Mother (Indung) in Sundanese Myth on Visual Art

Abstract

Throughout the history of human civilization, the word Mother is found in all languages in the world. Sundanese as one of the ethnic groups in Indonesia who is speaking Sundanese. Mother in Sundanese is indung. In Sundanese culture, indung is not only has the meaning of biological mother, but indung has more meaning. Based on its understanding, the indung have feminine characteristics, such as gentleness, affection, protecting and caring. Referring to the understanding of the indung, the characteristic of the indung in Sundanese culture, is found in Sundanese mythological figures such as Sunan Ambu and Nyi Sri Pohaci (Dewi Sri). The research was conducted using Art based Research methods. The research was conducted through literature data collection aimed to get an overview of the indung figures in Sundanese mythology sourced from carita pantun and ancient manuscripts which then interpreted the meaning of the indung in visual artwork. The result of the study is the characteristics of the indung contained in the mythological figure such as Sunan Ambu ( in this case as Ambu Langit, Ambu tengah and Ambu Bumi) as well as Nyi Sri Pohaci who has the spirit of the indung that is guarding, protecting humans, and providing life for humans and other earth creatures. These characteristics are depicted in the form of two-dimensional display works with traditional visual styles, and the use of video technology with stop motion techniques.

Keywords: Goddess, Indung, Mythology, Sundanese, Visual Art.

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/92-02

Publication date: April 30^th 2021