Hermeneutics of Banality dalam Geguritan Sayur Asem

This study examines the geguritan Sayur Asem using a hermeneutics of banality approach, understood as a hermeneutic reading of words, objects, and everyday practices that are often regarded as trivial, in order to demonstrate that banal elements in the text do not function merely as background but instead constitute the primary structure of meaning through which ethical and affective dimensions of life are articulated. Employing an interpretive qualitative method through parallel textual readings of the Javanese original and its Indonesian translation, complemented by coding tables to map banal units, the study identifies four main patterns: material banality as an awareness of life crisis, bodily practices as a form of silent ethics, banal affect as a strategy of psychological resilience, and banality as a horizon of dignity and gratitude. Theoretically, this research contributes by proposing hermeneutics of banality as a methodological approach in literary and cultural studies, while also reaffirming the relevance of Javanese geguritan within the discourse of intangible cultural heritage.