Tantri: From Ancient Temple to Modern English Class

Abstract

Tantri is animal story or fable which is usually carved as reliefs in ancient temples. It contains high moral values about doing good and doing bad. In ancient time, tantri which was carved in temples was used as a mean of educating crown prince, preparing him to be a king. One example of tantris was carved in Jago Temple at Tumpang, Malang Regency. It tells a story of two turtles and a heron. The moral values of this story is people should be patient, modest, and calm in every condition. In this article, I would like to bring idea of using this local genius to modern English class as media and materials to teach narratives. The reason why this local genius is important to be exported to the English class is that the current students are not familiar with this kind of stories. When they go to the temple, their focus is on taking pictures and uploading them into social media. They do not care with stories in the temple, in yet it is like invisible diamond. As adults, it is a must for us to give them a wisdom touch of tantris to these milenials. We have responsibility to create wise, magical, and logical educational environment to this kind of generation.