The Crying Stone
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 10, 2008
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.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/02/crying-stone.html
Ning Rangda
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 9, 2008
A long time ago, there was an old woman named Ning Rangda. She was called Ning because she was old and had a hunchbacked body. Everybody knew her because she always makes a wedding dress. Every time people asked why she sewed a new wedding dress, she always said that it was for her prospective husband. Do you want to know the whole story why Ning Rangda always sewed a new wedding dress? Read on!
When Rangda was a young girl, she always helped her parents. Her father was a tailor and Rangda always helped him sewed people’s dress. Rangda was also very beautiful. Many young men fell in love with her.
The king’s son heard about Rangda. He was a prince of the kingdom and one day he would replace his father as the king. The prince was single and wanted to get married. So, he decided to go to Rangda’s house. He wanted to order a dress from her.
When the prince arrived at Rangda’s house, he fell in love with her. After got his dress, he immediately went back to the palace. He wanted to tell his father that he already found his prospective wife.
However, right after the prince arrived at the palace, he suffered a terrible illness. He got high fever. And every time the prince slept, he always whispered a name, “Rangda, Rangda, Rangda.”
The king was really worried. He asked his advisor about the Rangda’s name. The advisor then told the king about the beautiful Rangda. The king knew that his son fell in love with her. The king then asked his soldiers to take him and the prince to Rangda’s house. A soldier went first to Rangda’s house. He was asked to tell Rangda and her parents about the wedding proposal.
As he arrived at Rangda’s house, he told Rangda and her parents that the king and the prince would come to propose her. Rangda was very happy because she also fell in love with the prince.
When the prince heard that she would meet the beautiful Rangda, he was very happy. He was then cured from his illness.
Then the prince, the king, and the soldiers went to Rangda’s house. The trip was very tiring and that made the prince suffered his illness again. The illness was worse than the previous one. It was so bad that finally the prince died.
The king was sad. He thought it was useless to continue the trip. Then he went back to the palace. Meanwhile, Rangda did not know that the prince had died. She was sewing a wedding dress for the prince. She wanted to give him the best wedding dress.
Everyday, she waited and waited for the prince but he never came. She always waited for the prince. She kept on sewing the wedding dress until she was old and had a hunchbacked body.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/01/ning-rangda-folklore-from-south.html
The Curse of King Mintin
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 8, 2008
A long time ago in Kahayan Hilir, Central Kalimantan, there was an island named Mintin. The people in the island lived peacefully. The king of the island, King Mintin, was wise. He loved his people very much.
However, soon the happiness was ended. The kingdom was mourning. The queen just passed away. The king was sad and decided to leave the palace and went to another island. He asked his twin sons, Naga and Buaya, to lead the kingdom while he was away.
At first, Naga and Buaya led the kingdom wisely.
They did their father’s advice to them. Unfortunately, it did not last long.
Naga and Buaya had different personalities. Naga was ignorant to the people and loved parties, while Buaya was very caring and loving to the people. Buaya then asked Naga to stop his bad habits.
Naga was angry. He asked Buaya not to disturb him. Buaya was also angry. He reminded Naga about their father’s advice.
“Father is not here! And you are not my father, why do I have listen to you?” said Naga.
Both of them were angry and could not control themselves.
They were fighting. The fighting was getting bigger and it changed into a civil war. It was because the soldiers were involved. The soldiers were divided into two parts.
Some of them supported Naga and the other soldiers supported Buaya.
The people of Mintin Island were suffering great pain. Because of the war, they could not live peacefully.
Some of them were very hungry and suffered from illnesses. Mintin Island was in chaos!
The king finally heard the war. He decided to go back to Mintin Island.
When he arrived, he immediately asked his twin sons to stop the war. The king was really angry.
“I’m very disappointed with you, sons.
I trusted you to take care of this kingdom. But you have failed. I don’t care who is right or wrong. Both of you will be punished!” said the king. He then continued.
“Buaya, I know you are a good son.
You are wise and love the people. But you cannot control your emotions.
Buaya, you have fewer mistakes than Naga. But I still have to punish you. I curse you into a crocodile. You can stay here in Mintin Island and your job is to take care of the people,” said the king.
He then talked to Naga. “You have more mistakes. So, the punishment is bigger. I curse you into a dragon. You are not allowed to stay here. Go away and live in other place!” asked the king.
Right after the king finished his last words, heavy storm attacked Mintin Island. Buaya and Naga slowly changed.Buaya became a crocodile and Naga became a dragon.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/05/curse-of-king-mintin.html
The Deer and the Sea Snail
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 7, 2008
A long time ago in a jungle in Aru Islands, Maluku, lived a group of deer. They were very proud of their ability in running very fast. They always stayed in different places. They challenged other animals in a running match. If the deer won the match, they took over the place and stayed there. Not far from the jungle, there was a beautiful beach. A group of sea snail lived there. The deer heard about the beautiful beach and planned to live there. They had a plan to challenge snails in a running match. They were very sure to win the match. Sea snails were slow in walking. “What’s the rule?” asked the leader of the sea snails after he heard about the challenge. “Do you see all the capes there? There are twelve capes, from here until there,” the deer leader pointed the capes. The distance between one cape to another was very far. “We run from the first cape until the twelfth cape. If my runner arrives first at the twelfth cape, we’re the winner. And we stay here!” The sea snails then had a meeting. They set a strategy to win the match. “My plan is to put the twelve of us in every cape. If their runner arrives in every cape, you shout. So, the deer will never rest and gets very tired,” said the leader. And the day of the match finally arrived. All animals watched this unique match, the deer versus the sea snail. The runners were standing side by side. Then, the deer ran very fast. In just a second, he already left the sea snail. After a few hours of running, he arrived at the first cape. He shouted, “Hey? Where are you?” “I’m here,” said the sea snail. He was another sea snail that was hiding in the first cape. The deer was surprised. He cancelled his plan to get some rest. He continued running. In every cape, there was always a sea snail. And the deer always cancelled his plan to get some rest. Finally, the deer almost reached the twelfth cape but he was exhausted. He was really tired. And he gave up. He did not have any more strength to run. He fell down on the ground. “Hooray!” said all the sea snails. The deer were so embarrassed. They were just tricked by the clever sea snails. So the deer came back to the jungle and never returned to the beach.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2007/10/deer-and-sea-snail-folklore from-maluku.html
The King of the River
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 6, 2008
“The snake is coming!” screams a fish to his friends. A frog, a turtle, a snail, and all other animals are surprised. They are immediately hiding. They are afraid of the snake. They are worried the snake will harm them.
“Hey! Where is everybody!” says the snake. He is looking around for all the animals. “I’m hungry. Give me some food. Come on, get out now!”
The snake goes here and there. Finally he finds them.
“Ha…ha…ha…What are you doing here? Why are you hiding? Are you afraid of me? You should be afraid of me. I’m the biggest animal in this river. I’m your king.”
“You are not our king. There is no king here. Everybody is equal,” says the turtle.
“Let’s prove it! Who wants to fight me? I can beat you easily. With my big body, I can twist you easily. Ha…ha…ha! Now, give me some food!”
The animals are afraid. They don’t have any courage to fight the snake. They then prepare some food for him. After the sake finishes eating and leaves them, they have a meeting.
“We can’t be like this all the time. I want to live peacefully,” says the frog.
“I have and idea. Let’s go to the alligator’s house. Talk to him about our problem. We ask him to help us,” says the fish.
All the animals agree with his idea. Finally, the alligator meets the snake.
“I heard what you do to the animals in the animals in this river. You have to stop your bad behavior,” says the alligator.
“I’m not afraid of you. I will twist your body.” The snake and the alligator than are fighting. The alligator uses his tail to hit the snake. He does that several times.
“Mercy me, mercy me!” the snake screams in pain.
“Are you still the king in this river? Are you going to harm the animals again?”
“No. I’m not the king and I promise I will be good to them,” says the snake.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/05/king-of-river.html
The Pirate Crocodile
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 5, 2008
A long time ago, not many people dared to sail in Tulang Bawang River. A big crocodile lived there.
People believed the crocodile would eat anyone who sailing in the river.
Not far from the river, there was a village. Aminah and her parents lived there. She was a beautiful girl. One day her parents asked her to go to another village. It was across the river. Aminah was a kind daughter. She always obeyed her parents.
“Please be very careful, dear. If you see the crocodile near you, row your sampan as fast as you can,” said the mother.
“I will be careful, Mother. I will come back to you later. I promise you,” said Aminah.
Aminah then took her sampan. She rowed it slowly. She did not want to make any noise. She did not want the crocodile to hear her.
But she was wrong! The big crocodile was looking at her. The crocodile was swimming silently. Then… it attacked the sampan. It turned upside down.
Aminah was so scared.
“Help! Somebody please help me!” screamed Aminah.
Aminah was drowned. She was unconscious. When she was awake, she was inside a big cave. She stood up and looked around. She saw something shining in the dark. When she approached it, she found a lot of jewelries. She was very surprised. Suddenly she heard a voice.
“You can take those jewelries. But you have to stay with me.”
The voice was from the crocodile. It was the same crocodile that attacked her in the river. to run but she was cornered. The crocodile was right in front of her.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m not a real crocodile. I was a human. I was a pirate and always stole people’s jewelries. A witch cursed me into a crocodile. And now I keep all the jewelries here inside the cave.”
“How do you go to the river?” asked Aminah.
“There is a tunnel that connects the cave to the riverside,” explained the crocodile. He did not realize that he already broke his secret.
Aminah then pretended to agree stay inside the cave. When the crocodile was sleeping, she took the jewelries and went to the tunnel.
Finally she arrived at the riverside. She met some villagers and they helped her.
Aminah’s parents were very happy, their daughter back home. They sold all the jewelries and gave the money to other villagers. Everybody was happy, they were not poor anymore.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Lampung
The Legend of Pesut Mahakam
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 4, 2008
A long time ago, there was a village in East Kalimantan.
The village was near the Mahakam River. The villagers always worked hard. Although they were poor, they were very happy. They also helped each other.
In the village, there was a rich family. The head of the family was Pak Pesut. Everybody knew Pak Pesut. He was known not because of his wealth, but because his stinginess. He did not like to help others. His family always ignored people. That’s why Pak Pesut’s family always lived alone and never mingled with others.
It was a very long dry season. All the rice fields could not get water properly. The villagers could not harvest the rice.
Therefore, all villagers were planning to leave their village and find other place to stay. Then they sent some young men to look for a place that had enough water for their rice fields.
After several weeks looked for a new place, finally those young men arrived.
They brought good news. There was a waterfall and it was enough to water their rice fields. Later, all the villagers rushed to the new place. Some villagers went to Pak Pesut’s house to inform about the waterfall. Although Pak Pesut was stingy, the villagers did not hate him.
“I’m not going with you! I will stay here. I have enough rice for my family.
We will survive!” said Pak Pesut arrogantly.
The villagers knew it was useless to ask Pak Pesut to join them. So, they all
left him and his family alone in the village. When they arrived at the new place, they all were very happy. They had enough water from the waterfall.
In the mean time, Pak Pesut and his family were beginning to worry. Their rice slowly was gone. Soon they would not have enough rice to eat.
It was in the morning when Pak Pesut’s wife was cooking their last portion of rice. Suddenly, someone knocked the door. A beggar came to his house.
“Go out! I don’t have enough rice,” said Pak Pesut. He was lying.
“Please mercy me. I’m so hungry.
Give me a little rice please,” asked the beggar.
Pak Pesut immediately asked his family to eat the rice. He was worried the beggar would enter his house and stole the rice.
“But the rice is still in the cooking pot. Mother is still cooking it. If we eat the rice, it will be very hot,” said his son.
“I don’t care! If you all don’t eat now, you will never eat again,” said Pak Pesut.
Later, Pak Pesut and his family ate the rice. It was very hot. They needed water to drink. They rushed to Mahakam River. It was so hot that they finally jumped to the river.
The beggar saw the incident. He then prayed to God. Amazingly, Pak Pesut family slowly changed into fish. The fish looked like dolphin. Since then, everybody named the fish as Pesut fish.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/04/legend-of-pesut-mahakam.html
Queen Aji Bidara Putih
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 4, 2008
Princess Bungsu and Maniki
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 3, 2008
Once upon a time there was a king in Berau Kingdom. The king was wise. He had seven beautiful daughters and he did not have a son yet. Among the seven daughters, the most beautiful daughter was the youngest one. Her name was Princess Bungsu. She was a kind girl. She was not spoiled and liked to do the household chores and cooking. She had a special knife to cut the vegetables or meat.
One day the princess’ knife was broken. She was very sad. She did not want to cook anymore. The king loved his daughters very much. He did not want to see his youngest daughter sad.
Therefore the king had a competition. He asked the people to make a new knife for his daughter. The king would give great rewards for the winner.
Soon, everybody was busy making a knife. After they were finished, they brought the knives to the palace. One by one, the villagers showed their knives to
Princess Bungsu. Sadly, the Princess was not interested.
She thought that all the knives were not as beautiful as her knife.
On the following day, a young man came to the palace. His name was Maniki. He was handsome and very helpful to others and also skillful. He could make anything.
Maniki also wanted to join the competition. He brought his knife and showed it to Princess Bungsu. The knife was very beautiful. Princess Bungsu liked it instantly. She immediately brought the knife to the kitchen and began to cook.
Princess Bungsu really loved the knife.
She always kept the knife carefully. She even brought the knife to her bed room and put it on the pillow.
In one morning, Princess Bungsu did not feel very well. The king then asked the palace healer to cure the illness.
After a while, the palace healer was surprised. He found out that Princess
Bungsu was pregnant! He immediately reported to the king.
The king was really angry. He asked the princess who the father of the baby was. The princess was confused. She always stayed in the palace and never had any contacts with any men.
Nine months later, the princess had a baby son.
The palace healer knew how to find out the father of the baby. He invited all men in the kingdom. Then he gave each of them a banana.
If the baby crawled to the man holding the banana, then he was the father.
After all men came to the palace, they all sat down in a big circle. The baby was in the middle.
Amazingly the baby started to crawl. He came to a young man. It was Maniki!
Maniki was confused.
He said that he was innocent. But the king ignored him. Later the king sent Maniki, Princess Bungsu and the baby to the jungle as a punishment.
Days passed by and the baby turned to a boy. Maniki and Princess Bungsu were also rich. They worked hard and always saved their money. One day they heard that the king was terribly ill. They decided to go to the palace to visit the king.
It was true. The king was dying. He was terribly ill because he felt guilty by sending her daughter to the jungle.
When he met Maniki and Princess Bungsu, the king apologized to them and asked them to stay in the palace.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/09/princess-bungsu-and-maniki.html
Kelingking
Posted by: muhammadagus on: October 2, 2008
A long time ago in Bangka Belitung lived a husband and a wife. They were poor and they did not have any children yet. Days and nights they prayed to God. They really wanted to have a child.
“God, please give us a child, even though he is only as big as a little finger,” prayed the husband.
Their dream came true! The wife was pregnant.
However they were surprised when they saw the baby. He was so small. He was as big as a little finger.
“You prayed to God to give us a child, although he is as big as a little finger right? Be thankful to God. Let’s love him. How will you name him then?” asked the wife.
“You are right.
We have to be grateful. Well, I will name him Kelingking,” said the husband. Kelingking means little finger.
Time passed by and Kelingking did not grow much. His body was still physically small compared to other kids.
Though he was so small, Kelingking ate like adults. He ate much food. And that made his parents really worried. They were poor and sometimes they could not eat because they had to give their food to Kelingking.
“I cannot hold it anymore. I want to put Kelingking in the jungle. Let him live there. I think he can survive,” said the father.
In the morning, Kelingking and his father went to the jungle. When they arrived, the father asked Kelingking to cut down a very big tree.
When Kelingking was busy cutting down the tree, his father silently went home.
The father thought that Kelingking could not cut down the big tree. The father was sure that
Kelingking would be lost in the jungle. But he was wrong! In the morning Kelingking suddenly showed up in front of the house. And he brought the big tree also!
“Father, where do you want me to put this big tree?” asked Kelingking.
The father was surprised. He asked Kelingking to put the tree in the backyard.
Kelingking then went inside the house. As always he ate all the food and that made his father got angry. He then had another idea.
“Kelingking, let’s go to the mountain. I need a big stone from there.”
Kelingking was an obedient kid. He followed his father to go to the mountain. When they arrived, his father pointed a big stone.
The stone was as big as their house!
“I want you to bring that big stone to our house,” asked the father.
When Kelingking was trying to bring the stone, the father immediately ran home.
At night, when the father was sleeping , suddenly he heard Kelingking’s voice.
“Father, I’m home. Where do you want me to put this big stone?”
This time Kelingking’s father realized his mistake. It was true that Kelingking’s body was small and he ate much food. But he was a nice kid and he had great power. With that power, they could get a job and had a lot of money. The father then apologized to Kelingking. Since then they always worked together.
Source : http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/10/kelingking.html
