<![CDATA[Folktales function not only as entertainment but also as a medium for transmitting cultural values and identity across generations. The symbolic meanings and social functions of symbols in the reproduction of cultural values in the folktale Manuk Si Nanggur Dawa have not been extensively examined. This study aims to analyze the symbolic meanings and interpret the role of symbols in reproducing the cultural values represented in the folktale Manuk Si Nanggur Dawa. This study employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive-analytical method. The data consist of three versions of the folktale Manuk Si Nanggur Dawa, collected through documentation and analyzed using Roland Barthes’ semiotics at the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth, as well as Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of cultural reproduction to interpret the social functions of symbols. The findings show that bamboo, manuk (chicken), marriage practices, and cosmological structures represent values of honesty, openness, kinship, respect for kalimbubu, and the Karo belief system. These symbols function in the reproduction of cultural values through the internalization of meanings into habitus, thereby supporting the transmission of values across generations. The study concludes that folktales function as symbolic media for maintaining and transmitting cultural values through the relationship between narrative meanings and social practices. These findings have implications for utilizing folktales as learning resources and as media for preserving local cultural values.]]>
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