Torajans & People in a Ceremony, having been a champion in a national short story writing competition.

Even so, there were also some shortcomings that were captured, such as some stories containing elements of culture or locality which only seemed to be an attachment. It is as if the diction is only changing from Indonesian to a regional language so that the locality is heard.

In fact, cultural matters don't work that way. Apart from language, culture should be strengthened by other elements such as the completeness of life, the livelihood system, the social system, education, belief or the arts.

In addition, this work gives a different color than other works, which often spice up the story with narratives of happy families. Particularly here, the role of the parents in several stories gives a little illustration, that in fact the parents are not free from imperfection, because sometimes there are phases where the parents give a wound to the heart of the child since he was a child.

Presumably, that is an experience that can be expressed. Hopefully, there will be more writers who are able to tell interesting stories about the region, its culture, and its language.

The goal is none other than so that it can be an important lesson for the next generation of the nation. Or at least, it can be a reading break in the midst of streaming video content on everyone's gadgets. Because, after all, life needs balance.

Book Title: Fighting in a Sarong

Author: Alfian Dippahatang

First Published: March 2019

Publisher: KPG (Popular Gramedia Library)

Number of Pages: 150