Folklore from Yogyakarta

The Curse of Joko Bandung

Folklore from Yogyakarta

A long time ago, there were two kingdoms. They were Pengging Kingdom and Prambanan Kingdom. The king were fighting. They were at war! Pengging's king was Joko Bandung. He was very strong and powerful. He had great martial art skill. He led the soldiers and fought bravely.
Meanwhile, Prabu Boko, the king of Prambanan sent a giant to fight against Joko Bandung. The Giants name was Bandawasa.
Bandawasa was very big. Joko Bandung was not afraid with the giant. They were fighting.. And finally Joko Bandung won the fight. Before he died, Bandawasa's spirit joined Joko Bandung's spirit. That made Joko Bandung became more powerful. He then added Bandawasa's name into his name. His name changed into Joko Bandung Bandawasa.
Joko Bandung and his soldiers were attacking the palace of Prambanan Kingdom. Joko Bandung was looking for Prabu Boko. He wanted to kill the king of Prambanan Kingdom. Joko Bandung was more powerful. He killed Prabu Boko.
Joko Bandung occupied the palace. He asked all Prabu Boko's family to gather. He met Prabu Boko's beautiful daughter. Her name was Roro Jonggrang. he fell in love with her. He wanted to marry her.
Roro Jonggrang did not want to marry him. She hated Joko Bandung. However she was afraid and did not have any courage to refuse the marriage proposal. She had an idea how to refuse the proposal.
She would ask Joko Bandung to build 1.000 temples only in one night. If he could build the temples, Roro Jonggrang would marry him. Joko Bandung agreed. He accepted the challenge. He was not worried, he would asked the genies and the spirits to help him.
Joko Bandung and his genies started to work. They build the temples one by one. Roro Jonggrang was really worried. She knew Joko Bandung could not finish building 1.000 temples before sun rose.
She was thinking very hard. She had to find a way how to stop the genies and the spirit fro building the temples. Suddenly she had an idea.
She asked all the girls to make a lot of noise by grinding the rice in the mortar. She also asked them to make fire. She hopped that the spirits and the genies would think that sun was going to rise.
It worked! The noise and the fire woke the cocks up. The cocks were crowing. The spirits and the genies thought that morning would come soon.
And they also thought the sun would rise soon. The spirits and the genies were afraid of the sunlight. They left Joko Bandung alone. Joko Bandung was very angry! He knew Roro Jonggrang was plying a trick on him.
"Why did you do that? If you do not want to marry me, why don't you just say it? You are just looking for an excuse to refuse me!" said Joko Bandung.
He continued, "You are so stubborn like a stone. I curse you to become a statue!"
Joko Bandung's magic power had changed Roro Jonggrang into a statue! Since then people named the temples that the spirit and the genies build as Sewu Temple. And the people also named the Prambanan Temple as Roro Jonggrang Temple.***

The Legend of Lime Stone Hill

Folklore fom Yogyakarta

Once upon a time in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, there was a kingdom named Medang Kingdom. The king was King Dewata Cengkar. He liked to eat. The chef in the palace always worked hard. The king was never satisfied with the food.
One day, the chef accidentally cut his finger and the blood dropped into the food. The chef was really scared and he told his friends not to tell the king about it. His friends agreed.
After the food was served, the king immediately ate. He really enjoyed the food. He said it was the most delicious food he ever had. Then he had a party and invited many people. He wanted his guests to eat his delicious food. However, the food was not as delicious as the king had earlier. The king was angry, he sent the chef to the jail.
Later, the chef’s friends told the king about the chef’s blood in the food.
Probably the blood made the food delicious. The king then asked his soldiers to bring him a villager and dropped his blood to the food. It was true! The food was very delicious. Since then the king always asked his soldiers to go around the villages and bring him someone’s blood.
People were scared. They did not want their blood to be taken. They prayed to Gods days and nights.
Gods listened to their prayer. They sent Aji Saka. He was a man with great supernatural power.
When he was meditating, he heard a whisper. He was asked to go to Medang Kingdom to help the people.
When he arrived at the kingdom, he told the soldiers that he wanted to give his blood. The soldiers later told the king that there was a man who willing to gave his blood.
The king was very happy. He had not eaten delicious food for a long time.
That was because his soldiers could not find a villager who was wiling to give his blood.
“I will give you my blood, but with one condition. You have to take off my robe,” said Aji Saka.
“Ha ha ha! That is easy,” said the king.
However when he tried to take off the robe, the king never succeeded. The robe seemed to be very long. The king was very tired. When the king stopped to rest, Aji Saka pushed him. The king fell down. And amazingly the king slowly changed into a white crocodile.
Aji Saka prepared his arrow. He pointed the arrow to the white crocodile.
Right after the arrow hit the crocodile’s body, it died instantly.
And on the spot where the crocodile lied down, grew a lime stone hill. The hill was infertile. It was very difficult for the villagers to plant a tree there.
The villagers then made good use of the hill to decorate their houses.***

Folklore from West Sulawesi

I Tui Tuing

Folklore from West Sulawesi

THERE were a husband and a wife lived in Mandar, West Sulawesi. The husband was a fisherman.
They had been married for many years but they had no any children yet. Everyday they prayed to God. They never gave up asking God to give them a child.
“Dear God, please give us a child even though he looks like a tui-tuing fish,” prayed the couple.
Tui-tuing is a flying fi sh found in that area.
And finally God answered their pray, the wife was pregnant. And when the baby was born,
they were surprised. The baby looked like a fish.
The skin had scales, just like the body of a fish.
They remembered their pray. But still they were very happy. They took care of the baby with
great love. They named him as I Tuing-Tuing.
I Tuing-Tuing grew as a great boy. He was diligent and obedient to his parents.
Soon I Tuing-Tuing grew as a young man.
It was time for him to get married. He asked his parents to fi nd him a girl. The parents knew it
was not easy to find a wife for their child. They thought no girls wanted to marry him. However,
they did not want to make him sad. So the parents went to the villagers’ houses, proposing any
single girl to be their daughter-in-law.
And it happened as they thought. All the girls they met always rejected their marriage proposal. There was one last house they hadn’t visited yet. It was the merchant’s house.
The merchant lived in a very big house. He had six daughters. All the daughters looked very happy. Actually, the third daughter, Rukiah, was not happy. She was the most beautiful daughter and her sisters were very jealous to
her. Therefore, they put charcoal dust on her body. Her white skin turned into dark.
In the meantime, I Tuing-Tuing’s parents arrived at the merchant’s house. After they explained
the purpose of their visit, the merchant asked all his daughters to answer.
All the daughters rejected! They also insulted I Tuing-Tuing as a fish. Suddenly, Rukiah answered, “Yes, I will marry I Tuing-Tuing.” All of his sisters were laughing. They said that Rukiah was crazy. They did not know that Rukiah did not want to live with them anymore.
I Tuing-Tuing was very happy. Finally, there was a girl who was willing to be his wife. He
did not care although Rukiah’s skin was very dark. And after they got married, they lived in their own house. I Tuing-Tuing worked as a fisherman and Rukiah stayed at home. Rukiah had lot of time washing her skin. Later, it was completely clean. She got her beauty back.
While she was waiting for her husband, a man knocked the door. Rukiah opened it and saw a
handsome man in front of the door.
“Who are you?” asked Rukiah.
“My name is I Tuing-Tuing. Where is my wife?” he asked.
“You are lying. I Tuing-Tuing has fish scales in his body.”
“It is true. But after I got married, I’m cured.
My skin has changed into normal. By the way, who are you?” asked I Tuing-Tuing. He also did not recognize his wife.
“I’m Rukiah. My sisters have done a terrible thing to me. They put charcoal dust in my body.
But I have completely washed and cleaned my skin,” said Rukiah.
And they were very happy. They were not ugly anymore. All the villagers really admired their great looks. And Rukiah’s sisters were even more jealous to her.***

The Legend of Pamboang

Folklore from West Sulawesi

A long time ago, three men came to Majene, West Sulawesi. They wanted to open a new place. Those three men were brothers. They were I Lauase, I Lauwella, and I Labuqang.
They arrived in the beach. It was empty. No humans lived there. So the three brothers divided jobs among them.
I Lauase worked in the land. He wanted to open new fi elds for plantation. I Lauwella and I Labuqang worked on the beach. I Lauwella cleaned the beach from the seaweeds and I Labuqang covered the hole made by the crabs.
They worked hard everyday. And finally they succeeded. I Lauase had fields with so many trees, fruits and vegetables. I Lauwella and I Labuqang already cleaned the beach from the seaweeds and the covered the holes.
One by one people came to their place.
And slowly it became a new village.
The three brothers were the leaders of the village. They thought they had to fi nd a name for their village.
“I have an idea. Let’s name it Pallayarang Tallu,” said I Lauase.
“What does it mean,” asked I Lauwella.
“Well, Pallayarang means ship pole and Tallu means three,” explained I Lauase.
They all agreed. Since then they named the village as Pallayarang Tallu.
More and more people came to Pallayarang Tallu. The village was growing into a small town.
The name Pallayarang Tallu was so famous. One man was interested to know more about the new town. His name was Puatta Di Karena. He was from Passokkorang kingdom. He went to Pallayarang Tallu with many people.
They were refugees. Their kingdom was attacked by their enemy. They came to Pallayarang Tallu to ask for help.
The leader, Puatta Di Karena came to I Lauase’s house.
“Our kingdom is attacked. Can you help us?” asked Puatta Di Karena.
“I’m not the only leader here. I have to discuss with my brothers,” answered I Lauase.
Later, the three brothers held a meeting.
After that they met Puatta Di Karena to tell him about their decision.
“We cannot help you. We don’t have enough soldiers yet. You can see that
Pallayarang Tallu is a new town. There are not so many people live here,” explained I Lauase.
“But we really need your help. Pallayarang Tallu is the nearest town from our kingdom. Besides that, the three of you are very strong men. You can build this town. It means you have great power. I’m sure we can win if you help us,” said Puatta Di Karena.
He continued, “If you help us, I will give you tambo.” Tambo means fee or money.
The three brothers then discussed.
They needed more money.
And the tambo could be used to build Pallayarang Tallu.
“When will you give us the tambo?” asked I Lauase.
“Next week,” answered Puatta Di Karena.
Then the people of Pallayarang Tallu helped them. They won! However Puatta Di Karena did not show up yet. He disappeared.
Nobody knew where he was. The people of Pallayarang Tallu always talked abou the tambo. Slowly the word tambo changed into tamboang, then changed into pamboang. Since then the people changed the name Pallayarang Tallu into Pamboang. Pamboang is an area in Majene, West Sulawesi.***

Samba’ Paria

Folklore from West Sulawesi

A long time ago in Mandar, West Sulawesi, lived a beautiful girl named Samba’ Paria. She lived with her younger sister in a hut.
Their hut was in the jungle. They both lived alone. Their parents had died. Samba’ Paria loved her younger sister very much. They always helped each other.
One night they had a dinner. Suddenly someone knocked the door.
“Who is that?” asked Samba’ Paria.
“We are the soldiers and the king. We are lost in the jungle. We are hunting here,” said one man.
Samba’ Paria then opened the door.
There were some soldiers and the king!
Samba’ Paria was very nervous. She did not know what to do. She was speechless.
“May we come in?” asked the king.
“Yes, you can,” answered Samba’ Paria.
And when the king was inside the house, he was amazed by Samba’ Paria’s beauty. He never saw a beautiful girl like her. The king fell in love with her. However he had a bad plan. He wanted to kidnap Samba’ Paria and brought her to the palace. He was thinking and fi nally he had an idea.
“I want to drink water from the waterfall.
And I want your sister to go to the waterfall and bring me the water,” said the king.
In a hurry, the sister went to the waterfall.
Right after she left, the king immediately asked the soldiers to take Samba’ Paria. She tried to release herself. But it was useless.
The soldiers were too strong. She knew she could not escape, so she grabbed some leaves and put them one by one on the way to the palace.
Later, the younger sister arrived at home. She was so confused. No one was at home . The door was open .
She was crying and screaming her sister’s name. Suddenly she saw some leaves on the ground.
She followed the leaves and finally she arrived in the palace.
“Kakak Samba’, are you there? If you are in the palace, please show me yourself in the window,” asked the sister.
The king heard that. Actually Samba’ Paria was locked in the room and she could not show herself because the room did not have any windows. The king wanted the sister to think that Samba’ Paria did not want to see her anymore. So he put a cat in the window.
The sister was surprised to see a cat in the window. She thought her older sister did not want to see her anymore. So she went home crying.
Samba’ Paria was also sad. The king asked her to marry him. But she did not want to. Days and nights she was locked in the room. She was always thinking about her younger sister.
She knew her sister needed her very much. Samba’ Paria prayed to God.
She asked God to help her escape from the palace.
God heard her prayer. In one night, she was able to escape! She ran very fast and finally she arrived at home.
The two girls hugged each other. They were crying. This time they cried because they were very happy. Samba’ Paria knew the king would follow her. So the two girls set a trap. She prepared some chilies and later she was grinding them. Finally, she mixed it with water. She wanted to throw the water to king’s face.
And it worked! And when the king arrived at their home, Samba’ Paria threw the water to the king’s face. The king’s screamed in pain. He fell and his head hit a big stone.
He died instantly. Since then Samba’ Paria lived peacefully with her younger sister. ***

Hawadiyah

Folklore from West Sulawesi

The people of Mandar were farmers. Most of them worked for a rich man. He hired the villagers to work in his coconut plantation. The rich man had a beautiful daughter. Her name was Bekkandari. She had a best friend. Her name was Hawadiyah. Unlike Bekkandari, Hawadiyah was a poor girl. She lived with her mother in a hut. Hawadiyah was also beautiful.
Many people said she was more beautiful than Bekkandari.
It was harvest time. The villagers worked very hard in the plantation. Hawadiyah helped her mother collect the coconuts. Bekkandari’s father gave coconuts as the fee for the villagers. The more they collected the coconuts, the more Bekkandari’s father gave them the fee.
After it was finished, Hawadiyah’s mother received five coconuts. She immediately grated and cooked them in order to get the coconut oil. She then brought the coconut oil to Bekkandari’s father. Other villagers also brought the coconut oil to him. Bekkandari’s father would sail to Java to sell his coconut oil. The villagers also wanted to sell their coconut oil, so they brought it to Bekkandari’s father.
Hawadiyah’s mother really wanted to see her daughter to get married. She prayed to God. She hoped the man who bought her coconut oil would marry her daughter.
Later Bekkandari’s father and his men sailed the sea. When they arrived in Java, Bekkandari’s father sold the coconut oil to a rich merchant. He was young and handsome. When he bought the coconut oil from Hawadiyah’s mother, the merchant felt something strange. He saw a picture of a beautiful girl in the coconut oil. The merchant could not forget about her. Later he decided to go to Mandar to find the beautiful girl.
When he arrived, the merchant went around.
He met Bekkandari’s father. He brought the merchant to his house. He introduced the merchant to his daughter, Bekkandari. She loved him instantly.
She tried to approach the merchant.
However, it was not Bekkandari’s face he saw in the coconut oil. So he ignored her. Finally, the merchant met Hawadiyah. He was so happy finally he found the girl of his dream. The merchant went to Hawadiya’s house to propose her. The proposal was accepted and they were going to get married in the merchant’s house in Java. Bekkandari was jealous.
She planned something bad. She told the merchant that she was also going to Java to accompany Hawadiyah. Before the wedding, Bekkandari threw hot oil to Hawadiyah’s face. Hawadiyah was very sad. She was not beautiful anymore. She ran away and hid in a jungle.
The merchant was confused. Hawadiyah was missing. He asked all his men to find her. In the mean time, Bekkandari kept on telling the merchant that Hawadiyah ran away, and she was ready to be her wife.
Again, the merchant ignored her.
In the jungle, Hawadiyah made friend with the animals. They were sorry to see her life. They suggested Hawadiyah to take a bath in magic pond in the jungle. Amazingly after she took a bath, she got her beauty back.
And when the merchant’s men found her, they immediately brought her to the merchant’s house.
Hawadiyah told him about everything. The merchant was really angry. He asked his men to get rid of Bekkandari from his house. Later the merchant and Hawadiyah got married. Her mother was happy to see Hawadiyah to get married and have a happy life.***

The Legend of Pattuddu Dance

Folklore from West Sulawesi

ONCE upon a time in Mandar, West Sulawesi, there was a kingdom. The king and the queen had a handsome prince. He was still single. The prince was a diligent man. The palace had a beautiful garden and a pond. There was also waterfall in the pond. The prince always spent his time in the garden. He loved gardening and always took care of the plants.
In one afternoon, rain fell heavily. After it stopped, the prince went to the garden. On the way to the garden, he saw a beautiful rainbow. The rainbow ended in the pond. There were seven doves flying through rainbow and they stopped flying above the pond. Amazingly, those seven doves turned into beautiful angels. They put their shawls on the ground then they all swam in the pond.
The prince watched them. He was amazed by their beauty and wanted to marry one of them. He stole one of the shawls and hid it. After all, those angels finished taking a bath and one by one they wore their shawls and changed back as a dove. However, the youngest angel could not find her shawl. She cried and then made a promise.
"If a man finds my shawl, I will marry him. And if a woman finds my shawl, I will treat her as my own sister," said the angel.
The prince heard the promise. He then pretended to help her. Because they could not find the shawl, then the prince asked the angel to stay with him in the palace. The angel agreed because without her shawl she could not fly back to her home in heaven.
Then the prince and the angel got married. Later, they had a baby boy. They loved their son very much. The prince and the angel took care of their son lovingly.
In one morning, the angel wanted to enter one room. She wanted to use the room for their baby. The room was locked and the prince always forbade her to enter the room. Because she really wanted her son to sleep in the room, she ignored her husband warning.
When she was inside the room, she was surprised. She found her shawl. She then knew that her husband stole her shawl and never planned to return it.
The angel immediately wore her shawl. She then came to her husband.
"My Dear Husband, I have found my shawl. Now I want to go back home to heaven. Please take care of our son. And if you miss me, just look at the rainbow."
The angel then waggled her shawl. Slowly, she flew to the sky. The prince was very sad. He just lost his beautiful wife. And every time he missed her, he always looked at the rainbow.
The people of Mandar, West Sulawesi, then imitated the way the angel waggling her shawl into movements of a dance. The dance is known as Pattuddu Dance. ***

Folklore from West Sumatra

Mak Isun Kayo

Folklore from West Sumatra

ONCE upon a time in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra lived a young man named Mak Isun. He was a diligent farmer. Mak Isun always thought of how he could be richer. One day, while he was at the rice field, a man passed by. His name was Pak Sole. He brought a monkey. Me was a monkey tamer. He made money by doing peoples order to pick up the coconuts. He did not have to climb the coconut trees. He always asked his monkey to do that job.
"Pak Soleh, where are you going?" asked Mak Isun.
"I'm going to pick up some coconuts"
"How much do you get for the work?"
"That depends. If the place is near from here, I got three coconuts. But if the place is far, I get five coconut. In one day, I can get 25 coconuts," answered Pak Soleh.
Mak Isun was thinking. "Hmm... if I can get 25 coconuts in one day, I could be rich. I can sell the coconuts at the market. I'm sure I can get a lot of money."
"Pak Soleh, do you want to sell your monkey?"
"This is not my monkey. This belongs to Pak Kari. I work for him. But I'm not sure about my job. I heard Pak Kari wants to sell all his monkeys," replied Pak Soleh.
"Don't worry, I will buy all hos monkeys and you can work for me later."
Then, he met Pak Kari and bought all his monkeys. He also hired all Pak Kari's employees. He told the villagers to contact him if they needed service to pick up the coconuts.
Mak Isun was right. He had a lot of money to his new business. He was richer. People then called him Mak Isun Kayo, kayo means rich.
However, Mak Isun Kayo was not satisfied. He wanted to get more money. So, he told his employees. "Now the fees of picking up the coconuts are raised. If the place is near from here, they have to pay five coconuts. And if the place is far from here, they have to pay ten coconuts," said Mak Isun.
"But the villagers will not agree. Its too expensive," said one of his employees.
"I don't care. They will not have a choice. I am the only one who has this business. The villagers will pay me after all."
All the employees knew that was not a wise decision. They then planned to do something.
Later in the morning, Mak Isun was surprised. He heard noise around his house. When he peeped through the windows, he saw a lot of monkeys around his house. He asked for help, but no one dared to help him. He then asked help from his employees.
"We will help you, but you have to promise not to increase the fees!"
"OK, I promise," said Mak Isun.
The villagers were laughing. They always talked about a rich man who was surrounded by his own monkeys.***

Maninjau Lake

Folklore from West Sumatra

THERE was a village in the foot of Tinjau Mountain. The villagers lived happily. Among the villagers there lived bujang Sembilan or nine young men. People called them bujang sembilan because they were nine brothers. Kukuban was the oldest. Their parents died a long time ago. Bujang sembilan had a youngest sister. Her name was Sani.
The head of the village was Datuk Lambatang. He was a kind and wise leader. He always took care of the villagers, especially bujang sembilan and their sister. He often visited them with his wife and his son, Giran.
Giran never missed joining his father to visit bujang sembilan's house. he wanted to meet Sani. He fell in love with her. Fortunately, Sani also loved him.
Giran told his parents. He said that he wanted to marry Sani. Datuk Limbang agreed. He would talk to bujang semnbilan about the marriage after the harvest.
Meanwhile, Sani also talked to her brothers about Giran. They all agreed. And they also knew Datuk Limbatang would propose her after the harvest.
Later, harvest was coming. All the villagers were happy. They had a habit. The celebrated harvest by having pencak silat competition. It is traditional martial art. Each family sent a young man to join the competition. Kukuban was the representative from his family and Giran represented his family.
Kukuban first had a match with a young man. Kukuban won the match. He then had a match with another man. Again he won. He always won. And it was time for Giran.
Later, the two of them had an amazing match. Both of them were very skillful. At the first Kukuban underestimated Giran. He was much younger than Kukuban. But he was wrong. Giran could beat him. Kukuban lost the match!
Kukuban was very upset. He though that Giran would give up. Especially that Giran would marry his sister. He felt that Giran humiliated him. He was waiting for the right time to revenge!
As agreed, Datuk Limbatang and his family came to bujang sebilan's house. He wanted to to propose Sani to be Giran's wife.
Surprisingly, Kukuban rejected the proposal. "No, I will not let Giran marry my sister. He was not a good man. I have a proof. In the pencak silat match, he attacked me brutally", said Kukuban.
"But it was only a game. I don't think he attacked you brutally. Many people watch the match and I'm sure they all agreed with me," said Dauk Limbatang.
Unfortunately, Kukuban had made up his mind. He rejected the proposal. Sani and Giran were very sad.
However both of them still met secretly.
Kukuban finally found out. He and his brothers send them to the traditional court. He accused them having a sinful relationship. And they were punished. They would be thrown to the crater of Tinjau Mountain.
"We are innocent. We never do anything wrong," said Giran. Then he prayed.
"God, when we are wrong, please destroy our body in the crater. But if we are innocent, make this mountain erupt and change bujang sembilan as fish."
Then they were thrown into crater.
Not long after that, the mountain erupted. People saved their lives. Amazingly, bujang sembilan slowly turned into fish. And the crater was getting bigger. It finally became a lake. People named it as Maninjau Lake. ***

The White Gibbon

Folklore from West Sumatra

THERE was a rich and noble family in Kampung Alai, Tiku Beach West Sumatra. The father was a rich merchant. His business was making and selling big ships. His name was Nahkoda Baginda. He had a very beautiful daughter. Her name was Puti Julian.
Puti Julian was single. Actually, many young man fell in love. However they did not have any confidence to propose her. They came from common family. Puti Julian only wanted to marry a man from noble family, just like her family.
Puti Julian was restless. In her sleep, he always dreamt of a handsome man. He was also from a noble family. His name was Sutan Rumandung.
Nahkoda Baginda understood how his daughter felt. He wanted to find the man. He held a party and invited young men from other places. Unfortunately, Sutan Rumandang did not attend the party. He was sailing.
Nahkoda Baginda asked a holy man to guide Sutan Rumandung and his ship to anchor in their place. Days passed by and finally Sutan Rumandang arrived at Tiku Beach.
Nahkoda Baginda invited Sutan Ramandung to go to his house. When Sutan Ramandung and Puti Julian met, they fell in love. Puti Julian was very happy. Finally she could meet the man in her dream. Sutan Rumandung was also very happy. He never met a very beautiful girl like Puti Julian.
Nahkoda Bagianda asked them to get married. However, Sutan Ramandung asked to delay the marriage. He wanted to sail and get a lot of money. Puti Julian agreed. Before they said goodbye, they made a promise.
"I will always wait for you here. I will never marry another man. If I do, I will change into a gibbon," said Puti Julian. Gibbon was a kind of monkey. The local people said it siamang.
"I will also keep my promose. I will never marry another girl. If I do, my ship will sink and I will die in the sea," said Sutan Rumandung.
After they both said their promise, Sutan and his crew left. They were sailing.
Puti Julian always waited for him. Everyday she went to the beach and looked at the sea. Everytime a ship came closer, she was always anxious. But Sutan Rumandung did not come yet. Puti Julian was restless. She was getting older and she was not married yet.***

Sabai nan Aluih

Folklore from West Sumatra

A long time ago in Padang Tarok, West Sumatra, lived a family. The father's name was Rajo Babanding and yhe mother's name was Sadun Saribai. They had two children, one daughter and one son. Their daughter's name was Sabai nan Aluih and their son's name was Mangkutak Alam. Those two children had different personalities. Mankutak Alam was lazy. He never helped her parents. He often played outside with friends. While Sabai nan Aluih was an obdient girl. She was also kind to other people. Everybody loved her. She was famous because she was beautiful.
The news about Sabai nan Aluih was finally heard by a rich merchant. His name was Rajo nan Panjang. Nobody liked him. He was rich but he never helped people. He was also cruel. He had three strong guards. they always protected Rajo nan Panjang.
Rajo nan Panjang wanted to marry Sabai nan Aluih. He sent his guards to meet Sabai's father, Rajo Babanding. The guards told him the proposal. However Rajo Babanding rejected it.
"I'm sorry. I don't want my daughter to marry a man who is as old as I am," said Rajo Babanding.
The guards went home. They told Rajo nan Panjang that the Proposal was rejected. He was angry. He felt that he was being humiliated. Again he sends his guards. This time he asked his guards to invite Rajo Babanding to meet him at Padang Panahunan. It was a place that people used for a fight.
Sabai nan Aluih knew about the marriage proposal. And she also knew that Rajo nan Panjang challanged her father to fight. Sabai nan Aluih tried to stop his father to go to Padang Panahunan. She had a bad dream last night.
"Don't worry my daugter. I'll be fine." said Rajo babanding.
Then he went to Padang Panahuna. When he arrived, Rajo nan Panjang was already there. Rajo Babanding did not know that Rajo nan Panjang's guards were hiding. They would also attack Rajo Babanding. One of them brought a rifle. He would shoot Rajo Babanding if Rajo nan panjang lost hte fight.
"Rajo Babanding, you should accept my wedding proposal I'm very rich, you know!" said Rajo nan Panjang.
"I don't care!" said Rajo Babanding.
Later they fought. Both were very powerful. They fought bravely. However Rajo Babanding had better skills in martial arts. Soon Rajo nan Panjang lost the fight.
The guard knew he had to protect his master. Silently he aimed his rifle at Rajo Babanding. He shot the man! Rajo Babanding fell down. He died instantly.
Not long after that Sabai nan Aluih arrived in padang Panahunan. She was sad. She saw her father was on the ground. She cried. She knew her father was shot. She was angry. "Why did you shoot him? My father did not bring any weapon."
"Ha ha ha... Your father tried to stop me from marrying you," said Rajo nan Panjang.
Sabai nan Aluih grabbed the rifle. With great courage she shot Rajo nan Panjang. He died instantly. Later all the villagers came to Padang pananhunan. They arrested Rajo nan panjang guards. They also talked about Sabai nan Aluih's great courage. Until now people still talk about Sabai nan Aluih and they put her name in traditional song.***

Pak Belalang

Folklore from West Sumatra

Pak Belalang was famous. He had a magic book that could tell everything. He always learned something every time he read the magic book.
It was a beautiful evening. Pak belalang had some guests. Suddenly he asked his son to get him the magic book. He wanted to show his magic ability to the guests.
After reading the magic book, he said, "I think there is a mouse in the trap."
His son immediately went to the kitchen and took the mousetrap. Pak Belalang was right! There was a mouse caught in the trap.
The guests were surprised. They were Belalang's magic book.
After all the guests went home, Pak Belalang laughed. "Ha...ha...ha... I fooled them. They didn't know I had put a mouse trap. Ha...ha...ha..."
Yes, Pak Belalang was a liar. He actually did not have a magic book. It was just an ordinary book. He lied because he wanted to be famous.
One day, the king called Pak Belalang to the palace to find the missing jewellery. The king gave him seven days to find it. Pak Belalang knew that if he could not find the jewellery, he would be punished. He would go to jail.
Pak Belalang went to every place to find the jewellery. On the seventh day he still could not find them. So, he held a farewell dinner with his family.
Pak Belalang said to his wife, "Please make some pancakes."
When the first pancake was ready, Pak Belalang said, "This one is yellow. Please make another." When the second one is ready, he said, "This is too brown, make me another one."
Within every pancake, Pak Belalang said too dark, too fat, too thin, and so on. Meanwhile, Pak Belalang did not know that some thieves were hiding under his house. Those were the thieves who stole the king's jewellery.
The thieves wanted to know what Pak Belalang would say about them. When they heard the words yellow, brown, dark, fat, thin, they become frightened because each of them were yellow, brown, dark fat and thin.
A moment later, the seven thieves knocked on his door. They cried, "Please help us, Pak Belalang! We will return the jewellery. We promise not to steal anymore!"
Pak Belalang then brought the jewellery to the palace. The king was so happy and gave him great gifts.
Pak Belalang was so thankful. he promised himself not to lie anymore. Next time he wouldn't be lucky. He could be punished for his wrong doing. ***

Pak Belalang= Mr. Grasshopper

Legend of Desa Sungai Jernih

Folklore From West Sumatra

ONCE upon a time in West Sumatra, a widow took her two children to a party. Her children, a boy and a girl, were very happy. They wore beautiful clothes to the party. they found delicious foods, and saw many guests in the party. The children were having a great time.
There was also a traditional music show. The show crowded with people.
The children asked their mother if they could see the music show which was located a few meters away.
"Yes, you two may go there. But please remember, don't go to far," said the mother. The children ran to the stage where the music show was performed. They enjoyed the music. But they were bored just watching the show so they took a walk around the stage. They forgot their mother's message not to go too far.
Suddenly they saw a pond. The water was very clear and fresh. Because the sun was very hot, they were tempted to play in the water. So they took off their clothes and jumped in to the water. They swam together happily. It felt so fresh!
Meanwhile, the party was almost over. The mother remembered her two children. She felt so desperate because she could not find them. The day turned into night. The children were still missing. The mother cried and cried.
She went home without her children.
She fell a sleep after a long hour of crying. And she had a dream about her children. In her dream, she met an old woman. The old woman told her, "Your children are in the pond near the party house. If you want to see them, throw a handful of rice in to the pond. Your children will appear."
As soon as she woke up, she quickly ran to the pond. She also had a handful of rice in her hand.
When she reached the pond, she threw the rice in to the pond and she called her children's names. The dream was true! Two big fish with beautiful colors appeared in the pond. The mother cried when she saw them. Her children turned into big beautiful fish because they disobeyed their mother's message.
The mother cried and cried again. All the people of the village cheered her up. But she was still very sad.
The village where the pond was located is now called Desa Sungai Jernih. It is called so because the water in the pond was very clear. Desa Sungai Jernih is located in northern part of Nagari Baso, in Kabupaten Agam, West Sumatra.
The name of the village also reminds people today in West Sumatra that it is important to obey our parents.
Today, the people of the village come to that pond because they think it is a sacred place. ***

Pak Lebai Malang

Folklore from West Sumatra

Pak Lebai was a wishy-washy man. He always change his mind before he did something. He lived in a village next to a river. Everyday, he always used his sampan for travelling at the river.
One day, Pak Lebai was paddling his sampan at the river. Suddenly, he heard someone called out his name. It was his neighbour.
"Pak Lebai, can you come to my house tomorrow? I will have a party", said the neighbor.
Pak Lebai was happy. He loved party because he could eat delicious food. He also could get a buffalo's head from the party. Still on the same day, he got another invitation. Those two party invitations made him confused. The two parties were held at the same time, but at the different places. The two neighbors who invited him lived in different sides of the river.
One neighbor lived on the east side and another one lived in the west side.
"I will go to the east side. I can have two heads of buffalo. He is richer," said Pak Lebai.
On the following day, he paddled his sampan with great power to the east side. He did not want to be late and lost the buffalo's head. On the way to the party, he met some friends.
"The party is awful. There are not many buffalo's heads. He is very stingy, "said one of them.
"I don't care. I'm still going there. He is my friend. I'm sure he will give me the buffalo's head," said Pak Lebai.
He immediately paddled his sampan. Right before he arrived at the east side of the river, he changed his mind. He knew the host was stingy. He thought that he would not get a buffalo's head. So he turned back his sampan and went to the west side. Again, he paddled his sampan with great power. he did not have much time.
Unfortunately, right before he arrived at the west side he met his friends again.
"What are you doing here, Pak Lebai? The party is over." Pak Lebai was upset and blaming himself for being wishy-washy. He also tired because he was padding back and forth in the river. later he fell asleep in his sampan. He did not realize his sampan was drifting away at the river. When he woke up, he was already in the different village. When all his neighbors heard what happened to Pak Lebai, then they all started to cal him Pak Lebai Malang or the poor Mister Lebai.***

Minangkabau

Minangkabau
Folklore from West Sumatra

Do you know why the roofs of houses in West Sumatra have the shape of buffalo horns? Here is the story. Once upon a time there was a kingdom in West Sumatra. The people worked as farmers. Their lives were full of happiness. The land was fertile and the weather was always beautiful. The people also had a wise king. He always protected the people. However, soon their happy lives would be disturbed. Majapahit, a kingdom from
Java would attack them. The people were so scared. They were so restless. They went to the king to talk about it. The king tried to calm them down."Don't worry, my fellow country men. I know Majapahit have many soldiers. They are also great in war. If we fight them, maybe we lose. But I have an idea how to beat them, 'said the king. Then he continued. ÒWe can challenge them to a buffalo fight. If their buffalo dies, we win. But if our buffalo dies, they win." "We have to make sure our buffalo will win, Your Majesty. How?" asked one of the people. The king smiled. He continued, ÒWe just need to find a strong baby buffalo." The king then
ordered his people to give him the strongest baby buffalo. After that, the strong baby buffalo was separated from his mother. They did not give any food to the baby buffalo for several days. The baby buffalo was very hungry! The baby buffalo cried and cried. He asked for food. Then the king took two sharp knives and attached them strongly to the baby buffalo's horn. Now it was time for the buffalo battle. Everyone gathered on the field. The Majapahit soldier released a big and wild buffalo out of his cage. Everyone was surprised with the size of the buffalo. Later, the West Sumatran released their baby buffalo. The Majapahit soldiers were laughing. "Ha ha ha. It's so small. How can you win?" They did not know that the hungry baby buffalo had two sharp knives on the horn. The baby buffalo ran fast towards the big buffalo and went straight under the big buffalo's stomach to find the teat. The knives at the baby buffalo's horns cut through the big buffalo's stomach. The big buffalo fell down to the ground and died. "Yes! We win, we win, we win!" The people of West Sumatra cheered. Then, the king changed the name of the kingdom into Minangkabau. It means the buffalo won. That is why the roofs of the houses in West Sumatra are similar to the form of buffalo horns and the traditional headdress of the women of West Sumatra is also like buffalo horns. ***

Folklore from West Kalimantan

The Legend of Ruai Bird

Folklore from West Kalimantan

ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom in West Kalimantan. The King had seven daughters. The queen had passed away. The king did not want to remarry.
The seven daughters were beautiful. However, the youngest daughter was the most beautiful. She was also the kindest. She often helped other people. Her sisters were very much different. They were lazy. They also had bad attitude. They were cruel to people.
The king knew about his daughters behaviours. He often advise his older daughter to behaviours. He often advise his older daughters to behave like the youngest daughter. Sadly, they never listened to the king's advice. They hated their youngest sister because the king often praised her good behaviour.
The older daughters often did terrible things to the youngest daughter. They often hit her. She was very sad. She often cried. She could not tell it to her father because her older sisters always intimidated her. They would hit her even harder if she told their father.
One day, the king asked all her daughters to meet him.
"I'm going to the neighboring kingdom. I'll go for several months. While I'm gone, my youngest daughter will rule the kingdom. Do you understand?" asked the king.
"Yes, we do, Father, "said all the daughters.
The older daughters were angry. They very upset about their youngest sister was asked to rule the kingdom.
After the king left, they planned something bad. They wanted to get rid of their youngest sister. They pretended to be nice to her. The youngest daughter was happy. Finally, her older sisters were nice to her.
The older sisters asked her to go fishing. They asked to go to Gua Batu or a stone cave. There was a river flowing inside the cave. And there were a lot of fish in that river.
The youngest daughter was so happy when they finally arrived at the cave. She did not know that her sisters were going to do something bad to her.
"Hurry up, let's go inside the cave. You can find a lot of fish inside the cave," said the oldest daughter.
The youngest was so eager. As she went inside the cave, she did not know that her sisters stayed outside the cave. They kept on asking her to go inside the cave.
She kept on walking until she was lost! She was calling out all her sisters, but they did not respond. She then understood that her sisters did not want her to rule the kingdom anymore.
She was very sad. She cried. Suddenly an old man came. He was a holy man. He was meditating in the cave. She changed her tears into eggs.
"Don't worry, I can help you. You can go back to the kingdom but you have to change into a bird. I name you Ruai Bird. After that, Brood these eggs. After they hatch, the birds will accompany you," said the old man.
She agreed. Slowly she changed into a beautiful bird. And after all the eggs were hatched, they went back to the kingdom. They all stayed at the tree near the kingdom. They all saw how the king punished the older sisters.***

The Greedy Fisherman

Folklore from West Kalimantan

A long time ago in Sintang, West Kalimantan, lived a fisherman with his family. The fisherman was poor.

Everyday he went fishing in the river using his fishing rod, because he did not have a net. That was why he always caught a few fish.

In one morning the fisherman rowed his sampan in the river. As always, he brought his fishing rod. He stopped his sampan and put the bait.

He was waiting but no fish caught the bait yet. He changed the bait. He hoped this time a fish would catch the bait. Sadly, he was not lucky yet.

After waiting for a long time, finally he felt that a fish caught his bait.

“Aha!”, he said. He slowly pulled the string of his fishing rod. It was hard!

The fisherman could not pulled the string.

Wow! The fish must be very big!

The fisherman thought.

He was thinking about the size of the fish. He knew that the big fish was very expensive. He hoped he would get a lot of money if he could sell the fish.

After thinking about the money, he suddenly had more power to pull the string of his rod. He pulled the rod with great power, but still, he did not succeed. The fisherman was very tired, he had been pulling with great power. The fisherman decided to get some rest.

It was almost dark, the fisherman thought that he already had enough rest. He hoped that the fish would be weak.

He took a deep breath and counted, one, two, three! He pulled the String, and yes! This time he succeeded! He lifted the fishing rod.

He wanted to see the size of the fish.

However, he did not see any fish!

Instead, he found some wire on the hook.

At first he was very disappointed.

But when he looked at the wire carefully, he was so happy. The wire was made of gold. He wanted to sell the wire and had a lot of money.

So he pulled the wire, he pulled more and more wire. The wire covered all area in his sampan.

Suddenly, there was a voice. “Enough, don’t take the wire anymore”.

The fisherman ignored the voice.

He wanted to take the gold wire as much as he could. He wanted to be rich.

“Enough! Don’t take the wire anymore, stop now!” Again, the voice asked him to stop.

“No! I don’t want to stop now!” said the fi sherman. He continued pulling the gold wire. The sampan was fi lled with the gold wire. It could not hold the wire anymore. Slowly, the sampan sunk to the bottom of the river.

The fi sherman did not realize that because he was busy pulling the wire.

When he found out what happened, it was too late. The sampan was completely sunk and the fi Sherman panicked!

He wanted to save the wire but the sampan sunk very fast. Finally, the fisherman swam to the river side. He regretted his bad behavior.

People heard about the fi Sherman and his wire. Since then people named the river as Wire River or Sungai Kawat. ***

The Crying Stone

A Folktale from West Kalimantan

IN a small village, a girl lives with her mother. The girl is very beautiful. Everyday she puts make-up and wears her best clothes. She doesn't like to help her mother work in a field. The girl is very lazy.
One day, the mother asks the girl to accompany her to go to the market to buy some food. At first the girl refuses, but the mother persuades her by saying they are going to buy new clothes. The girl finally agrees. But she asks her mother to walk behind her. She doesn't want to walk side by side with her mother.
Although her mother is very sad, she agrees to walk behind her daughter.
On the way to the market, everybody admires the girl's beauty. They are also curious. Behind the beautiful girl, there is an old woman with a simple dress. The girl and her mother look very different!
"Hello, pretty lady. Who is the woman behind you?" asks them. “She is my servant,” answers the girl.
The mother is very sad, but she doesn't say anything.
The girl and the mother meet other people. Again they ask who the woman behind the beautiful girl. Again the girl answers that her mother is her servant. She always says that her mother is her servant every time they meet people.
At last, the mother cannot hold the pain anymore. She prays to God to punish her daughter. God answers her prayer. Slowly, the girl's leg turns into stone. The process continues to the upper part of the girl's body. The girl is very panicky.
"Mother, please forgive me!" she cries and ask her mother to forgive her.
But it's too late. Her whole body finally becomes a big stone. Until now people still can see tears falling down the stone. People then call it the crying stone or batu menangis. ***

The Wise King

A Folktale from West Kalimantan

"Hello everybody, come and visit my restaurant. I have delicious food for you," Pak Razak is standing in front of his restaurant. He is inviting people to come and eat in his place.
A moment later a farmer comes. He is standing in front of the restaurant. He smells the aroma of the delicious food.
"Hmm...yummy," says the farmer.
"Hey! What are you doing? Do you want to come to my restaurant or not?' asks Pak Razak.
"No, I don't. Smelling the aroma of your delicious food makes me full," says the farmer.
"But you still have to pay! You smell my delicious food," Pak Razak is angry.
"No way! I don't want to pay! It's impossible!" The farmer is also angry.
Then Pak Razak and the farmer have an argument.
People come and ask to calm down. They suggest Pak Razak and the farmer go to the King to solve the problem.
"Please tell me what happened,” asks the King.
Pak Razak and the farmer tell the King about the problem.
"Hmm...I have the solution. Now put your coins into this bottle."
"Do you hear the sound of the coins?" asks the King to Pak Razak.
"Yes, I do," answes Pak Razak.
"Then, the farmer has just paid you. He pays your delicious aroma with the sound of his money," explains the King.
Pak Razak is silent. He knows the King is right. The King just gave him a lesson. He then apologizes to the farmer. ***

A Farmer and a Hedgehog Statue

A Farmer and
a Hedgehog Statue
Folklore from West Kalimantan

IT was a very hot day. A farmer was working on his field. He was there for several hours. He was very tired and wanted to get some rest. Just before he found a nice place to rest, he saw something very shiny. He came to the shiny object and took it. It was a hedgehog statue. It was very beautiful. Its eyes were made of diamond. Those were the shiny objects he saw. The farmer then brought the statue home. He wanted to show it to his wife. His wife was so happy. They were so poor and planned to sell the statue. At night, the farmer had a dream. A giant hedgehog came to him. He said, “Please let me stay in your home. As a return, I will give you everything you want. Just caress the statue’s head and say the prayer. There are two kinds of prayers, one is to start your wish and the second is to stop your wish. Now memorize the prayers.” The farmer told his wife about his dream. They really wanted to prove it. The farmer slowly caressed the statue's head. He said the prayer and asked for rice. Suddenly, a magic thing happened. Rice came out of the mouth of the statue. The rice kept on coming out from the statue's mouth. The farmer immediately said the prayer to stop it. It worked! The rice then stopped coming out from the statue's mouth. Now the farmer mentioned other things, they were jewellery and other stuffs they needed. In just a moment, the farmer and his wife became very rich. They then shared their materials with the neighbours. There was one neighbour who was very jealous. He was actually a thief! He wanted to know how the poor farmers became rich. After the thief found out, he stole the magic hedgehog statue. He immediately took it and ran away. He was very tired from running and was very thirsty. He wanted to get some water from the statue. He said the prayer. His wish came true. Water came out of the statue’s mouth. The thief was so happy. He drank and drank the water. He wanted to stop drinking but he did not know how to stop the water. He forgot the prayer to stop the wish. Water kept on coming out. He did not know what to do. He was really panic. He asked for help. People who saw the incident were really scared. They ran away to avoid the water. More and more water surrounded him. Slowly, it became a small pond. Water flowed on the ground. It became a river. People then named the river as Hedgehog River or Sungai Landak. ***

Folklore from West Java

Origin of Lotus

Folklore from West Java

PRABU Ranubahu is the king of Umbul Wening. He had a beautiful doughter, Dewi Anum. Dewi Arum has an unusual habit. She loves to take a bath and swim in the lake. Everytime she takes a bath, she forgets about everything, food, rest, even her duties as a princess.
The king and queen often scold Dewi Arum for her habit. But she never pays attention to them. One day, Umbul Wening is stroke by a plaque. Many of its citizen die. Many physicians try to cure the people of Umbul Wening but they all fail.
Suddenly a monk comes to see the king and says he has a vision from God. According to the monk, this plaque can be cured using the plants that live in the lake located at the Krendawahanan Forest. But, there is a catch. Those plants must be taken only by Dewi Arum.
So the king orders her daughter to go to Krencawahana Forest to get the plants. Dewi Arum agrees and goes to the forest accompanied by her beloved servants, Nyai Wijen and Nyai Empul.
After a long and tiring journey, they finally arrive at the lake.
Seeing the clear and blue water, Dewi Arum jumps and take a bath in the lake. She forgets about her duty to go and get the cure for her people. Her servants try to remind her about her duties but the princess ignores them.
Back at the kingdom, Prabu Ranubahu in worried about her doughter. So, he goes after her. He is surprised to see her daughter is bathing in the lake and forget about the duties. The king furious.
"Arum?! What are you doing? Our people are dying and here you are having fun bathing in the lake. Since you enjoy beeing in the lake so much, you should become part of the lake!"
Right after the king finishes his sentence, a strange thing happens. Dewi Arum turns into a beautiful red flower. The king is surprised and sad to see what happens to her daughter. So, he picks the flower and goes back to his kingdom.
When the king arrives with the flower, the sickness that has been plaguing the kingdom is gone.
The beautiful flower that was once Dewi Arum is called lotus. It always grows in lakes.***

Cianjur

Folklore from West Java

PAK Pelit is the head of the village. He also the richest man. He owns alot of paddy fields. All the farmers work for him, they don't have their own paddy fields.
The villagers call him Pak Pelit because he is very stingy. Pak Pelit has a son. His name is Budiman. Unlike Pak Pelit, Budiman is very generous to the villager. That's why people call him Budiman.
It's harvest time. According to their belief, the villagers have to hold a party to welcome the harvest. If not, the harvest will fail. They will not have good rice. The farmers then ask Pak Pelit to hold a party. At first Pak Pelit doesn't agree. But he is afraid not to get good rice.
Then they have a party. Suddenly an old woman comes. She asks for some food. Budiman sees what happens. He secretly takes some food and gives it to the old woman.
Nobody knows that the old woman has a supernatural power. She then stamps her foot on the ground On the place the old woman stamps up, slowly water comes out. More and more water comes out. Budiman asks his father to save himself. But Pak Pelit doesn't want to do it. He wants to save his belongings first. Budiman then asks the villagers to go to the higher ground.
Water is now high. Pak Pelit and his belongings are down in the water. Budiman and the villagers are sad.
Their village now gone and becomes a lake. Budiman suggests the villagers to live their new place. He also suggests the people to use the water in the lake as source of the irrigation for their paddy fields.
The farmers work hard. They produce rice with good quality. More and more people come and live there. The village now become a town. They call it Cianjur. Ci means water and anjur means suggestion. The villagers are thankful to Budiman's suggestion.***

The Legend of Lotus

Folklore from West Java

ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom named Umbul Wening. The king was Prabu Ranubahu. He had a very beautiful daughter. Her name was Dewi Arum. She had a strange habit. She liked to swim in a pond. She could spend hours swim­ming and forgot everything. Her parents often reminded her not to swim too long. And the king often got angry when Dewi Arum swam in the pond and neglected her duties as a princess.
Meanwhile, people lived happily. However their happy lives were disturbed when they suf­fered a terrible illness. And that made the king sad. He already asked the palace healer to heal them. Unfortunately the palace healer was also unable to heal the illness.
The king then prayed to god. Days and nights he asked god to heal the illness. And when the king was sleeping, he had a dream. An old man told the king that the illness could be healed with flowers in the pond. And the person who had to pick the flowers was Dewi Arum.
However the pond was in Krendawahana jungle.
When the king woke up, he immediately called the princess. He told her about the dream and asked her to pick the flowers. Actually the king was not sure his daughter could go there. It was very far from the palace. The king then asked the ladies-in-waiting to accompany the princess.
After going through a very difficult journey, the princess and the ladies-in-waiting finally arrived in Krendawahana jungle. Nobody had ever been to this jungle before. Wild animals were everywhere. They all were really scared. They all hoped to find the pond soon and picked the flowers. They really wanted to leave the jungle immediately.
Finally, they found the pond. It was very beauti­ful. The water was very clear. For a moment, they all forgot about their mission. They were amazed by the beauty of the pond. The princess was the happiest person. She had never seen a beautiful pond like this. She swam and swam for hours. The ladies-in-waiting had tried to remind the princess. They asked her to pick the flowers and went home. Unfortunately she ignored them.
Meanwhile the king was waiting in the palace. He was very restless. He knew the people really needed the flowers to heal the illness.
The king was impatient. He could not wait any longer. He then went to the jungle to follow the princess. When the king arrived at the pond, he saw the princess swimming! The king was really angry.
“Dewi Arum! What are you doing here? Our people are dying and you are having fun swim­ming in the pond. I’ve told you many times not to neglect your duties. You are allowed to swim but you have to do your duties first. I’m really disappointed with you! You don’t deserve to be the princess and live in the palace. You deserve to live here in the pond!” said the king. He was really angry.
Amazingly, the princess disappeared from the water. Later it appeared a beautiful flower. The king was surprised.
He regretted what he said. But it was too late. He knew his daughter could not live with him in the palace anymore. The princess had changed into beautiful flowers. And when the king brought the flower to the palace, surprisingly everybody was cured. And people were also amazed by the flowers. They named it Lotus. ***

Princess Nilarani

Folklore from West Java

ONCE upon a time in West Java, there was a kingdom named Pasir Batang. The kingdom was ruled by KingMarundata. The King had only one child. Her name was Princess Nilarani.

The king and the queen loved the princess very much. She was not only beautiful but also kind-hearted. She always helped people. That was why the people of Pasir Batang kingdom also loved her. Many young men had tried to propose her and asked her to be their wife. But Princess Nilarani could not decide.One of the young men the princess refused to marry was Duruwiksa. He was a son of a witch. The witch was so angry. She kidnapped Princess Nilarani and changed her into a very ugly woman.

The king and the queen were sad.They then made a promise. They would give a lot of jewelleries to whomever who could find Princess Nilarani.

Many people searched for Princess Nilarani. One of them was Prince Sumirat from the neighbouring kingdom. He was a handsome man and had great skills in martial arts.He had heard that a witch kidnapped Princess Nilarani. He also knew that the witch lived across a jungle. Nobody dared to cross the jungle. There were robbers and wild animals lived in there. Those robbers were mean and would harm everyone. Prince Sumirat was a brave man.

He crossed the jungle and met the robbers. The robbers forcedPrince Sumirat to give them his moneyor they would kill him. Prince Sumirat refused to give his money. The robbers then get angry. They were fighting.Luckily, Prince Sumirat had great skills in martial arts.He won the fight and continued his journey.Later, he found the witch’s house.

He was sneaking to the window. He heard that Princess Nilarani could be cured if she drank water from a kendi.

It was a water jug. The witch hid the kendi in the ceiling. After he knew all about the kendi, Prince Sumirat broke the window and entered the house.

The witch was surprised. She was so angry that someone entered her house without permission. She became angrier when she knew that Prince Sumirat wanted to help Princess Nilarani.

They were fighting. Luckily, Prince Sumirat did not only have skills in martial arts. His father had taught him about magical skills. So, he used the skills to fight the witch.

Finally, Prince Sumirat won and he immediately asked Princess Nilarani to drink water from the kendi. Slowly, Princess Nilarani turned back as she was before, a very beautiful girl. Prince Sumirat then brought Princess Nilarani back to the palace. Princess Nilarani fell in love with Prince Sumirat and Prince Sumirat also had the same feeling. Afterwards, they got married and lived happily ever after. ***

The Origin of Pantai Karang Nini

A Folktale from West Java

ONCE upon a time in a village in Ciamis, West Java lived a couple of elderly husband and wife. The elderly husband was called Aki and the elderly wife was called Nini. They had two sons and one daughter. Their sons lived across the ocean and their daughter lived in another place far away from Aki and Nini.
Every Lebaran, their two sons visited Aki and Nini. But their daughter never did. Aki and Nini missed their daughter. Two days before Lebaran day, Aki toldNini that he wanted to visit their daughter. Nini wanted to come along, but Aki refused.
“You should stay home and wait for our two sons,”said Aki to Nini. Aki promised that he would return two days after Lebaran day. Nini was sad when Aki left the village on a boat with other passengers. She looked at the boat as it sailed away on the ocean. She imagined meeting her daughter, together with Aki.
On the day Aki promised to return, Nini dressed up and went to the beach, to wait for the boat to return. She couldn’t wait to meet her husband. Hours passed by. Days passed by. Nini still sat on the beach, waiting for her husband. The boat was never seen. But Nini kept waiting on the beach. Several days later, the people of the village heard that the boat sank into the ocean. They quickly went to Nini’s house to tell her about the bad news. But she was not there. Then they looked for her at the beach. Nobody was there either. Only the wind and the sand.
They kept searching for Nini, calling her name. Finally they found a rock that looked like an old woman sitting down on the beach. They believed it was Nini, who was sitting down on the beach, waiting for her husband, Aki, to return.
The rock symbolizes a wife’s faithfulness to her husband. The beach is then called Pantai Karang Nini. Which means the beach’s of Nini’s rock.***

Telaga Warna

A Folktale from West Java

The king of a famous kingdom in Cipanas, West Java, is very wise man. He has a beautiful daughter. The king and queen love their daughter so much.
But all their love is not enough for the princess. Even though they give her everything, she is not happy. All the jewelries that they have are not enough for her. She is not satisfied with her gorgeous look either.
The princess then has an idea. She plans to put all the jewelries that they have in every single hair in her head. She wants to be the most beautiful girl in the world.
So the princess goes to see her mother and father and tell them about her plan. She is very sure they will not say no.
The king is surprised to hear about his daughter plan. He tries to convince her that her plan is not proper.
"My Daughter, the beauty of a princess is not measured by her clothes or by the jewelry she is wearing, but by her attitude. It's not that we don't love you, but what will people think if you go through with your plan?" says the king.
The princess is shocked to hear that. So she runs to her room to get her jewelry box. Then she returns to her parents.
She screams: "You are so miserly. Here, I am returning the every single jewelry you ever gave me." She throes her jewelry box to her father.
The wise king is outraged seeing his daughter did.
"You are ungrateful daughter!"
Suddenly, the floor of the palace erupts and water pours out from the crack. In a matter of second the palace if flooded, drowning the ungrateful princess and her jewelry. The palace then replace by a lake.
The lake always reflects multiple colors to its surrounding. Some say the colors come from the princess's jewelry. The lake is known as Telaga Warna that means colorful lake. ***

Situ Bagendit
Folklore from West Java

Nyai Bagendit was a widow. She was the richest person in the village. She had a very big house fill with a lot of jewellery. She also had many servants working for her. Nyai Bagendit was also known for her bad attitude. She did not like to help others. Whenever the villagers needed some money, they borrowed the money from her. However, when they returned it, the villager had to pay double. If they were not able to return the debt, Nyi Bagedit would ask her servants to take the villagers belongings. Nyai Bagendit also hated beggars. She thought that beggars were lazy people. She never felt sorry to any beggars coming to her house. So when the old beggar came to her house, Nyai Bagendit immediately to ask her to go. Go away you lazy old woman! Go out of my house! Please, Nyai, give me some money or just give me some food. I'm so hungry. Said the beggar. Food? You asked for food? This is my house not a restaurant. Go now! I dont want to see you here! Nyai Bagendit then threw a stone to the old beggar. The old beggar was very sad. She then said, "Nyai Bagedit, I know you are the riches person in this village. You have anything but you never help other people. You are not grateful to God. Wait for the punishment from God. You will be punished!" The old beggar then left Nyai Bagedit's house. "Ha ha ha! You are right. I'm the richest person here. So no one can punnish me, not even God can punish me!" Nyai Bagendit was very arrogant. Nyai Bagendit then went back to her big house. Not long after that, an earhquake happened. Her house fell down. Nyai Bagendit cried for help. "Help me! Somebody please help me!" But nobody listened her crying for help. Nobody in the village felt the earthquake. amazingly, the earthquake only happened in Nyai Bagendit's house. The land was opened. It was so big that the entire Nyai Bagendit's house, and all her wealth were gone. The villagers just wathes what happened to Nyai Bagendit and her house. They were amazed. They knew that God punished Nyai Bagendit for behaving badly and never helped other people. Slowly, the place where Nyai Bagedit's house stood became lake. Since then, people named the lake as Situ Bagendit It means Lake of Bagendit.***

The Story of Panyalahan Village

A Folklore from West Java

LONG time ago in Tasikmalaya, West Java, lived a young couple. They were farmers. They lived happily with their baby. The couple also had some animals. One of them was a tiger. When the couple went to work on the paddy field, the tiger looked after their baby. As usual, the couple went to the paddy field. Before they left, they asked the tiger to look after their baby.
“We will go to the field now. Look after our baby, okay?” The tiger nodded. So, the couple went to the field. They worked from morning until afternoon. When the couple arrived home, the tiger welcomed them. The tiger acted differently. He wagged his tail and rubbed his body to the couple’s legs. He looked very happy. The husband became suspicious.
“Why does this tiger behave strangely? He does not act as usual?” he thought. The husband looked at the tiger carefully. He was shocked. The tiger’s mouth was full of blood. Then he remembered his baby. He thought the tiger had eaten the baby.
“Why is your mouth full of blood?” he asked the tiger. “You must have done something bad to my baby! Have you killed him? Why did you do that?” he was very panicked. The husband took his knife and killed the tiger in anger. Then they both entered the house. They were shocked. They looked at each other. Their baby was sleeping peacefully in his cradle. He was not eaten by the tiger. Quickly, the wife took the baby and kissed him. The baby woke up. He opened his eyes and smiled. The couple found a very large snake under the cradle. The snake was dead and full of blood.
“Oh, my wife,” the husband said. “We have done a terrible thing. The tiger is not guilty! Look at the dead snake. The tiger must have killed him. He had saved our baby, but I killed him. Oh, my God! What have I done? I am so sorry. Forgive me, my dear tiger. Forgive me, please?”
The couple felt very guilty. They have killed their faithful tiger. It all happened because they did not check the baby first before they killed the tiger. Since then, the couple’s village was called Panyalahan. The word Panyalahan derives from the word “nyalahan”, which means “wrong guess”. ***

The Golden Antelope

Folklore from West Java

THERE was an old and poor man lived alone in the jungle. His wife passed away years ago and he did not have any children. Everyday he collected some woods and sold them in the village.
One day, the old man saw a beautiful antelope. The antelope was different from other antelopes. The color of the skin was golden. The old man walked slowly towards the antelope. The antelope looked very weak. He then gave the antelope some food.
"Thank you, Sir. You are very kind to me," said the antelope.
"You could talk? Who are you? Are you the ghost of the jungle?" the old man was very shocked. He was so surprised to see a talking antelope.
"I'm sorry old man. I can't tell you who I am. If I did, many people will hunt me. Just don't tell anyone about me, OK?" asked the antelope.
Since then the old man had a new friend, the golden antelope. He did not feel lonely anymore because he had a friend to talk now, it's the golden antelope. One day, the old man was ill. He could not collect the woods.
"Don't worry. I will collect the woods for you," said the golden antelope. The golden antelope then went to the jungle. She did not know that some hunters were following her. One of the hunters was Prince Wijaya. Prince Wijaya took his arrow. He pointed it to the golden antelope. The arrow hit the antelope's body. Suddenly, smoke came out of the golden antelope's body. The smoke then was gone, later a beautiful girl appeared.
"Thank you. You just released me from the curse. I'm Princess Sutha. A goddess cursed me into a golden antelope. I could turn back into human if a prince hit me with his arrow," she explained. Then Prince Wijaya asked her to go to the kingdom with him. Princess Sutha agreed only with one condition. She wanted the old man also to join them.
They then went to the old man's house. The old man was surprised when there were a prince and a princess in his house. He was so happy after Princess Sutha explained everything. He then agreed when they asked him to live with them in the palace. Not long after that, Prince Wijaya and Princess Sutha got married. They were happy ever after. ***

Lutung Kasarung

Folklore from West Java

PRABU Tapa Agung was an old king. He had two daughters, Purbararang and Purbasari. Prabu Tapa Agung planned to retire as a king. He wanted Purbasari to replace him as the leader of the kingdom. Hearing this, Purbararang was angry.
"You cannot ask her to be the queen, Father. I'm older than she is. It's supposed to be me, not her!" said Purbararang. But the king still chose Purbasari to be the next queen.
Purbararang then set a bad plan with her fiance, Indrajaya. Together they went to a witch and asked her to put a spell on Purbasari. Later, Purbasari had bad skin. There were black dots all over her body.
"You are not as beautiful as I am. You cannot be the queen. Instead, you have to leave this palace and stay in a jungle," said Purbararang.
Purbasari was very sad. Now she had to stay in the jungle. Everyday she spent her time playing with some animals there. There was one monkey that always tried to cheer her up. It was not just an ordinary monkey, he had magical power. And he also could talk with humans. The monkey's name was Lutung Kasarung. He was actually a god. His name was Sanghyang Gurumina. Lutung Kasarung planned to help Purbasari. He made a small lake and asked her to take a bath there. Amazingly, her bad skin was cured. Now she got her beautiful skin back.
After that, she asked Lutung Kasarung to accompany her to go back to the palace. Purbararang was very shocked. She knew she had to come up with another bad idea. She then said, "Those who have longer hair will be the queen."
The king then measured his daughters' hair. Purbasari had longer hair. But Purbararang did not give up. "A queen must have a handsome husband. If my fiance is more handsome than yours, then I will be the queen," said Purbararang.
Purbasari was sad. She knew Purbararang's fiance, Indrajaya, was handsome. And she did not have a fiance yet. "Here is my fiancé, Indrajaya. Where is yours?" asked Purbararang. Lutung Kasarung came forward. Purbararang was laughing very hard. "Your fiance is a monkey, ha ha ha."
Suddenly, Lutung Kasarung changed into a very a handsome man. He was even more handsome than Indrajaya. Purbasari then became the queen. She forgave Purbararang and her fiance and let them stay in the palace. ***