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ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities
Volume 6 Issue 1, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34050/elsjish.v6i1.25642
Homepage: journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/jish
126
Discourse Analysis and Humor on Papuan Mop in the Series of “Epen Kah Cupen
Toh”
Aldrin Yohanes Ferdinandus1, Ounu Zakiy Sukaton1, Patrisius Istiarto Djiwandono1
1Ma Chung University, Indonesia
*Correspondence: ounu.zakiy@machung.ac.id
ABSTRACT
ARTICLE HISTORY
Published March 31th 2023
KEYWORDS
Discourse Analysis; Humor;
Papuan MOP; Papuan dialect.
ARTICLE LICENCE
© 2023 Universitas Hasanuddin
Under the license CC BY-SA
4.0
This study aims to explore the humor and discourse in Papuan MOP, as depicted in
the 2010 YouTube video series "Epen Kah Cupen Toh" (EKCT). Humor reflects
different cultures and societal conditions, and MOP is a frequently used humor by
Papuan people, making it a unique representation of their lives. The study utilizes
qualitative analysis to identify patterns and themes in Papuan MOP humor and
discourse. The primary data is collected from the transcription of EKCT video series.
Discourse analysis was utilized to further analyze the transcription of videos as the
primary data. The findings reveal that the primary type of humor in Papuan MOP is
witticism, and the character "Dodi" represents the effects of a lack of education and
underdeveloped society in certain areas of the Papuan region. Furthermore, the use
of the Papuan Melayu dialect, which emphasizes monosyllabic sounds, adds to the
uniqueness of the humor portrayed in the series. The cross-cultural representation in
the series also highlights the diverse ethnicities in Indonesia. The study concludes
that Papuan MOP humor is closely linked to the social conditions of Papuan people,
making it a valuable aspect of their cultural heritage.
1. Introduction
Humor is used in different ways with the universal purpose of entertaining each other to forge a bond between
people (Dalyan et al., 2022). Context is also bound to be important in humor sense because the difference of culture can
ultimately impact the message that is conveyed from the speaker (Rahman, 2018). Humor is constructed in many
different forms to provide variety suited to the situation or minds of the speaker. Humor can be categorized into 2
different types which are high and low comedy. According to Hadiati (2018) few scholars have retained the distinction
between high and low comedy. High comedy leans into a critique into human weakness, social structure, and power
whilst dark comedy is the opposite of high comedy with the subject spoken in a somber and serious tone. High comedy
is often generalized and used in some countries to critique their daily life and the social customs around them. The satire
behind high comedy is appealing for the people that can relate to the humor and misfortune around them (Rahman et al.,
2023).
Humor is a collection of human creations and responses based on their life, culture, experiences with the social
interaction among people. The form of humor comes in different ways, according to Dynel (2009), and scholarly studies
of humor focus on multiple perspectives, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and linguistics.
Researchers in different fields may view humor as one phenomenon, but linguists study specific manifestations of humor
in language. MOP Papua is a form of humor that is widely spread and told in the Papua country of Indonesia that can be
analyzed. This humor is created and heavily related to the social conditions and culture heavily revolving around
Papuan’s culture in general. With most of its humor and jokes coincide with how Papuan people speaks, the culture of
Papua, and terms that can be only understood by the Papuan people, Mop Papua comes in different forms with a story
form that is widely used in Papua.
Rooted in the hearts of Papuan people, MOP is always used to define how society in Papua works. According to
Warami (2016), the term "mop" is more commonly used and widely recognized than "humor." As such, in the discussion
that follows, "mop" will be the term used. By the end of this century, modern Papuan society appears to have a better
understanding of the concept of mop and is actively working on developing it, while more isolated and remote Papuan
communities are less developed in this regard. We can see that because of some areas in Papua is still undeveloped in
terms of technology and because of that some of the MOP is used to give an insight or satire for the people of Papuan to
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laugh at. The jokes in Papuan can be seen as a rude remark for the people that do not know the culture and society of
Papuan people but for them it is just the reality and for them it is fun to laugh for their circumstances because in there it
is normalized.
The form of Papuan MOP is further evolved when the series called “Epen Kah Cupen Toh” (EKCT) started back
in 2010. The video is a compilation of MOP Papuan stories compiled and adapted into a video series that garnered
many attentions from Papuan society since 2010 because of the sincerity and the accuracy of jokes that are related to
daily lives of Papuan people. With that in mind, MOP Papua is often an outlook into the lives of Papuan people with the
critique and satire often revolved around the undeveloped technology of Papuan people and how their interaction with
other people is often in mischievous way to reach a level of social acceptance in their social environment.
The research objective is to find elements of discourse that made up most of Papuans’ MOP. Furthermore, this
study aims to uncover the humor usage of MOP Papua in witticism humor and underdeveloped society with the
correlation of Papuan society portrayed in “Epen Kah Cupen Toh” series.
2. Methodology
The study of MOP Papua is preceded by analyzing the MOP Papua media of storytelling through the series called
"Epen Kah, Cupen Toh” that surfaced on YouTube back in 2010. “Epen Kah, Cupen Toh” is a video series consisting of
adapting the MOP Papua humor into a comedy series. This series garnered a lot of attention in Papua because of the
relatability that the characters and humor that they portrayed in this series. With the main characters being “Dodi” and
“Suroso” that frequently appeared as a consistent duo throughout the series they act based on the punchline and humor
that is created by the script director.
To analyze the video, the gathered data is collected from transcribing each of the video with the quantity being 10
videos that are transcribed and analyzed. According to Cope (2009), transcribing is a widespread practice in qualitative
research, where researchers aim to convert their interactions with participants or audio recordings like radio reports,
speeches, advertising, or television shows into written text for analytical purposes. The reason that transcription is used
in this study is to provide clear data from EKCT MOP Papua 2010 YouTube series that can be observed while also
providing the data sufficient to be analyzed for this MOP Papua study.
The transcribed video is going to be analyzed by using Discourse Analysis (DA) on the transcript text. According
to Kamalu & Osisanwo, (2015), Discourse analysis is not limited to examining the formal properties of language, but also
encompasses the examination of how language is used for social and cultural purposes. As a result, it involves the study
of the connection between language, including both written and spoken forms such as conversation and institutionalized
speech, and the contexts in which it is employed. Related to the humor and culture that is deeply rooted which is MOP in
Papuan culture, it is important to use this theory to analyze different social and cultural interactions between the dialogue
in the video to interpret and finding the related humor and jokes contained in the transcription.
The method of analyzing MOP Papuan humor is going to use qualitative method to provide themes and finding
patterns behind the humor of MOP Papua. According to Sen (2012) , in terms of data analysis, qualitative research
involves coding techniques to organize the data and to allow themes or patterns to emerge from the data. This is in
accordance with the purpose of correlating the conditions of Papua through MOP that is represented in EKCT with the
humor being able to uncover the situation and culture surrounding Papua.
Furthermore, the language is also going to be analyzed to uncover the usage and uniqueness of the Papuan
dialect. According to Budiarsa (2015) , a dialect can be described as a form of a language that deviates from the
standard usage and is characterized by specific linguistic features such as syntax, phonology, and grammar. Dialects
come in two types: regional and social dialects. These variations in a language are referred to as language variety. The
humor in Epen Kah Cupen Toh contains remarks to the dialect of the Papuan language dialect. This aims to analyze the
common findings and characteristics inside Papuan dialect to correlate on how humor formed inside EKCT series.
3. Result and Discussion
There are 10 MOP Papuan transcript data from Epen Kah Cupen Toh series that are going to be discussed in this
chapter by analyzing the discourse elements and humor by using qualitative data analyzing.
a. Types of humor in MOP Papua
The types of humor discovered in MOP Papuan can be seen through the data table below:
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Table 1. Types of humor found in Epen Kah Cupen Toh series
No.
Data
Humor type
1
Data 1: Trik Makan Gratis
Witticism
2
Data 2: Preman
Witticism
3
Data 3: Rumah Sakit
Witticism
4
Data 4: Sayur Bambu dan Sayur Paku
Witticism
5
Data 5: Kendaraan buat Kuliah
Witticism
6
Data 6: Sinyal HP
Retorts
7
Data 7: Gambar Buaya
Witticism
8
Data 8: Bibi
Witticism
9
Data 9: Isi Data
Putdowns
10
Data 10: Minum Obat
Irony
Humor needs to be analyzed and one of the humors that is included in MOP Papua is witticism. Witticism,
according to Dynel (2009), in contrast to pre-written jokes, occur spontaneously in non-humorous conversational settings
and are specific to the context, while canned jokes are self-contained and separated from the overall discourse. Most of
MOP Papua is in form of witticism where the speakers respond in a quick and funny manner according to the situation.
The compiled data from 10 different episode of Epen Kah Cupen Toh shows a heavy align with the witticism type
of humor. Referring to Dynel (2009) statement about witticism, the conversational situation that occurs in Epen Kah
Cupen Toh is mostly in non-humorous environment where both speakers are just conversing about their daily lives such
as eating in a local food stall, a phone call between family members, people asking for help. The reason for this is that
the main character “Dodi” always gave the clever and surprising response according to the situation that elicits funny
context in a non-humor environment.
Excerpt 1. (Taken from data 3)
Suroso
Cuman mau tanya jalan ke rumah sakit itu dimana ya pak?
Just asking the way to the hospital, can you tell me?
Dodi
Ko jalan ko berdiri di garis putih itu. Nanti sebentar mobil dia jalan tabrak
ko… baru ko tau itu rumah sakit sudah.
You stand on that white line. Wait a bit, and a car will hit you sooner or later..
then you will know the way.
The response from Dodi to Suroso’s question is crafted through witticism that contains sarcasm within it that is
funny according to Papuan’s people sense of humor. Most of Papuan humor are woven into their culture where they
socialize using jokes and conversation that can be offensive for people outside of Papua but for them is just a norm for
them to socialize in that way. Warami (2016) stated that the behavior contained in mop is "aggressive," as it often
involves a sense of being mocked, humiliated, or degraded. From a psychological perspective, MOP is thought to stem
from feelings of pressure or depression in one's soul. Emotions such as irritation, anger, arrogance, or humiliation can
lead to the use of mop as a means of coping with these feelings. This explains the culture and subtle themes that occur
often that the mop centers around those feelings where the bloom of the mop joke is formed.
b. Being aggressive as a recurring theme in EKCT
One behavior that is prevalent in Epen Kah Cupen Toh is the aggressiveness of the main character “Dodi”
towards his peers that can sometimes be the building block of the joke. His aggressiveness behavior serves as a
preparation for the punchline of the joke, the humor often occurs after Dodi acts on his nature by treating others using
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his aggressiveness. There are instances in the episodes where Dodi’s aggressive behavior always followed by the
punchline. The table below shows the frequency of Dodi’s aggressive behavior is setting up the punchline of the humor.
Table 2. Dodi’s aggressiveness behavior represented in EKCT
No.
Data
Dodi’s Aggressiveness
1
Data 1: Trik Makan Gratis
Yes
2
Data 2: Preman
Yes
3
Data 3: Rumah Sakit
Yes
4
Data 4: Sayur Bambu dan Sayur Paku
Yes
5
Data 5: Kendaraan buat Kuliah
No
6
Data 6: Sinyal HP
Yes
7
Data 7: Gambar Buaya
No
8
Data 8: Bibi
No
9
Data 9: Isi Data
No
10
Data 10: Minum Obat
Yes
Out of 10 data in the table above there are only 5 instances of Dodi’s behavior being aggressive towards another
cast. Often when Dodi is included in the episode, he is always painted as this brash, aggressive, and impatient man that
sometimes can be stubborn. This stubbornness breeds a light into the lively cast of EKCT where each of them
represents their norm and ethnicity towards their language dialect and behavior.
Excerpt 2. (Taken from data 10)
Dodi
Satu kali sa minum itu langsung minum semua. Sa kasih habis
I drank it all in one go. I chugged it.
Dokter
Itu salah pace! Itu obat tidak boleh diminum sekaligus… itu untuk 3 hari
That’s not right sir. You can’t drink it all in one go.. that’s 3 days’ worth of
medicine
Dodi
Ah pak dokter ko tipu saja, kalau sa minum obat 3 hari pasti sa sembuh 3
hari juga jadi sa minum satu sekaligus. Sa tidak perlu tunggu 3 hari lagi
karena terlalu lama betul TOH!
Jeez doctor, don’t spread misinformation. If I drink the medicine in three
days, I will get better in three days too. I don’t need to wait for 3 days
because it’s too long, ain’t it!
Dokter
Adoh pace… ko bodoh sekali kah
Dude.. you’re foolish
As seen from this data, Dodi responds to the doctor’s recommendation by ignoring his advice to take the
medication once per day for 3 days. Instead, he behaves in stubborn way and reacts to the doctor’s recommendation in
a rather aggressive way by saying that the doctor is lying for his recommendation but truthfully Dodi is the stubborn one.
This data shows this prevalent theme of Dodi being aggressive but gets humbled later in the story because of his
stubbornness and lack of understanding. Dodi’s characteristic can also be a social critique on Papuan people lives.
Sianipar & Somantri, (2022) stated that the social sector, including access to education and health services, is
underdeveloped in Papua resulting in a significant lag in the region’s education sector compared to other regions. Dodi’s
behavior and attitude towards another cast can be understood after understanding the social and education in Papua.
Papuan social and education condition are still lacking in that specific department so in that case Dodi’s behavior is
justifiable because of the real problem in Papuan society.
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c. Uniqueness of Papuan Melayu dialect
In addition, the 10 videos from Epen Kah Cupen Toh exhibit a constant mix between Papuan dialect and
Indonesia Melayu dialect to show an interaction between 2 languages and how they connect with each other.
Figure 1. Dialects used in EKCT
The languages used in EKCT are mostly Papuan dialect language with the most prevalent feature of the Papuan
language being ko (you), sa (I), dong (they). This are the most stand out feature of the Papuan dialect. If someone
speaks like that in a conversation setting, then it can be assumed that they are from Papua region. The unique
characteristics of Papuan dialect are they shortened or reduced versions of Indonesia counterparts.
From its characteristics most of Papuan dialect can consist of shortened words from Indonesia such as:
Table 3. Lists of frequent Papuan words spoken in EKCT
No.
Papuan Indonesian
Indonesian
English Translate
1
Sa
Kau
You
2
Sa
Saya
I
3
Iyo
Iya
Yes
4
Kam
Kamu
You
5
Pigi
Pergi
Go
6
De
Dia
He/She
7
Mo
Mau
Want
8
Poro
Perut
Tummy
9
Tra
Tidak
No
10
tu
itu
That
The 10 data in Table 3 are the most frequently used form of Papuan dialect in EKCT Mop Papuan series. If we
investigate it, most of the Papuan dialect can be simply seen as shortened version of the Indonesian, this what makes
Papuan stand out when in a conversation because most of their vocabulary are shortened version of Indonesian to
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support their fast-paced talk. Papuan people tend to talk very fast and sometimes can be misunderstood by the other
party as to how to process their language. Kluge (2017) stated Papuan Malay speakers frequently reduce disyllabic
words to monosyllabic ones in fast speech, often affecting personal pronouns and the following words: "with" is
shortened to "deng," "say" to "blang," "this" to "ni," "that" to "tu," "give" to "kas," "go" to "pi," and "already" to "su”. This
statement makes it clearer that the Papuan dialect experience many of the changes in syllabic from standard Indonesian
language to accommodate their speaking. The change to monosyllabic does not directly affect the semantic meaning but
rather contains the same meaning from Indonesia dialect but only in a shortened word. This phenomenon was also
discussed by Sukaton (2019) in which the semantics of a word will stay solid even in shortened form as long as there are
similar roots intact.
d. Cross-cultural interaction in EKCT
EKCT presents the cross-cultural interaction between its actors to show the dynamic interaction between 2
different cultures migrating into each other. Most of Papuan Mop Contained in EKCT are the interaction between 2
different people with different backgrounds, culture, and language. This is a way for EKCT to show how Papuan people
interact with the people outside of their island such as Javanese. The main character “Dodi” represents the Papuan
people whilst Suroso represents Javanese people. These two different characters are different from each other where
Dodi is a brash, aggressive, stubborn man that always wants something to work according to his will. Suroso on the
other hand is more patient, caring, and calm contrasting to Dodi. This cross-cultural interaction is interesting because it
shows the hundreds of different ethnicities in Indonesia. Despite all of them being different to each other but in this
series, they portray how do different cultures interact with each other.
4. Conclusion
The humor and discourse analysis of MOP Papua shows that it is interconnected with the social conditions and
culture surrounding the lives of Papuan people. EKCT is the first MOP Papua to be adapted into a video series where
the lives of Papuan people are represented through the story and humor portrayed in the series. The findings shows that
type of MOP Papua humor is mostly Witticism and the behavior through qualitative analysis discovers the pattern that
most of Dodi’s behavior are aggressive before the punchline of the humor. This behavior can be seen through the social
conditions of Papua where lack of education and underdeveloped conditions in some areas of Papua. Uniqueness of
Papuan dialect are also present in the language that are spoken in EKCT series and shows that Papuan Melayu are
more dominant in monosyllabic sounds compared to standard Indonesian disyllabic. The cross-cultural society that are
portrayed in the EKCT series also highlights the many different ethnicities in Indonesia.
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