Family Stories : oral tradition, memories of the past, and contemporary conflicts over land in Metawai- Indonesia

Abstract

This is a study of oral tradition focusing

on family stories that relate to historical events and social issues of

contemporary Mentawai kin groups. I give descriptive answers for the

central research question of how and to what extent oral narratives are involved in dealing with current issues about place of origin, the notion of identity, and discourses about land and land rights in Mentawai society in Indonesia. The family stories are an important source of information with regard to identity, forming a verbal reflection of the kin groups__ identity and justifying certain claims with regard to ancestral land. A family story must be properly preserved by its owners by carefully transmitting the content and significance of the story to following generations. The power of human memory plays an important part in maintaining and transmitting the significance of past events. In the field of oral tradition, family stories can thus be regarded as a specific genre of oral narratives. When studying oral narratives it is, in my opinion, important to pay special attention to family stories. Not in the last place so, because the communities still using family stories frequently consider them indispensable.