PRESERVING THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY OF CHILDREN'S ORAL STORIES

This article describes the existing phenomenon that preserves the collective memory of children's oral stories. One of the Minangkabau children's oral stories that still survive and are widely known is the story of Malin Kundang. In contrast, many other children's oral stories have disappeared from the memory of their owners. Considering that children's oral stories contain positive values for the next generation, this condition should not happen. The study compared a "well-preserved" oral story to other endangered children's oral stories. The study collects data from literature studies, interviews, and distributing questionnaires. Then, the collected data are compared by considering the collective memories of the stories. The story of Malin Kundang survives in the collective memory because it has been transformed into various forms. Most of the Minangkabau children's oral stories, apart from the Malin Kundang, are kept only in the public's memory. The story is not transferred to various creativities; therefore, it is hardly known by children today. The transformations of the Malin Kundang's story can inspire the preservation of other children's oral stories to not disappear from the collective memory even though the active heir has died.