AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies P-ISSN: 2622-9897 E-ISSN: 2622-9838 Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
58223/al-irfan.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang.
Indonesia anisabatrisya@gmail.
Laily Fitriani Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang.
Indonesia laily@bsa.
uin-malang.
Abstract Keywords:
Yemeni Vladimir Propp.
Narrative Function.
Character roles Previous studies using Vladimir ProppAos theory have largely concentrated on German and Indonesian folklore, leaving a significant research gap in the analysis of narrative structures and character roles within Arabic oral literature.
This study aims to identify the 31 narrative functions and 7 character traits present in Yemeni folktale A e E e A AIe eA.
This research employs a qualitative descriptive method supported by library research to gather and process textual materials.
The result show that fourteen of ProppAos fourty-one narrative functions, spesifically Ae Ae Ae A Ae Ae D Ae T Ae Pr Ae Rs Ae H Ae W Ae Q Ae Q Ae W are present in the story.
Only three of ProppAos seven-character categories appears in the narrative, namely the hero, villain, and helper.
This research contributes to the field of Arabic narratology by providing a scientific record of Yemeni oral traditions and demonstrating that ProppAos structural patterns transcend cultural boundaries, thereby aiding in the preservation of Arab cultural heritage.
Abstrak Kata Kunci:
Cerita Yaman.
Vladimir Propp.
Fungsi narasi.
Karakter tokoh Penelitian terdahulu yang menggunakan teori Vladimir Propp sebagian besar terkonsentrasi pada cerita rakyat Jerman dan Indonesia, sehingga memberikan kesenjangan penelitian yang signifikan dalam analisis struktur naratif dan peran karakter dalam sastra lisan Arab.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi fungsi naratif dan 7 ciri karakter yang terdapat dalam cerita rakyat Yaman A EE EE EE EEA AIEE EE E E E EA.
Penelitian ini AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif yang didukung oleh studi pustaka untuk mengumpulkan dan mengolah tekstual.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 14 dari 31 fungsi naratif Propp, secara khusus Ae Ae Ae A Ae Ae D Ae T Ae Pr Ae Rs Ae H Ae W Ae H Ae Q Ae U terdapat dalam cerita tersebut.
Hanya 3 dari 7 kategori karakter Propp yang muncul dalam narasi, yaitu pahlawan, penjahat, dan pembantu.
Penelitian ini berkontribusi pada bidang naratologi Received: 12-11-2025.
Revised: 22-12-2025.
Accepted: 01-01-2026 A Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani Introduction Folklore is one of the literary works that can be used to broaden readerAos horizons and tech moral principles, because in folklore there are symbols of social life and the identity of a region (Lestari & Rahmat, 2.
Folklore is a form of cultural oral language expression of a society that is closely related to the social value system of society and other cultural aspects.
Folklore, often known as old prose, is a story that originated in a traditional society and was created by the society itself.
As technology advances, folktales that were originally passed down orally, are then documented in the form of books and other written forms.
After a long journey, the original identity of folklore is slowly fading.
Folklore is basically a story created through the imagination of the author, regardless of the type of story, it can be considered true or not, but this story is still considered to The various kinds of stories found in folklore are fairy tales, legends, and myths (Mariah et al.
, 2.
As part of oral literature, folk tales are included in a collection of written literature that uses literary devices and has an aesthetic impact related to the moral and cultural framework of a particular community (Taum, 2.
Oral literature, however draws elements from other literary genres, including folk language, folk expression, folk poetry, folk tales, and folk songs (Hutomo, 1.
Each region has a different story character, so usually folklore describes events or events based on the origin of the location.
As one of the components of oral literature, folklore and oral tradition have an important role in shaping the 82 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
character of a society.
The following characteristics refer to folklore as oral literature, namely .
Originating from simple, illiterate, and traditional societies, .
Showing a culture that is part of a collective culture whose creator is unclear, .
Highlighting elements of fantasy, satire, humor, and education, .
Often showing the customs of a particular group, .
Using many terms or phrases that are often used (Endraswara, 2.
Whereas in Arabic culture, folktales are not only entertainment, but also provide insight into past lives, moral teachings, and Despite being a significant cultural legacy.
Yemeni oral literature is still underrepresented in structural narratological research.
There are currently few analysis of Arab folklore that concentrate on story structure.
This work fills the gap by analyzing Yemeni folklore using Vladimir ProppAos narrative morpholgy.
This study is interesting because it applies ProppAos structural theory to an understudied cultural setting, exposing stroy patterns in Yemeni oral traditions.
The folktale analyzed in this study characterised by its depiction of recurring tragic fate, in which each events builds upon the next and the plot continues to move forward toward an inevitable conclusion.
This story tells about a king who gets a bad prediction about his future, related to his newborn baby.
The fortune teller predicts that in the future the baby will kill the king, marry his mother, and eat his own child.
To cancel the prophecy, the king asked the palace guard to kill But the guard took pity and left the baby in the forest without killing it.
After that, a herd of deer found the baby and took care of his until he grew up.
As the baby grew up, without realizing it, one by one the predictions known in the past came true (SabaAo, 2.
The narrative structure in this story depicts the cause and effect relationship of a prophecy, the attempts to stop it, and ultimately the prophecy coming true, making it interesting to examine using Vladimir ProppAos narrative elements that from the whole story.
Classic stories from various cultures that feature the theme of unavoidable prophecy, among them Krishna from India and Oedipus Rex from Greece, can be compared to the folklore A A AIEEA.
Although the stories are similar, the 83 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
cultural components may differ, as the culture in each region is unique and cannot be generalized (Zahlet et al.
, 2.
This shows how the narrative structure of folktales has cross-cultural sructural similarities.
Therefore, is is imperative to apply relevant narrative theory to examine the structure of these folktales.
The analytical tool that can be used to understand the patterns of actorAos functions in folktales is Vladimir ProppAos structural theory of narrative.
This research can be used to examine the development of plot, the introduction and growth of characters, and the function of theme and setting in the overall story (Situmorang et al.
, 2.
Plot is a narrative framework found in plays, novels, or fairy tales.
While narrative structure is a structure that provides a detailed description of A series of interrelated events, including the causes and effects experienced by the actors from the narrative framework.
The choice of this theory to study the folktale A A A IEEAcomes from the characteristics of this theory which finds narrative patterns from various folktales.
Propp, in his study Morphology of the Folktale, describe 31 narrative functions that are often seen in Russian folktales, although not all stories contain all 31 functions.
The functions described are then applied to the study folktales with different socio-cultural Each story in a storytelling is one part of a story with other parts of the story so that between one event and another event there is a structure called the function of the actor (Cahyo et al.
, 2.
There are two elements used to understand character as a function in the story, namely the characterAos actions or what the character does, and the effects of these actions on other characters in the story (Eriyanto, 2.
The narrative elements of the story must be revealed before the values in the folklore can be found.
The narrative consists of a sequence of events that become the focus of discussion and are connected by several events (Rimmon-Kenan & Hawkes, 1.
A structural theory approach needs to be used when assessing the structure of folklore, and Vladimir ProppAos theory is 84 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
considered the most suitable for doing so as it is based on his experience analyzing 100 Russian fairy tales (Lantowa & Dunggio, 2.
Previous researchers have applied Vladimir ProppAos theory to study various folktales, such as the research conducted by (Situmorang et al.
, 2.
who analyzed the German fairy tales AuDornryschenAy and AuSchneewittchenAy from Die Myrchen Der Bryder Grimm, and the Nusantara folktale AuSimardan IslandAy conducted by (Syarfina & Anggraini, 2.
Based on some of the previously reviewed studies, the research in this paper will be different from previous studies that concentrated on German and Indonesian stories, because this study includes stories from Yaman.
Moreover, the previous writers only suggested ProppAos functions, but the important part of the character has not been sufficiently researched.
Although most of the previous studies have analyzed folklore, there is still a research gap that can fill the void of previous studies.
There is currently little research on the application of this theory to Arabic folklore.
Folktales in some regions also use this narrative pattern, so it would be interesting to examine the narrative functions and characters of folktales from the Yemeni region.
The purpose of this study is to identify 31 narrative functions that appear along with 7 character traits in the folktales of A A AIEEA.
The problem that arises is how Vladimir ProppAos theory can be applied to analyze the narrative structure and characters in the folklore from Yemen.
Besides improving narratological studies related to folklore of Arabic origin as well as overcoming the gaps in previous research, it is hoped that this research can provide knowledge related to the structure of folklore and help in efforts to maintain literature as a cultural Method This study employed a qualitative descriptive method.
This method is utilized to throughly describe and comprehend the study object through the interpretation of data in the form of words and narratives rather than figures.
85 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
Qualitative research is to comprehend phenomena holistically, using descriptive language and terms that are connected to scientific framework (Moleong, 2.
Accroding to Vladimir ProppAos theory, this approach is thought to bet he most appropriate for analyzing narrative functions and characters because the research data is in the form of narrative text.
This study employs library research as a data collection methods, which include gathering textual sources such as theoretical books, folktales, and earlier According to (Zed, 2.
, gathering, reading, recording, and processing library materials as a foundation for analysis are all included in library research.
ProppAos theory and other folklore studies serve as secondary data sources, with Arabic story texts serving as the main source.
Prior to analysis and descriptive presentation, pertinent data is categorized according to narrative function and character role categories.
Result and Discussion Vladimir Propp, also known as Vladimir Jaovlavic Propp, was born in St.
Petersburg.
Russia, on April 17, 1895, and he is credited with introducing narrative structure.
Vladimir Propp, a Russian formalist, is widely known for his research on the structure of fairy tales.
Propp is recognized as one of the leading figures of Russian formalism and considered the founder of the sructuralist method in narrative analysis.
His work changed the understanding of literary and folklore studies of stories and plots (Hasan, 2.
His book Morphology of the Folktale, a scholarly study that examines the storyline of Russian fairy tales, is the book that made him famous.
ProppAos ideas in this book focus on the roles of the actors rater than the actors themselves (Ningrum & Zein, 2.
Propp suggests that the most significant narrative pattern is action, which will be referred to as function.
Each character has a purpose in the tale so that the narrative is unified as a whole (Propp, 1.
The three basic components in the story, namely actors, actions, and sufferers, are divided into two categories, fixed elements and non-fixed elements.
Action is a fixed element.
Actors and sufferers 86 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
are example of non-fixed elements.
Propp emphasizes on action, to structure the function in the narrative of the story.
The function in the story will not be affected even if the action is changed with another action.
This is what makes the fixed elements in a story very important (Jayawardana & Rosa, 2.
To make it easier to package the structure and movement of the story, the roles of the actors are also numbered, along with explanations of their traits, definition of single words, symbols, and examples of different actions (Cahaya Tarsisty et al.
, 2.
Character activities or story roles are referred to as functions, and described based on their relationship to the action sequence (Mauli Darajat & Badruzzaman, 2.
Propp established that a story usually has 31 different narrative functions.
However, it is important to note that not all 31 functions are present in every story.
This shows that these functions, no matter how many there are, still serve as the foundation of the story.
Each tale begins with an initial situation denoted by ().
The functions of the actors will appear after the character, family member, or hero is introduced by name or something that can be considered as a reference to him (Stefani & Kurniawati, 2.
The initial situation is worth mentioning even though it is not part of ProppAos 31 narrative The following functions appear in the story A A AIEEA: .
Initial Situation Ausituasi awalAy, using the symbol , .
Delivery Aupenyampaian informasiAy, using the symbol , .
interdiction AularanganAy, using the symbol , .
Villainy AukejahatanAy, using the symbol A, .
Violation AupelanggaranAy, using the symbol , .
1st donor function Aufungsi pertama donorAy, using the symbol D, .
Transfiguration AupenjelmaanAy, using the symbol T, .
Pursuit AupengejaranAy, using the symbol Pr, .
Rescue AupenyelamatanAy, using the symbol Rs, .
Wedding AupernikahanAy, using the symbol W, .
Recognition AupengakuanAy, using the symbol Q, .
Recognition AupengakuanAy, using the symbol Q, .
Wedding AupernikahanAy, using the symbol W.
In order to understand these functions more clearly, the identified narrative function will be presented as follows:
87 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
ProppAos Function Symbol Description the Story Initial Situation Introduction the king and his royal authority Delivery The fortune teller his newborn baby Interdiction The king attempts coming true Villainy The king orders the palace guard to kill the baby Violation The violated when the guard spares the First The abandoned baby Transfiguration The baby grows into a young man 88 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
Pursuit The consequences of the prophecy begin to unfold Rescue The hero survives Struggle The confrontation between the hero and the king WeddingA The fulfilling part of the prophecy Recognition Recognition unfolds in two First, the discovery of the reveals a hidden Second, confesses that he 89 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
did not kill the heroAos identity after a long separation WeddingA The hero leaves woman from the city, and ascends the throne as the new king Table 1: the identified narrative function Initial Situation () U AOOE IN EI NIE IEE OA A O EIA.
A EI OC EOE I ON E II OA
A O EI ON uOE EAIO O EENIA.
AI OA IAO IONE O IEEN II NA
AN IeA
A O EI NE AOC O IC IIN AIAN N EAOC I OO II A,AENIA
AAIE N EEA.
A O IN OO I EI EACO E C OE aI EOEA,AACOA AIAO AOC O O A IOE II ACOA (SabaAo, 2.
The above paragraph tells the story of an unmarried king who is worried about his future.
Then he is advised by his friend to marry a woman from a poor This part of the story corresponds to the Initial Situation function () because it introduces a character who will be a reference to other characters in the story.
90 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
Delivery () A O oE OE EEIA,A uI N EAE OCEE II OEA: AAOO NE EA ECA CEA
A O OEE EI INA,AO OO INA
(SabaAo, 2.
The delivery function () in this story appears when the villain obtains information about his victim.
Usually, evil intentions begin to develop as the villain obtains information.
According to ProppAos classifications of the Delivery () function, the villain receives information about his victim (Propp et al.
, 1.
The excerpt above aligns with ProppAos Delivery () function classification because it tells the story of a fortune-teller informing the king of his prophecy, that the kingAos newborn child will kill the king, seize the throne, and eat his own flesh when he grows up.
Interdiction () AO EA OE Ie I OCE N IEOEO CE I C EOA (SabaAo, 2.
The interdiction function () refers to a command, recommendation, or request directed at a character to refrain from doing something.
This function
appears in the story in the form of a recommendation when the fortune teller
advises the king to kill the baby to prevent the prophecy from coming true in the Villainy (A) AAI Ie OE CE EO O I I ECA II E I ON N uOE E IOA
AEE AOCEN AOOI N EEOOA
(SabaAo, 2.
91 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
The Villainy function (A) appears in the story when the character commits a crime.
It is told that the king ordered his palace servant to kill his baby.
The story shows the Villainy function (A.
, because the villain ordered the murder to be carried out (Propp et al.
, 1.
Violation () A ACA,A EI EAE aOE E EEI CEN AC OE EAE EO EI OI uOEN OOIA A AuI EEN EOO O EIO OA,A E EAO NI OE AA: A O CE OA IANA,AE OCENA AuI OIOA (SabaAo, 2.
If the function of Interdiction () is present, then the function of Violation () is also present.
In ProppAos classification, the function of Violation () appears when the prohibition is broken.
When the king orders his servant to kill the royal baby, but the servant refuses to obey the order, instead placing the baby on a rock without killing it, this is seen as the function of Violation ().
1st donor function (D) A AN E IIA,AO N II EEI uOE EE AO E EAE IO EAOA
AO NN EE O EAE N E II NEA,aON EO AN EIA
AEAOA
(SabaAo, 2.
The 1st donor function (D) appears in the story when a hero meets a benefactor and undergoes various trials (D.
In the excerpt above, the benefactor who appears is a female deer who finds the kingAos baby among the rocks.
The baby is then raised by the deer as if it were her own child until he grows up.
Transfiguration (T) 92 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
A O I IOA.
AO IINA
AO E EAE O A OIO O OO I EEI EI EO EIA
A O EI NN EEI NI OE ECOE EO OIEENA,AEOI A N EOE OEEI EOOIA
AOEN O EI ONI IN EIN E IENA
(SabaAo, 2.
The baby, who was raised by the deer since childhood has now grown up and speaks the language of animals, as if he were a deer himself.
The quote in this story shows the function of Transfiguration (T .
because the baby character has acquired a new appearance that is different from before.
Pursuit (P.
,AO I Ie OO AO IIO II EEI O IEO EOE INA AAON uOE ECA O O EINA (SabaAo, 2.
The Pursuit (P.
function appears when the hero is being chased.
The function seen in this story is (Pr.
, when the kingAos guards successfully capture the herd of deer attacking the palace fields along with the boy.
Rescue (R.
A AA,A O EI OEEI EEI ENA,AAC EI ON EEI OA EE O O OA eIA
AIe EI N EOE O I NE IEI OEIN eI O e O EAOO OE OO uOE ENA
AEOA
(SabaAo, 2.
When the herd of deer and the boy are successfully captured, the palace inhabitants are amazed by the boyAos condition, prompting the king to want to restore him to his former human state.
The story demonstrates the Rescue (R.
function because the hero is saved from the chase.
93 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
Struggle (H) AO OA OEE IEI O II EI O II E EO uOE E uEN OA A AC Ie EN uOE E IAN EOEA,A AC EI EO AA O EO OA,AEA A O II OAE uOEN I EA,A AN Ie EU OE AN uOE ECEA,AOIE uOEN EIA A O EI e OO O EO N AAON AEI OI EOE AOA,AC EOE CI uOENA A AA EON I OOCA AEI OI Ie EEA,A AI IN EA CIA,AIe O NO OIO EONA A O OA EA EE EA IN Ie O AA.
A A E uOEN NIN O CENA,AII OA A AO Ie uOE ECA O AIONA,AIe O EIO ECAA (SabaAo, 2.
There was a conflict between the boy and the king.
One night, as heavy rain fell, the king wanted to bring food to the boy.
However, because of the lous sound of the rain, the boy thought that the sound of the kingAos horseAos hooves was a thief.
Ignoring the boyAos cries for the king to stop, the young man released his arrow.
The next day, he realized that he had killed the king.
This excerpt includes the Struggle (H) function, which involves both characters, the hero and the villain, in a competition.
The hero wins with the help of his cleverness.
Wedding (W) AO I IO EOI IE N uOE E ON OA EEI A IAN OEA
A O ON e E AA,A AOAC E O ON O NO E OA IN INA,AE EEO IINA
AIN IN IEACOA
(SabaAo, 2.
In this excerpt, the young man who accidentally killed the king managed to marry his mother .
he kingAos previous wif.
without knowing that she was his mother, and she also did not know the young manAos true identity.
This shows the 94 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
Wedding (W) function in ProppAos classification because the hero got married and would ascend the throne after the kingAos .
is fatherAo.
Recognition (Q) A uE I Ie A,AAO EI EEI OE I Ie AEI EI EAE II IAO OENA A AA OAA,AO OO IO IIN AN II AIN AO IN I IN EO EN uON ONA A AN EI I IEO uOE IE AEI OOA,AEI O A EI I ON EEIA AEAE AA Ie IN C OC OA ECA (SabaAo, 2.
This function is manifested when the king discovers the ring inside the cooked meat, which reveals the hidden truth about the childAos identity.
On the seventh day, when the palace residents are celebrating the birth of the baby of the young king and the woman, the nurse assigned to watch over the baby neglects her duties, causing the baby to fall into a pot where meat is being cooked.
The ring serves as a physical marker that initiates the recognition process, leading to the exposure of the prophecy and the revelation of familial relations.
Recognition often occurs through marks, tokens, or signs.
Recognition (QA) ,AAE OA I ON O EI EO IN Ie OIN CE EOE OA EA
A O IN EN IO AOA,AO IN COE ECOC AA EI II EIO IN EI OCE EOEA
AEEA
(SabaAo, 2.
The recognition function appears when the queen began to suspect the young king and recalled the prophecies once made by the fortune-teller.
The queen then ordered the servant who had been commanded by the king to kill the baby to reveal the truth.
From that point on, the young kingAos true identity 95 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
was revealed.
This part of the story shows the function of recognition (Q) because the young kingAos identity as a hero is revealed.
In this story, the hero is also recognized after being separated from his parents for a long time.
Wedding (W) A O A IEE EA EOENA,AO A EOE I NN IN AEN O O II IEOIA (SabaAo, 2.
As a result of the palace servantAos confession and the queenAos suspicion, the hero realizes that the queen is his mother and chooses to leave her.
Then marries a young woman from the city and ascend the throne as the new king.
This event marks the resolution of the narrative and the completion of the heroAos Wedding often coincides with the heroAos accession to the throne.
Based on the description of Vladimir ProppAos narrative functions in the A A AIEEA, the author found 14 of the 31 functions classified by Propp.
these functions are sorted by their symbols, they will appear as follows: Ae Ae Ae A Ae Ae D Ae T Ae Pr Ae Rs Ae H Ae W Ae Q Ae Q Ae W.
Many characters in fairy tales represent easily recognizable basic roles, just as hundreds of episodes can be classified into 31 basic functions.
In a fairy tale.
Propp identifies categories for characters in the story.
The character roles are represented in table 2.
Character ProppAos Role Narrative function The King Villain Initiates attempts to escape the 96 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
The Deer Helper Rescues and raises the The Young Man Hero Fulfills Table 2: The character roles The following is an analysis of seven characters in the narrative structure of the story A A A IEEAbased on Vladimir ProppAos exposition.
The Villain, a person who hurts the hero is called a villain character in ProppAos classification.
The kingAos character in this story fits the definition of a villain character because he wants to kill the young man.
The Donor, according to Propp, a donor is someone who helps the hero by giving him gifts, supernatural abilities, knowledge, or advice.
It is told that the fortune teller gives advice to the king to kill his baby before something bad happens in the future.
However, the function of the fortune teller is not in accordance with the character of the donor because he does not provide information to the hero, so in the story A A A IEEAthere is no character of the donor.
The Helper, the character of the deer in this story helps the boy who is dumped on the mountain and takes care of him until he grows Because of that, the deer character fits the definition of the helper character who helps the hero.
The Princess and Her Father, the character of the princess and her father is not found in the story A A of the dispatcher is not found in the story AIEEA.
The Dispatcher, the character A A AIEEA.
The Hero, according to Propp, a person who is in charge of bringing balance back from a previously chaotic situation is a hero (Krisbianto, 2.
In this story, what shows the character of the hero is the young man who turns into the viceroy.
The young man manages to kill his father who previously wanted to kill him and return the 97 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
palace to its normal state by marrying his own mother.
The False Hero, the character of the false hero is not found in the story A A AIEEA.
Conclusion According to this study, the Yemeni folktale A A A IEEAhas 13 of the 31 narrative functions that Vladimir Propp suggested.
Among these are initial situation ((), delivery (), interdiction (), villainy (A), violation (), first donor function (D), transfiguration (T), pursuit (P.
, rescue (R.
, struggle (H), wedding (W), recognition (Q), recognition (QA), and wedding (W).
Additionally, only three of ProppAos seven character categories Ae villain .
, helper .
, and hero .
appear in this story.
The narrative frameworks of Yemeni and Russian oral traditions show striking similarities, demonstrating the structural universality of ProppAos model despite the socio-cultural differences between the two.
Furthermore, the characteristic structure in Yemeni folklore that successfully resolves complex tragic prophecies is emphasized by the dual function of AuWeddingAy (W) and AuRecognitionAy (Q).
However, the scope of this study is limited to structural narrative analysis.
It has not explored the deeper symbolic, ideological, or psychological aspects of the text, which could provide further insight into YemenAos unique cultural values.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang for the academic support and research environment that made this study possible.
Special appreciation is extended to colleagues and reviewers whose constructive feedback contributed significantly to the improvement of this paper.
The authors are also thankful to all scholars whose works on folklore studies and narrative theory have provided valuable insights for this research.
98 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
Author Contributions Statement Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa was responsible for the conceptualization of the study, data collection, textual analysis of Yemeni folklore using ProppAos narrative morphology, and drafting the initial manuscript.
Laily Fitriani contributed to the research design, theoretical framework development, critical revision of the manuscript, and overall supervision of the research process.
Both authors reviewed, discussed, and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
99 | Batrisya Irdina AnAonisa.
Laily Fitriani.
ProppAos Narrative Morphology in Yemeni Folklore The King and the Fortune Teller AL-IRFAN: Journal of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies Vol.
No.
1, 2026, 81-102
References