“Little by little, over time it becomes a hill.”
Sedikit demi sedikit, lama-lama menjadi bukit.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
Traditional Indonesia Wisdom
Peribahasa Indonesia
Folk & Oral Tradition
Who is Traditional Indonesia Wisdom?
Traditional Indonesia Wisdom gathers the proverbs and sayings (peribahasa) that have been passed down orally across the Indonesian archipelago for generations. These lines have no single named author; they are the shared inheritance of farmers, fishermen, traders, elders, and storytellers who compressed hard-won experience into a few memorable words. Indonesian peribahasa often draw imagery from nature, animals, water, rice cultivation, and village life, and they teach patience, humility, cooperation, and caution in speech. Many express the communal spirit of gotong royong, the shared bearing of burdens that lies at the heart of Indonesian social life. Because they live in everyday speech and span hundreds of local languages and cultures—Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Malay, and more—small variations exist between regions and retellings. This platform records the widely recognised Indonesian-language forms and, in keeping with its accuracy rule, presents them as traditional rather than attributing them to any one person.
Sources: Traditional Indonesian oral tradition (peribahasa), public-domain folk wisdom · Standard Indonesian peribahasa collections and dictionaries (public-domain sayings)
Quotes by Traditional Indonesia Wisdom
“Heavy loads carried together, light loads borne together.”
Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
“There is no ivory that is not cracked.”
Tak ada gading yang tak retak.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
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“There is a shrimp behind the rock.”
Ada udang di balik batu.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
“Rippling water is a sign that it is not deep.”
Air beriak tanda tak dalam.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
“However skilled a squirrel is at leaping, one day it too will fall.”
Sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, sekali waktu jatuh juga.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
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“Where the earth is stepped upon, there the sky is upheld.”
Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
“Like an owl longing for the moon.”
Bagai pungguk merindukan bulan.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
“An elephant leaves its tusks when it dies, a tiger leaves its stripes; a person leaves a name.”
Gajah mati meninggalkan gading, harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition
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“Like water on a taro leaf.”
Bagai air di daun talas.
Source: Traditional Indonesian peribahasa, public-domain oral tradition