SINGING MADURESE IDENTITY: A DISCOURSE-HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF COASTAL AND AGRARIAN IMAGINARIES IN TANDUK MAJENG AND WA'RONJENGAN

Abstract

This study examines how Madurese identity is discursively constructed through coastal and agrarian imaginaries in two Madurese folk songs, Tanduk Majeng and Wa’ Ronjengan. While Tanduk Majeng foregrounds the maritime world through the images of fishermen, boats, sails, waves, wind, hardship, and life-risking labor, Wa’ Ronjengan represents the agrarian world through the imagery of rice, mortar, harvest, rhythm, collective work, and communal joy. Using Ruth Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach, this study analyzes the lyrics through five discursive strategies: nomination, predication, argumentation, perspectivization, and intensification/mitigation. The analysis shows that Tanduk Majeng constructs Madurese coastal identity by positioning fishermen as cultural subjects of endurance, sacrifice, and dignity. The sea is represented not merely as a geographical setting, but as a symbolic space where labor, risk, and resilience are produced. In contrast, Wa’ Ronjengan constructs Madurese agrarian identity by foregrounding the collective rhythm of harvest, the social meaning of shared labor, and the joy of rural togetherness. The study argues that the two songs do not simply preserve local cultural expressions; they actively produce a plural image of Madurese identity as both maritime and agrarian, hardworking and communal, resilient and celebratory. By comparing these two folk songs, the study contributes to the discussion of language, culture, and identity by showing how local songs function as cultural discourse and symbolic archives of collective memory.