Arek Culture In Literary Works

Abstract

This study aims to describe Arek culture in literary works. Arek culture is one of the cultures in East Java which its ideological center is in Surabaya. The people are known for their egalitarian, open, democratic, and having high solidarity characters. Community knowledge about Arek culture is very limited and its values are increasingly eroded. One means to disseminate knowledge about Arek culture is through literary works written by authors from these cultural regions. The problem that arises is how Arek culture is described in literary works. Indonesian Novel MencariSarangAngin and Ibu Kita Raminten, an anthology of Javanese short stories Trem, Javanese novel SarungeJagung, an anthology of Javanese poetry Donga KembangWaru and SastraCampur Sari were selected by the writers through purposive sampling technique, because they depict Arek's culture life. Data collection was done by reading and note-taking techniques. From the study, it was found that there are four Arek's culture elements in literary works, namely language, social organizations, knowledge systems, and arts. The four elements are the same as the description of Arek culture in real life which is revealed through scientific studies. Therefore, these works can be used as reading material to increase knowledge about Arek culture and its values.