Local Wisdom of Malay “Tradisi Turun Sungai” in preventing Flood at East Coast of North Sumatera

Tradisi Turun Sungai (Down to the river) is a local wisdom of Malay society of East Coast of North Sumatera (PTSU). The performance shows petuah and meaningful proverbs which influence the society attitude to prevent flood. This article discusses and analyzes the east coast area of North Sumatera which flood occurred annually due to the lack of awareness of the society in understanding their mutual relationship with the river physically. The flood disaster is overcome by through local wisdom Tradisi Turun Sungai by rising the society awareness and passion toward the existace of river in the their lives. This analysis uses Descriptive qualitative method with the cultural and functional approaches toward local wisdom. The local wisdoms should be packed up in performances in order to get the image of the river’s wisdom and to be tighten up with the society’s behavior. The result shows that through the awareness and caring toward the river and also the local wisdom play a great role in preventing flood