Narasi, Mitos, dan Kuasa: Tafsir Semiotika Barthesian atas Legenda Timun Mas

Abstract

This study aims to uncover the structure of meaning and ideological mechanisms in the Timun Mas legend through Roland Barthes’s semiotic approach. Building on a critique of the tendency in oral literature studies to stop at the identification of moral messages, this study proposes a textual reading that emphasizes the process of signification and the production of meaning. The method used is a qualitative-descriptive approach employing textual analysis techniques based on the concepts of denotation, connotation, and myth, as well as the application of Barthes’s five narrative codes (hermeneutic, proairetic, semiotic, symbolic, and cultural). The research findings indicate that the Timun Mas legend is a layered system of signs containing complex ideological constructs. This narrative naturalizes the opposition between culture and nature, in which humans are portrayed as rational agents capable of conquering the forces of nature through cultural products. Furthermore, the text presents ideological ambivalence in its representation of gender, specifically between the empowerment of women’s independence and the reproduction of traditional domestic values. This study also confirms that Barthes’s semiotic approach is effective in transforming the reading of a text from the lisible to the scriptible, thereby opening up space for readers to act as active and critical producers of meaning. Thus, the legend of Timun Mas functions not only as a medium for transmitting cultural values, but also as an arena for the production and reproduction of ideology.