Abstract
In a study to systematically preserve the Malaysian folktales as one of Malaysia’s intangible cultural heritage, a Malaysian Folktale Classification System (MFCS) is proposed to be developed as encouraged by UNESCO. Such a classification system is currently absent in Malaysia. In order to develop a comprehensive classification system, three folktale units are integrated and utilized: function, motif, and type. The use of the three folktale units ensures that the MFCS covers two important facets of folktale: structure and content. The integration of the classification system warrants a complicated classification process. Therefore, a conceptual model, which is central to this article, is constructed as a visual guide to assist the classification process. It illustrates a flow of analysis and all components required to classify namely the three folktale units and their guiding factors, and a primary classification method. A pictorial representation method is utilized to construct the conceptual model. With the conceptual model constructed, it is expected that the analysis of the Malaysian folktales toward the development of the MFCS becomes apparent and guided.
Highlights
Cultural heritage is important to society be it in the form of tangible or intangible
This study aimed to preserve the Malaysian folktales through a systematic folktale classification coined as the Malaysian Folktale Classification System (MFCS) to meet the suggestion of UNESCO which is found absent in the context of Malaysia
The components visualized by the conceptual model are the three folktale units, the guiding factors used to identify the units in the Malaysian folktales analyzed, and the main method employed to classify
Summary
Cultural heritage is important to society be it in the form of tangible or intangible. Intangible cultural heritage (ICH), which is the focus of this study, is a kind of heritage that is fleeting and ephemeral, unlike the tangible counterpart. Folklore is a significant ICH, and one of its branches is prose narrative. Prose narrative or in a layman term, tale, is composed of three forms: folktale, legend, and myth [2,3]. In order to preserve the ICH of the world, UNESCO suggests that, among others, scientific studies to be conducted and a comprehensive register of folklore to be created [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
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