Reviving The Lisan Tradition Can Be Made An Effort To Preserve Culture For The Young Generation

Participants drew on the leaves during the commemoration of the 7th anniversary of the 2025 Bali Month at the Nata Mandala Cultural Center, Badung, Bali (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The oral tradition for the younger generation plays an important role in maintaining the nation's cultural heritage. Cultural observer Jose Rizal Manua proposed that the government design regulations that support the sustainability of oral traditions in teaching and learning activities in schools.

"In the archipelago, we have various oral traditions, from Papua to Aceh. To maintain its sustainability, students at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels can be asked to speak in front of the classroom using their respective ethnic languages. That way, regional languages are maintained and continue to be used," said Jose to ANTARA in Jakarta, Thursday.

He also added that the literary community in Indonesia can develop better through organizing festivals to poetry competitions as a forum for expressions of oral culture.

To attract the interest of the younger generation in oral traditions, Jose suggested that the cultural service be more active in presenting various cultural arts, including theater performances, as a medium of learning and preservation.

Although the government has initiated various programs to support the preservation of oral traditions, he considers that these steps need to be perfected and carried out in a sustainable manner to be more effective.

In addition, traditional arts performances that are held regularly can be a means for the younger generation to get to know and love the regional culture more.

Several areas such as Solo and Tegal have succeeded in preserving the oral tradition well. For example, in Tegal, the poems by WS Rendra have been translated into Tegal as an effort to maintain the existence of the regional language.

Jose hopes that other regions can also bring similar innovations or create new methods to introduce and preserve oral traditions. He also emphasized that families have an important role in this effort, one of which is by using regional languages in daily communication at home.