Magical Realism in the Gorontalo Folktale Wuni-Wunia Menjadi Ular: Wendy B. Faris’s Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25134/fon.v22i2.537Keywords:
Gorontalo folktale, Nusantara folklore, magical realism, identity transformation, Wendy B. FarisAbstract
Research on magical realism has thus far focused more on modern novels, while the oral folklore of the Nusantara archipelago, which is intrinsically fused with the supernatural dimension, has rarely been studied systematically. This study aims to describe the manifestation of the five characteristics of magical realism according to Wendy B. Faris in the Gorontalo folktale Wuni-Wunia Menjadi Ular. The method used is qualitative, employing a close reading technique on the text compiled by Tuloli (2004). Data analysis follows the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The results show that all five characteristics of magical realism are fully manifested and interrelated. The irreducible element emerges in three forms, the phenomenal world in two forms, unsettling doubts in one form, and the merging of realms and disruption of identity in three sequential stages. This study concludes that Nusantara oral folklore is not merely a precursor to magical realism, but rather the purest form of this narrative mode, as it arises from a cosmology that does not separate empirical and supernatural reality. These findings affirm the necessity of integrating Nusantara folklore into the global map of magical realism studies.
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