Enik Mintarsih, Spreading Cheerfulness through Stories
Enik Mintarsih has never been bored with telling stories to entertain and inculcate children with values of virtue.
By
JUMARTO YULIANUS
·6 minutes read
Enik Mintarsih, 50, is an important figure behind the cheerfulness of the children of Kampung Dongeng Intan (storytelling village) of South Kalimantan. Along with the puppet of Nunung Salma, Enik has never been bored with telling stories to entertain and inculcate children with values of virtue.
The garage of the house of Enik Mintarsih, intimately called Bunda Enik, was thronged with children and parents on Sunday (19/2/2023). In the third week of February, the Kado Pekan Ceria (cheerful week) activity was again held in what is called the basecamp of Kampung Dongeng Intan of South Kalimantan on Jl. Kampung Baru, Sungai Paring, Martapura, Banjar regency.
Bunda Enik appeared with Nunung Salma, telling the story of Pohon Kebaikan (tree of virtue). It’s about an arrogant fig tree and a kindhearted mango tree in the forest of the Indonesian archipelago’s capital city (IKN). The children were listening to the story. Now and again they would laugh as they found something funny.
“The Kado Pekan Ceria program has now been reactivated as the Covid-19 pandemic is easing,” she said.
Kado Pekan Ceria has been a routine activity of Kampung Dongeng Intan since 2014. It is conducted once a month in the basecamp of Kampung Dongeng Intan, open to all children and free of charge. This time it adopted the theme of the environment.
In the activity, the children and their parents not only listen to a story but are also entertained with conjuring tricks, ice breaking and various games.
“The parents are also invited to play to give the children a good and deep impression that their parents care for them very much,” said the mother of two children and one grandchild.
Enik explained that Kampung Dongeng Intan was the first storytelling village in South Kalimantan officially opened on 4 May 2014. This Kampung Dongeng is one of the branches of Kampung Dongeng Indonesia initiated by Kak Awam, known as Moch Awam Prakoso.
“A year before Kampung Dongeng Intan was opened by Kak Awam, we had carried out the activity. At least we moved first. So, we didn’t need to wait for its opening in order to go ahead,” said the holder of bachelor’s degree in early childhood education (PAUD).
Storytelling buff
Before Kampung Dongeng Intan was inaugurated, Enik with her profession as a PAUD teacher was indeed fond of telling stories. Besides doing this at home and in school, Enik has since 2010 also often been invited by the Banjarbaru City Library to tell stories on the Sunday morning car free day at the Murjani Square, Banjarbaru.
Enik later joined the South Kalimantan provincial storytelling competition in 2013 and emerged as champion. She was then tasked with representing South Kalimantan in the national storytelling competition in Batam, Riau Islands.
“While in Batam, I met with Kak Awam, who was a juror of the storytelling contest. I conveyed my intention to join Kampung Dongeng Indonesia and open Kampung Dongeng in South Kalimantan. I was given the nod,” she said.
If the children can listen to my story and they behave properly, the activity goes on. But if some of them are crying or fighting, I will stop the activity.
Thereafter, Enik had to seek the permission of Teguh, her husband. Her spouse did not allow her for the reason that their house was small and there were lots of stones in the house yard. Teguh feared that the children would be throwing stones and fighting against each other.
“At the time I said to my husband, please give me one opportunity. If the children can listen to my story and they behave properly, the activity goes on. But if some of them are crying or fighting, I will stop the activity,” said Enik.
Enik’s husband gave the chance to do the storytelling in their house. On the occasion of a Quran reading gathering, Enik announced her plan and asked housewives to bring their children one Sunday after the afternoon prayer time, or around 4 p.m. Central Time Zone (WITA).
Unexpectedly, many children came so the house was crowded. “They turned out to be well-behaved. Finally, my husband allowed the activity, lasting up to the present,” said the chairperson of Kampung Dongeng Intan of South Kalimantan.
Children’s best friend
According to Enik, Kampung Dongeng Intan has the vision of becoming a child’s best friend who continuously provides them with guidance that is suited to their age. This is aimed at enabling children to grow and develop naturally and optimally in agreement with their potentialities.
Today, 15 volunteers are ready to tell stories to the children. They routinely tell cheerful stories, round-the-village stories and disaster-conscious stories. Some perform conjuring tricks, conduct ice breaking activities and play games, while others document the event.
They also tell stories in different places through cooperation with certain institutions and communities. “We also receive invitations to present storytelling sessions in schools,” said Enik.
Enik described stories as offering many benefits to children. Among others, stories can train children to communicate with their parents, increase vocabulary, develop their imagination, teach them to socialize with their friends, and enhance self-confidence and creativity. To this end, stories should certainly be “nutritious” or have a high quality instead of merely inciting laughter.
To become a good storyteller, Bunda Enik keeps learning through reading, browsing social media and learning from others’ experience. “The obvious thing is that I have the ATM formula, which is amati (observe), tiru (imitate), modifikasi (modify). There should not be a precise similarity because every individual is unique, with distinctive strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing is self-confidence without feeling shy,” she said.
Enik also gives a message to new storytellers in South Kalimantan, especially males, to keep displaying male figures so that children will also discern their fathers as ideal figures. She does not want male storytellers to imitate the women’s style so as to amuse or induce a lot of laughter.
To the parents she expresses high hopes that they can spare their time to play with their children, read books for them and tell stories to them. “I hope parents can also tell stories and are used to doing it at home. Being able to tell stories is common, but getting used to doing it is exceptional,” she added.
Enik Mintarsih
Nickname: Bunda Enik
Born: Sungai Ulin, Banjarbaru, 13 November 1972
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education
Profession: Storyteller, Chairperson of Kampung Dongeng Intan of South Kalimantan
Family: Teguh (husband), 2 children and 1 grandchild.
Awards:
- Award from Kampung Dongeng Indonesia as Motivator of Inspiring Storytelling
- Award from the Era Solidarity Action Organization (OASE), Onward Indonesia Cabinet, as a figure rendering socio-cultural services, granted on the occasion of the Kartini Day 2022