VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

We meet again in Let's Speak Bahasa Indonesia which introduces you to Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to use it properly. Let's Speak Bahasa Indonesia is a collaboration between Voice of Indonesia, the Overseas Service of Radio Republik Indonesia and Language Development and Fostering Agency, Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. Our topic today is "Di Bima" (In Bima).

Here is a monologue titled "Memukulkan Tongkat Kayu" (Hitting Wooden Stick). This monologue is performed by Chris, a vlogger from Australia, while recording the "kareku kandei"  or pounding rice seeds competition at the Rimpu Mantika Festival, Bima City, West Nusa Tenggara Province. Chris describes the rhythm created from the sound of the tools used. Let’s listen to the monologue. 

Chris (P): Saat ini saya sedang menonton lomba kareku kandei atau lomba menumbuk pada lesung dalam sebuah festival budaya. Dari sini terdengar suara peralatan yang berirama. Para peserta memukulkan tongkat kayu ke lesung atau wadah kayu.  

Here are some vocabulary related to today's topic, "Memukulkan Tongkat Kayu" (Hitting Wooden Stick).

"Peserta" (Participant)  

"Memukulkan" (To hit with)  

"tongkat kayu" (wooden stick)  

"Lesung" (Mortar)  

"wadah kayu" (wooden container)  

"Para peserta memukulkan tongkat kayu ke lesung atau wadah kayu" (The participants hit the wooden stick against the mortar or wooden container)  

"menonton" (to watch)  

"lomba" (competition)  

In the monologue, there is the phrase "Para peserta memukulkan tongkat kayu ke lesung atau wadah kayu" (The participants hit the wooden stick against the mortar or wooden container). In this phrase, there is the expression "memukulkan tongkat kayu" (hitting with a wooden stick), which means "making the wooden stick a tool for hitting." In the context of the sentence, Chris describes the participants of the competition who are hitting the wooden stick against the wooden container.


Another Example:

Here is an example of using affixed words that mean using something as a tool in other sentences.

"Mengikatkan" (To tie with)  

"Nelayan mengikatkan tali besar di ujung kapalnya" (The fisherman ties a big rope to the end of his boat)


"Membalutkan" (To wrap with)  

"Saya membalutkan perban di kakinya" (I wrap the bandage on his leg)


Kareku kandei (pounding rice seeds) is a unique tradition of the people of Bima City, West Nusa Tenggara province, that has been around since ancient times. This activity is usually performed by women. The activity of pounding rice creates a rhythmic sound. Kareku Kandei was registered by the Indonesian government as an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia in 2017.