Folklore from South Sulawesi

La Dana and His Buffalo

Folklore from South Sulawesi

IN Toraja, South Sulawesi, lived a young man. His name was La Dana. Everybody knew him. He was known for his clever ideas. He always tricked bad people. That’s why the villagers loved him.
In Toraja, there was always a ceremony when someone passed away. In the ceremony, the guests could get buffalo meat from the host of the ceremony. La Dana went to the ceremony. Before he went home, the host gave him buffalo legs.
On the way home, La Dana met Pak Kikir. He brought the whole body parts of the buffalo except the legs. Pak Kikir was a very stingy man. Nobody liked him. La Dana then had an idea to trick him.
“Pak Kikir, you have all parts of the buffalo except the legs. And I only have the legs. Why don’t we put them together and gave them back to the host. We ask him to exchange it with a life buffalo. We raise the buffalo until it is big. Do you agree?”
“That is a good idea. Let’s meet the host,” said Pak Kikir.
Together they went back to the ceremony.
The host agreed with one condition. He would exchange with a young buffalo.
After they got the young buffalo, Pak Kikir and La Dana went home.
“La Dana, let me raise the buffalo,” said Pak Kikir. He wanted to raise it by himself because he was afraid that La Dana would steal it.
“I agree, but let me visit the buffalo everyday,” said La Dana. He was happy, his idea was running well so far.
On the following day, La Dana came to Pak Kikir’s house.
“Hey! Look! The buffalo is getting fatter,” said La Dana.
“The buffalo has just been here for a day. How can you say he is getting fatter?”
“Look at the buffalo carefully. It is getting fatter. Pak Kikir, I want the legs now. They are mine, right?” said La Dana.
Pak Kikir was silent. He knew if the legs were cut, the buffalo would die.
“Don’t take the legs now. Wait for another time,” said Pak Kikir.
On the following day, La Dana again came to Pak Kikir’s house and asked for the legs. Pak Kikir said the same thing, he asked La Dana to wait.
Then La Dana came and came again. Every time he visited the buffalo, he always asked Pak Kikir to give him legs.
Finally, Pak Kikir could not hold it anymore.
“It’s enough La Dana! If you cut the legs, the buffalo would die. The buffalo is still young. We will not get a lot of meat. If you want to get the legs, here take this buffalo with you!” said Pak Kikir. He gave the buffalo to La Dana.
La Dana was happy. His plan worked! He got a living buffalo and brought it home. ***

Princess Tandampalik

Princess Tandampalik

Folklore from South Sulawesi

KING of Luwu had a very beautiful daughter. Her name was Princess Tandampalik. She was very beautiful. Any man who saw her would fall in love with her. Everybody knew about her beauty, including King of Bone. Bone was a kingdom that was far away from Luwu Kingdom. Then, King of Bone paid a visit to Luwu in order to propose Princess Tandampalik to be her daughter in-law. His son, Prince of Bone, was still single. King of Luwu actually did not want to accept the proposal. According to the culture, he could not have a son-in-law who lived very far from him. Otherwise, he would suffer from terrible disease. But, he knew if he refused it, kingdom of Bone would attack Luwu. Many of his people would suffer. After that, King of Bone came to Luwu and talked about the marriage proposal. King of Luwu said he needed time to decide. King of Bone understood and went home. Suddenly, a bad thing happened. Princess Tandampalik was ill. She got skin rash. The kingdom healer said the disease could infect others. The king then decided to put the princess in a safe place. It was in a remote island named Wajo Island. The princess was not alone. Some soldiers accompanied her. The princess was sad. But she knew if she stayed in the kingdom, many people would be infected. So she was not angry with her father for making her stay in a remote island. Several days after Princess Tandampalik lived in Wajo Island, a cow came to her. The cow was different from other cows. The skin was albino. The cow licked Princess Tandampalik's skin. Amazingly, the disease was cured. Her skin was smooth again. Her beauty was back! In the mean time, Prince of Bone was sailing in the sea. He landed in Wajo Island. He was so surprised to see a very beautiful girl lived in such a remote island. "Wow, may be she is an angel," he thought. "Who are you, beautiful girl? Do you live here?" asked Prince of Bone. Princess Tandampalik then explained everything. Prince of Bone had heard about her before. He was so happy that he finally met her. He immediately brought Princess Tandampalik and the soldiers back to Luwu Kingdom. The King of Luwu was so happy that her daughter was cured. Not long after that, the King held a wedding party for her daughter and Prince of Bone. ***