Aparatus Ideologi Dalam Cerita Rakyat Nusantara

Abstract

This study aims to describe the ideological apparatus embedded in Indonesian folklore (cerita rakyat nusantara) published by the Language Development and Cultivation Agency (Badan Bahasa) of the Ministry of Education. The analysis is grounded in Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony as elaborated through Louis Althusser’s concept of the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA), which positions literature as one of the institutions through which a dominant ideology is transmitted to children. This research employs a qualitative descriptive design with a literature-study technique applied to ten folktales purposively selected from 165 titles representing various regions and education levels. Data were collected through repeated intensive reading and organized into a coded analysis matrix, with validity established through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Data analysis followed four stages: data abstraction, matrix mapping, narrative conclusion, and final interpretive analysis. The findings indicate that the ideological apparatus operating within these folktales is dominated by four institutions, namely religion or belief systems, social or customary institutions, education, and the family, with religious values ranging from animism and dynamism to monotheism  emerging as the most dominant apparatus. These findings imply that folklore functions as a medium for reproducing and naturalizing adult-centered ideology among child readers, a consideration that teachers and parents should take into account when selecting children’s reading materials.