What is the Difference Between Mudik and Pulang Kampung? Here's the Explanation

Kapanlagi.com - The difference between mudik and pulang kampung is currently a controversy. This issue stems from the government's statement that initially banned mudik from being done due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. However, before this ban took effect, the government seemed to allow thousands of people to return to their hometowns in the middle of last month. At that time, there were already many people who tested positive for this virus.

The public is puzzled by the government's actions. In the Mata Najwa program hosted by Najwa Shihab on Wednesday night (22/4), President Joko Widodo tried to explain the difference between mudik and pulang kampung. However, it seems that the explanation is still not widely accepted.

If you are still confused about the difference between mudik and pulang kampung, try to understand the following summary explanations.

1. History of Mudik

(credit: pixabay)

In Indonesia, mudik has indeed become a tradition, especially approaching certain holidays. At that time, usually people who are living away from home will flock back to their hometown. In fact, the tradition of mudik during holidays also exists in various countries around the world such as Malaysia and Bangladesh.

As reported by merdeka.com, the tradition of mudik in Indonesia has actually existed since the Majapahit kingdom era. At that time, mudik was actually done by farmers whose farmland was far from their hometown. At certain times, these farmers would return to their hometown to clean up their ancestors' graves.

2. Origin of the Word Mudik

Still according to merdeka.com, the word mudik, which is now included in the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Dictionary), actually comes from the Javanese word 'mulih dilik'. The word in Javanese means to return briefly. However, there are also some who say that mudik comes from the Betawi language 'menuju udik (village)'.

3. Meaning of Words Based on KBBI

To find out the meaning of a word, the first thing that is easiest to do is to check the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (KBBI). Because, the dictionary does contain the lexical meanings of various words.

Although only lexical and not involving context, the dictionary is considered sufficient to indicate the basic meaning of a word in general and simple terms. So what is the meaning of the words 'mudik' and 'pulang kampung' in KBBI?

It turns out that 'mudik' in KBBI means 'returning to the countryside (upstream of a river, interior)' and 'returning to the hometown'. Meanwhile, 'pulang kampung' is a compound word which in KBBI means 'returning to the hometown', 'mudik'. Based on the meaning from the very lexical dictionary, mudik and pulang kampung are the same thing or synonymous.

4. Contextual Differences between Mudik and Pulang Kampung

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It seems quite difficult to find the differences between mudik and pulang kampung based solely on the meaning of each word. However, if we pay attention to a snippet of President Joko Widodo's explanation on Mata Najwa, the difference between mudik and pulang kampung depends greatly on the social context.

The word 'mudik' in a social context is often interpreted as returning to the hometown during a certain period or moment, for example during Eid al-Fitr. In addition, in our social context, we also know various terms related to mudik, such as 'pemudik' which refers to people who perform mudik. The term 'arus mudik' is used to refer to the wave or group of pemudik.

On the other hand, the social context for 'pulang kampung' only carries the meaning of returning to the hometown, without any specific period or moment as a basis. In the term 'pulang kampung', we also do not know any terms that can represent people who perform pulang kampung.

That is a brief explanation of the differences between mudik and pulang kampung. Hopefully, the short explanation above can answer your curiosity about the differences between mudik and pulang kampung.

(kpl/psp)