In Javanese culture, many children are taught to be well-mannered by superstition called gugon tuhon. Gugon tuhon is a phrase containing belief and fact. It covers many aspects of life, to control one’s behavior and... [ view full abstract ]
In Javanese culture, many children are taught to be well-mannered by superstition called gugon tuhon. Gugon tuhon is a phrase containing belief and fact. It covers many aspects of life, to control one’s behavior and attitudes, especially the younger member of the community. Gugon tuhon generally consists of two parts: the first being a prohibition whereas the second the consequence in the future. Children have to catch the real intent, as the messages are merely conveyed implicitly. In this case, children have to learn directives in indirect speech. The question to be addressed in this paper is: do children consider that gugon tuhon understandable, reliable, and therefore needed to be obeyed?
We will discuss how children in Jombang and Kediri, two areas of East Java, learn the real intent of Gugon Tuhon. Our focus is on two superstitions which are known well by children: (1) “Nek madhang aja sok nisa, mundhak mati pitike” ‘don’t waste your food as your chicken will die’ and (2) “Yen nengahi mamah, nanedha, aja cecaturan, mundhak keselak” ‘don’t talk when you chew your food as you will choke’. We use questionnaires filled by school-age children (N=132) of Grade 1, 3, and 5 elementary school. The respondents are bilingual Javanese-Indonesian children and are able to read and write in both languages. In the questionnaire, the main questions to be answered are whether they understand, believe, and obey the superstitions. Other question is concerning the reason of being obedient.
The results indicate that the older the children are, the more they understand the purpose of gugon tuhon. Therefore, older children tend to obey the gugon tuhon. Nevertheless, logical reasoning plays an important role in order to believe the superstitions. This study shows that the use of gugon tuhon is still considered as one of effective ways to socialize younger member of East Javanese society through language.
