TRAUMA RESISTANCE IN BLACK AMERICAN FOLKLORE: A POSTCOLONIAL CRITICISM OF NEGRO FOLKTALES FROM THE GULF STATES

Ntamwana, Simon, Muh Arif Rokhman, M.Hum. Ph.D.

2018 | Tesis | S2 Pengkajian Amerika

Tujuan dari tesis, "Resistensi Trauma dalam Folklor Orang Kulit Hitam Amerika: Kritik Postkolonial terhadap Cerita Rakyat Orang Kulit Hitam di Negara Bagian Teluk " adalah untuk mendiskusikan refleksi perlawanan trauma melalui folklor di antara orang-orang Afrika Amerika di negara bagian teluk. Analisis tersebut berkaitan dengan 12 cerita rakyat yang dikelompokkan dalam empat siklus, yaitu "Kisah Tuhan", "Kisah Perempuan", "Kisah Hewan", dan "Kisah John dan Massa" yang dikumpulkan oleh Zora Neale Hurston di negara bagian selatan Alabama, Florida, dan Louisiana dari tahun 1927 sampai 1930 dan disusun dalam buku Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folktales from the Gulf States (2001). Cerrita rakyat yang terpilih telah dikaji berlatar belakang pendekatan poskolonial dan teori trauma. Berdasarkan metode kualitatif interpretatif berdasarkan penelitian, ditemukan bahwa pertunjukan cerita rakyat orang-orang kulit hitam di negara bagian teluk menggambarkan tekanan sosio-kultural dan mengisahkan trauma perbudakan dan rasisme dengan membangun identitas baru untuk menghadapi sistem hegemoni masyarakat Amerika Serikat. Pertama, "Kisah Tuhan" mencerminkan perlawanan agama orang kulit hitam Amerika terhadap trauma enkulturasi agama Kristen. Kedua, dalam "Kisah Wanita", pria kulit hitam itu membangun maskulinitas baru untuk mengatasi trauma seksual yang terkait dengan emaskulasi patriarki yang tertanam. Ketiga, dalam pertunjukan "Kisah Hewan", orang kulit hitam Amerika mengembangkan kesadaran etnik untuk mengatasi trauma diskriminasi rasial. Terakhir, dalam "Kisah John dan Massa", orang kulit hitam menentang trauma akibat dari kondisi mengalami opresi sosial ekonomi dengan memanipulasi agama Kristen dari orang kulit putih dan menggunakan Spiritualitas sihir.

The purpose of the thesis, "Trauma Resistance in Black American Folklore: A Postcolonial Criticism of Negro Folktales from the Gulf States" was to discuss the reflection of postcolonial trauma resistance through folklore among African Americans in the Gulf States. The study was concerned with 12 folktales classified under four cycles, namely, "God Tales", "Woman Tales", "Animal Tales", and "John and Massa Tales". The folktales were selected from the collection made by Zora Neale Hurston in the southern states of Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana from 1927 to 1930 and compiled in the book Every Tongue Got to confess: Negro Folktales from the Gulf States (2001). Postcolonial approach and trauma theory were used in the discussion of the selected folktales. The study was based on the interpretative qualitative method anchored on the library research. It was found out that what pushes African Americans to narrate trauma stories is the oppressive religious, sexual, racial and socioeconomic conditions in which they live in the Gulf States. Thus, the performance of "God Tales" reflects religious resistance of Black Americans against their traumatic Christian religion enculturation. Secondly, the narration of "Woman Tales" represents the sexual trauma of black men and the reconstruction of black masculinity by redefining woman identity. Thirdly, in "Animal Tales" performance, black ethnic consciousness is signified as an African American curb on the traumatic experience of racial discrimination. Last, the narration of "John and Massa Tales" mirrors the traumatic memories of oppressive socioeconomic conditions of Blacks and their attempts to challenge the class hierarchy by manipulating the White through magic and religion.

Kata Kunci : Kata Kunci: Folklor, Cerita Rakyat, Pendekatan Postkolonial, Teori Trauma Postkolonial, dan orang-orang Afrika Amerika/Keywords: Folklore, Folktales, Postcolonial Approach, Postcolonial Trauma Theory, and African American