Developing Literary Tourism in South Sulawesi by Involving Folklore and Ideological Translation

Abstract

Indonesian tourism suffered a heavy blow when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. One of the recovery strategies issued by the Indonesian government in 2021 is storynomic tourism, which puts forward narratives, creative content, and cultural strengths. Folklore, as part of the nation's cultural wealth, can support storynomic tourism. This study examines the concept of the integration of literature, translation, and tourism using an ethnographic method while documenting the folklores of South Sulawesi in Makassarese, Buginese, and Torajanese. The data came from resource persons who know and can tell local folk tales using their local language, transcribed the collected folklore into text, and translated them into Indonesian. Other data are photos of objects related to the stories. This article discusses three folk tales, which represent the Makassarese (the love story of Datu Museng and Maipa Deapati), the Buginese (the origin of the village Batu Cokkong), and the Torajanese (the legend of Lakipadada). The mapping of the potentials and constraints faced by the folklores shows that the mentioned folk tales have significant possibilities to support tourism in South Sulawesi. According to Butler's theory, the stories can bring tourists to actual locations, promote particular places, and create a new tourist destination. On the other hand, some sites can popularize certain folk tales. This research produced the concept of literary tourism that can support the regional economy while preserving folklore as one of the cultural heritages.