Folk Belief and Magical Practices in Pancur Gading Site, Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to reveal various magical practices as folk beliefs that increasingly exist even
in a modern era at the Pancur Gading Site, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Through this folk belief, it has also
been revealed to perform magical practices, trust in worshiped figures, the purposes of performing them,
the role of the traditional healers or supernatural experts in convincing their patients, and the meaning of
objects used in magical practices. The research method used a phenomenological approach to explain the
socio-cultural phenomena at the research location. The research informants were 21 people. Data were
analyzed using the Spradley method, namely ethnographic interview analysis, domain analysis, structural,
taxonomic, and component analysis. The result shows the community believed that they could solve their
life problems using Pancur Gading water. The religious behavior of the people who believed in the
properties of Pancur Gadingwasbased on the folk belief in the worshiped figures. The legend of Putri Hijau
provided a conception of revered supernatural figures, including the princess known as Putri Hijau or Nini
Biring, her first brother (Grandpa Naga), the second (Grandpa Cannon), her commanders, and the
ancestors based on the cultural background of their respective communities. This belief was strengthened
by the existence of media from supernatural experts who connect to patients. This paper is an effort to
inventory the various folk beliefs and traditions related to the Pancur Gading Site as an intangible cultural
heritage