The Body as a Trauma Archive and Dance as Collective Memory in Dewie Yulliantina Sofia's Narik Sukmo
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Abstract This study examines the relationship between Kenara’s individual trauma and Ratimayu’s collective memory in Dewie Yulliantina Sofia’s Narik Sukmo, focusing on the body and dance as symbolic mediators. The study employs a descriptive-interpretive qualitative approach combining psychoanalytic literary criticism and literary anthropology. Data include narrative passages, character actions, dialogue, cultural settings, bodily symbols, and dance-related events. The findings show that betrayal causes Kenara to distance herself from dance, yet her attachment to it persists through bodily responses. In Kelawangin, Kenara’s physical resemblance to Ratimayu and participation in the Narik Sukmo dance connect her personal experience with a history inherited by the community. The body thus functions metaphorically as a trauma archive, while dance becomes a medium for expressing and activating memory. Supernatural elements symbolically represent memory, silencing, and unresolved histories. This study contributes a cross-disciplinary perspective on how body and dance mediate the intersection of individual trauma and collective memory in Indonesian horror fiction.
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Data Collection Methods and Procedures The research data were obtained from Dewie Yulliantina Sofia’s novel Narik Sukmo as the primary data source. The study employed a descriptive-interpretive qualitative approach, using close reading and systematic note-taking. The data were collected to identify and interpret representations of personal trauma, the body, dance, and collective memory, particularly in relation to Kenara’s experiences and the cultural history of Ratimayu. Data collection was conducted in several stages. First, the researcher read the entire novel to understand its narrative structure, characters, socio-cultural setting, and relationships among Kenara, Ratimayu, Banyu Janggala, and the Narik Sukmo dance. Second, the researcher conducted repeated close readings, focusing on passages related to traumatic experiences, bodily responses, dance practices and movements, music, cultural narratives, legends, beliefs, and community memory. Third, relevant textual units were systematically recorded. The units included narration, dialogue, character actions, bodily descriptions, movements, cultural symbols, cultural settings, and narrative events. Each unit was documented with its page number and narrative context to maintain traceability to the original source. Fourth, the data were classified using five principal codes: PT (Personal Trauma), TB (Body), TR (Dance), KM (Collective Memory), and MD (Mediator). PT identifies representations of personal trauma; TB identifies bodily responses and bodily identity; TR identifies dance practices, movements, music, and the role of Narik Sukmo; KM identifies cultural history, legends, community narratives, and shared memories; and MD identifies the function of the body and/or dance as a mediator between personal experience and collective memory. Fifth, data analysis was conducted through open coding, focused coding, theoretical coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Open coding identified initial concepts from the textual data. Focused coding grouped related concepts into broader categories. Theoretical coding connected the categories with repression, embodied memory, collective memory, and literary anthropology. Axial coding examined relationships among categories, while selective coding established the core category: the body and dance as mediators between personal trauma and collective memory. Research Instruments The researcher served as the primary research instrument. Supporting instruments included the novel, data corpus sheet, coding guide, coding tables, reading notes, and analytical matrix. The study did not involve human participants, surveys, interviews, laboratory experiments, reagents, or experimental equipment. No specific qualitative data-analysis software is identified in the research protocol.