JAWA BARAT (WEST JAVA)

Lutung Kasarung

Prabu Tapa Agung had led a kingdom in West Java for a long time. He was getting old and

therefore wanted to choose a successor. But unfortunately, he had no son. He thought of

choosing one of his daughters, Purbararang and Purbasari. But it wasn’t an easy choice.

They were both very pretty and smart. The only difference was their temperament.

Purbararang was rude and dishonest, while Purbasari was kind and caring. With those

considerations, Prabu Tapa Agung finally chose Purbasari to be his successor.

Purbararang didn’t agree with her father’s decision. “It’s supposed to be me, Father. I’m the

eldest daughter!” Purbararang said. Prabu Tapa Agung smiled. “Purbararang, to be a queen

takes more than age. There are many other qualities that one must possess,” explained

Prabu Tapa Agung wisely. “What does Purbasari have that I don’t?” Purbararang pouted.

“You’ll find out when Purbasari has replaced me,” Prabu Tapa Agung answered.

After the discussion, Purbararang went back to her room. “Is there something wrong?”

asked Indrajaya. Indrajaya is Purbararang’s future husband. “I’m upset! Father chose

Purbasari as his successor and not me! I have to do something!” Purbararang said. Driven

mad by her anger, she came to a witch and asked her to send rash all over Purbasari’s body.

Before going to bed, Purbasari started to feel itch all over her body. She tried applying

powder to her body, but it’s no use. Instead, the itching grew even worse. She didn’t want

to scratch it, but she just couldn’t help it. In the next morning, there were scratch mark all

over Purbasari’s body. “What happened to you?” asked Purbararang, pretending to be

concerned. “I don’t know, sis. Last night, my body suddenly felt very itchy. I scratched and

scratched, and this is what happened,” Purbasari answered. Purbararang shook her head.

“You must have done something really awful. You’ve been punished by the gods!”

That day, the whole kingdom was scandalized. “What have you done, Purbasari?”

demanded Prabu Tapa Agung. Purbasari shook her head. “I didn’t do anything that would

upset the gods, Father,” she answered. “Then how can you explain what happened to your

body?” Prabu Tapa Agung asked again. “If you don’t confess, I’ll banish you to the woods.”

Purbasari took a deep breath. “Like I said before, I didn’t do anything wrong. And I’d rather

be thrown into the woods than to confess to a deed I didn’t commit.”

After a short discussion with his advisor, Prabu Tapa Agung ordered Purbasari to be moved

to the woods. Purbasari was very sad, but she couldn’t do anything to defy her father’s

order. She was accompanied to the woods by a messenger. He built a simple hut for

Purbasari. After the messenger left, suddenly a black monkey came to Purbasari’s hut. He

carried a bunch of bananas. From behind him, some animals looked on. “Are the bananas

for me?’ Purbasari asked. The black monkey nodded, as if he understood what Purbasari

said. Purbasari took the bananas with pleasure. She also said thanks. The other animals that

were looking on also seemed to smile. “Are you willing to be my friend?” Purbasari asked

them. All the animals nodded happily. Although she was living by herself in the woods,

Purbasari never lacked of supplies. Everyday, there were always animals bringing her fruits

and fish to eat.

A long time had passed since Purbasari was banished to the woods, but her body still itched.

At some places, her skin was even ulcerating. What am I supposed to do?” Purbasari sighed.

The monkey who was sitting next to her stayed still, there were tears in his eyes. He hoped

Purbasari would remain patient and strong.

One night, on a full moon, the monkey took Purbasari to a valley. There is a pond with hot

spring water. The monkey suddenly spoke, “The water of this pond will heal your skin,” he

said. Purbasari was surprised, ”You can talk? Who are you?” she asked. “You’ll find out, in

time,” the monkey said. Purbasari didn’t want to force the monkey. She then walked to the

pond. She bathed there. After a few hours, Purbasari walked out of the pond. She was

shocked to see her face reflected on the clear pond water. Her face was beautiful again,

with smooth and clean skin. Purbasari observed her entire body. There were no traces of

any skin ailments. “I’m cured! I’m cured!” Purbasari shouted in joy. She quickly offered

thanks to the gods and also to the monkey.

The news of Purbasari’s condition quickly spread to the kingdom, irritating Purbararang. She

then accompanied by Indrajaya go to the woods to see Purbasari. Purbasari asked if she

would be allowed to go home. Purbararang said she would let Purbasari return to the palace

if Purbasari’s hair were longer than hers. Purbararang then let her hair down. It was so long,

it almost touched the ground. But it turned out that Purbasari’s hair was twice longer than

Purbararang’s hair.

“Fine, so your hair is longer than mine.” Purbararang admitted. “But there is one more

condition you must fulfill, do you have a future husband who is handsomer than mine?” said

Purbararang as she walked toward Indrajaya. Purbasari felt miserable. She didn’t have a

future husband yet. So, without much thought, she pulled the black monkey beside her.

Purbararang and Indrajaya burst out, but their laughter didn’t last long. The monkey

meditates and suddenly transformed into a very handsome young man, a lot more

handsome than Indrajaya. “I’m a prince from a kingdom far away. I was cursed to be a

monkey because of a mistake I committed. I could regain my true form only if there’s a girl

who would be willing to be my wife,” said the young man.

Finally, Purbararang gave up. She accepted Purbasari as the queen, and also confessed

everything she had done. “Please forgive me. Please don’t punish me,” Purbararang said,

asking for forgiveness. Instead of being angry, Purbasari smiled. “I forgive you, sis,” she said.

Soon after, Purbasari become queen. Beside her was the handsome prince, the former

monkey known as Lutung Kasarung.***

Sangkuriang

Long time ago in West Java, lived a beautiful girl named Dayang Sumbi. She was also smart

and clever. Her beauty and intelligence made a prince from the heavenly kingdom of

Kahyangan desire her as his wife. The prince asked permission from his father to marry

Dayang Sumbi. People from Kahyangan could never live side by side with humans, but his

father approved on one condition, when they had a child, the prince would transform into a

dog. The prince accepted the condition.

They get married and lived happily in the woods until Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a baby

boy. The prince then changed into a dog named Tumang. Their son is named Sangkuriang.

He was very smart and handsome like his father. Everyday, he hunted animals and looked

for fruits to eat. One day, when he was hunting, Sangkuriang accidentally killed Tumang. His

arrow missed the deer he was targeting and hit Tumang instead. He went home and tells

her mother about the dog. “What?” Dayang Sumbi was appalled. Driven by sadness and

anger, she grabbed a weaving tool and hit Sangkuriang’s head with it. Dayang Sumbi was so

sad; she didn’t pay any attention to Sangkuriang and started to cry.

Sangkuriang feel sad and also confused. How can his mother love a dog more than him?

Sangkuriang then decided to go away from their home and went on a journey. In the

morning, Dayang Sumbi finally stopped crying. She started to feel better, so she went to find

Sangkuriang. But her son was no where to be found. She looked everywhere but still

couldn’t find him. Finally, she went home with nothing. She was exhausted. She fell asleep,

and in her dream, she meets her husband. “Dayang Sumbi, don’t be sad. Go look for my

body in the woods and get the heart. Soak it with water, and use the water to bathe, and

you will look young forever,” said the prince in her dream. After bathing with the water used

to soak the dog’s heart, Dayang Sumbi looked more beautiful and even younger.

And time passed by. Sangkuriang on his journey stopped at a village and met and fell in love

with a beautiful girl.He didn't realize that the village was his homeland and the beautiful girl

was his own mother, Dayang Sumbi. Their love grew naturally and he asked the girl to marry

him. One day, Sangkuriang was going on a hunt. He asked Dayang Sumbi to fix the turban on

his head. Dayang Sumbi was startled when she saw a scar on his head at the same place

where she, years ago, hit Sangkuriang on the head.

After the young man left, Dayang Sumbi prayed for guidance. After praying, she became

convinced that the young man was indeed her missing son. She realized that she had to do

something to prevent Sangkuriang from marrying her. But she did not wish to disappoint

him by cancelling the wedding. So, although she agreed to marry Sangkuriang, she would do

so only on the condition that he provides her with a lake and built a beautiful boat, all in one

night.

Sangkuriang accepted this condition without a doubt. He had spent his youth studying

magical arts. After the sun went down, Sangkuriang went to the hill. Then he called a group

of genie to build a dam around Citarum River. Then, he commands the genies to cut down

trees and build a boat. A few moments before dawn, Sangkuriang and his genie servants

almost finished the boat.

Dayang Sumbi, who had been spying on him, realised that Sangkuriang would fulfill the

condition she had set. Dayang Sumbi immediately woke all the women in the village and

asked them to wave a long red scarf. All the women in the village were waving red scarf,

making it look as if dawn was breaking. Deceived by false dawn, the cock crowed and

farmers rose for the new day.

Sangkuriang’s genie servants immediately dropped their work and ran for cover from the

sun, which they feared. Sangkuriang grew furious. With all his anger, he kicked the

unfinished boat. The boat flew and landed on a valley. The boat then became a mountain,

called Mount Tangkuban Perahu (Tangkuban means upturned or upside down, and Perahu

means boat). With his power, he destroyed the dam. The water drained from the lake

becoming a wide plain and nowadays became a city called Bandung (from the word

Bendung, which means Dam).***

Telaga Warna

Long time ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king called

Prabu. He was a kind and wise king. Under Prabu’s leadership, the kingdom grew into a

prosperous kingdom. There’s no hunger in the kingdom. Everybody in the kingdom loved

their king. But, there’s one problem. The king and his queen hadn’t got any children. It made

the couple very sad. That was why Prabu decided to go to the jungle. There, he meditated

and prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His dream finally came true. A few

months later, the queen got pregnant. All people in the kingdom felt very happy. They sent

many presents to the palace to express their happiness. Nine months later a baby girl was

born. The baby grew as a beautiful teenager then.

Prabu and his queen loved their daughter so much. They gave what ever she wanted. It

made the princess grew into a spoiled girl. When her wish couldn’t be fulfilled, she would be

very angry. She even said bad things often. Even though the princess behaved badly, her

parents still loved her, and so did the people in the kingdom.

Time passed and the princess grew more beautiful. In a few days, the princess would be

seventeen years old. That’s why people of that kingdom brought many presents for her.

They bring gold and beautiful jewelries. Prabu collected the presents. Then Prabu stored

them in a special room. Some times he would take them to give to his people who needed

it. Prabu only took a few gold and jewels. Then he brought them to a goldsmith. “Please

make a necklace for my daughter,” said Prabu. “My pleasure, Your Majesty,” the goldsmith

replied. The goldsmith worked with all his heart and his ability. He wanted to create the

most beautiful necklace for the princess.

The birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. Then Prabu and the queen

appeared. They waved to their beloved people. Cheers were loud and louder when the

princess appeared. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu got up from his chair and took a

small pillow. A beautiful necklace was on the pillow. Prabu took that necklace. “My beloved

daughter, today I give this necklace to you. This necklace is a gift from people in this

country. They love you so much. They presented it for you to express their happiness,

because you have growing to a woman,” said Prabu. The princess accepted the necklace.

She looked at the necklace in a glance. “I don’t want this necklace! It’s ugly!” shouted the

princess as she threw the necklace away. The necklace hit the floor and was broken. The

gold and jewels were spread out on the floor.

No body dared to speak. They never thought that their beloved princess would do such a

cruel thing. In their silence, people heard the queen crying. Every woman felt sad and began

crying too. Then everybody was crying. Suddenly, from the middle of the field, a spring

emerged. It quickly became a pool. The palace was getting flooded. Soon the place became

a big lake.

Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a small lake now.

People called the lake Telaga Warna (it means lake of colour). On a bright day, the lake is full

of colour. These colors come from the reflections of forest, plants, flowers, and sky around

the lake. But some people said that the colours are from the princess’ necklace, which

spreads at the bottom of the lake.***

JAWA TENGAH (CENTRAL JAVA)

Aji Saka

A long time ago there was a kingdom called Medang Kamulan. The kingdom of Medang

Kamulan was ruled by Prabu Dewata Cengkar. The people in the kingdom were very scared

by the king. It was because the king liked to eat human flesh. Once a week, he commanded

his messenger, Patih Jugul Muda, to find him a human to eat.

Far away from the kingdom of Medang Kamulan, there was a village called Medang Kawit. A

young man named Aji Saka lived there. Aji Saka was a brave young man. He loved to help

people who needed help. One day, Aji Saka saw an old man lying unconscious on the

ground. The old man was wounded. Some thieves just hit him and stole his money. Aji Saka

then carried the old man to his hut. Soon after, the old man started to regain consciousness.

“Where…am I?” he asked. “You’re in my house. You’re safe now,” said Aji Saka. It turned out

that the old man was from the kingdom of Medang Kamulan. “Everybody was leaving

Medang Kamulan,” the old man told Aji Saka. He also told him about Prabu Dewata

Cengkar’s bad habit. “We were terrified, that’s why we left,” The old man said.

After he heard the explanation from the old man, Aji Saka decided to go meet Prabu Dewata

Cengkar and make him stop the menace. With his magical white turban on his head, Aji Saka

went to the kingdom. The turban was a gift from his Guru that could be used to fight evil. On

his journey to Medang Kamulan, Aji Saka passed through a very dark forest where he met an

evil genie. The genie blocked his path. “If you want to get through this forest, you must be

my slave for ten years,” the genie demanded. Aji Saka refused to be the genie’s slave. The

two of them then fight for seven days and seven nights, until at last Aji Saka came out as

winner. The genie finally allowed Aji Saka to pass through the forest.

When Aji Saka arrived in the kingdom of Medang Kamulan, the king was angry to Patih Jugul

Muda. He was not able to find the king some humans. “If you can’t find me any humans, I’ll

eat you instead,” Prabu Dewata Cengkar said to Patih Jugul Muda. After Patih Jugul Muda

left, Aji Saka revealed himself. Prabu Dewata Cengkar’s eyes suddenly widened upon seeing

Aji Saka. He could already imagine how delicious his meat would taste. “Who are you?”

asked Prabu Dewata Cengkar. “I am Aji Saka from the village of Medang Kawit,” Aji Saka

answered. “Ha...ha...ha.... I’m glad you came here. You would be my meal. I'm starving,”

said the king.

“I would gladly let you eat me, but I want something in return.” Aji Saka said. “What is it that

you want?” asked Prabu Dewata Cengkar. “I want a land as large as my turban,” said Aji

Saka. He then took off his turban and threw it on the ground. Prabu Dewata Cengkar agreed.

He himself would measure the land with Aji Saka’s turban. Suddenly the turban grew bigger

and bigger. It just kept on stretching until it finally covered the whole kingdom. Prabu

Dewata Cengkar was angry. He then attacked Aji Saka. But, then the turban wrapped itself

around him and began to strangle him. The turban then threw the king’s body to the South

Sea. The waves carried Prabu dewata Cengkar away until he finally drowned and died.

Aji Saka then asked the people of Medang Kamulan to come back to the kingdom. They all

thanked the brave Aji Saka. They also agreed to make Aji Saka to be their king. Aji Saka then

ruled the kingdom wisely. Under the leadership of Aji Saka, Medang Kamulan become a

peaceful and prosperous kingdom.***

Loro Jonggrang

Long time ago, there was a kingdom named Prambanan. All the people of Prambanan lived

peacefully. But then, Prambanan kingdom was attacked and occupied by the Pengging

kingdom. Prambanan then was ruled by Bandung Bondowoso of Pengging kingdom. He was

a mean king. He also had great supernatural power. His soldiers were not only humans, but

also genies.

The king of Prambanan had a beautiful daughter named Loro Jonggrang. Bandung

Bondowoso fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. “You’re very beautiful. Would you

be my queen?” asked Bandung Bondowoso. Loro Jonggrang was shocked. She didn’t like

Bandung Bondowoso because he was a mean person. She wanted to refuse, but she afraid

that Bandung Bondowoso would be angry and endangered the people of Prambanan. Then,

she came up with a plan. “If you want to marry me, you have to build a thousand temples

for me in just one night," said Loro Jonggrang. “What? That’s impossible!” said Bandung

Bondowoso. But he did not give up. He consulted with his advisor. “Your Majesty can asked

the genies to help built the temples,” said the advisor.

So, Bandung Bondowoso summoned his entire genies soldier and commanded them to help

him built a thousand temples. The genies worked in unbelievable speed. Meanwhile, Loro

Jonggrang heard from her servant that the building of a thousand temples was almost

finished. She was so worried. But again, she came up with a great idea. She asked all of her

servants to help her. "Please prepare a lot of straw and mortar. Please hurry up!" said Loro

Jonggrang. “Burn the straw and make some noise pounding the mortar, quickly.” All those

servants did what Loro Jonggrang ordered them; burning straw and pounding the mortar,

making the genies think that the sun is going to rise.

“It’s already dawn. We have to go,” said the leader of the genies to Bandung Bondowoso. All

the genies immediately stopped their work and ran for cover from the sun, which they

afraid of. They didn’t know that the light was from the fire that burning the straw, not from

the sun.

Bandung Bondowoso can’t stop the genies from leaving. He was angry. He knew Loro

Jonggrang had just tricked him. "You cannot fool me, Loro Jonggrang. I already have 999

temples. I just need one more temple. Now, I will make you the one-thousandth temple."

He pointed his finger to Loro Jonggrang and said some mantras. Magically, Loro Jonggrang’s

body turned into stone. Until now, the temple is still standing in Prambanan area, Central

Java. And the temple is called Loro Jonggrang temple.***

Mouse Deer and Tiger

One upon a time, there was a mouse deer living in a forest. Although he was small, he

wasn’t afraid of the other bigger animals who wanted to eat him. He was so smart; he

always managed to ditch them. One day, a tiger was wandering around for food. He hadn't

been eating for days. He was really hungry. While he was walking in the forest, he saw

Mouse Deer. The tiger wanted to eat him.

Tiger slowly ducked, crawled, approaching Mouse Deer, then..."Gotcha!" said Tiger. He

caught Mouse Deer. “Hello, Mouse Deer! I’m really hungry right now. You’ll be my lunch!”

said Tiger. Mouse Deer didn’t want to be his lunch. He tried to be calm. He looked around

and saw some buffalo’s dung. He had an idea. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now.

The King has ordered me to guard his cake,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His cake?” said Tiger

curiously. “Yes, there it is. It’s very delicious. The King doesn’t want anyone else to eat it, so

he ordered me to guard it,” Mouse Deer pointed the buffalo’s dung. “Can I taste it?” Tiger

asked. “Of course you can’t. The King would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just

one little bite, Mouse Deer! The King will never know,” said Tiger. “Well, okay, Tiger. But

first let me run far away, so the King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse

deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then took a big mouthful

of the ‘cake’. “Phoooey!” He spit it out. “Yuck, that’s not cake. That’s buffalo’s dung.”

Tiger ran through the forest. He caught up with Mouse Deer. “Mouse Deer, you tricked me.

But now you will be my lunch.” Mouse Deer looked around and saw a wasp nest in a tree.

“I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has ordered me to guard his drum,”

said Mouse Deer calmly. “His drum?” said Tiger curiously. “Yes, there it is. It has the best

sound in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to hit it,” Mouse Deer pointed the

wasp nest. “Can I hit the King’s drum?” Tiger asked. “Of course you can’t. The King would be

very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just one little hit, Mouse Deer! The King will never

know,” said Tiger. ”Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so the King won’t

blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse Deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran

quickly out of sight. Tiger then reached up and hit the wasp nest. Bzzzzzzz…! “Ouch…ouch!

That’s not a drum. That a wasp nests!”

Tiger ran away. But the wasps keep following him. He came to the river. He jumped in and

stayed underwater as long as he could. At last the wasps went away. Then he jumped out.

He ran through the forest till he found Mouse Deer. “Mouse Deer, you tricked me again. But

now you will be my lunch.” Mouse Deer looked around and saw a cobra. The snake was

coiled asleep on the ground. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has

ordered me to guard his belt,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His belt?” said Tiger curiously. “Yes.

There it is. It’s the best belt in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to wear it,”

Mouse Deer pointed the cobra. “Can I wear it?” Tiger asked. “Of course you can’t. The King

would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just for one moment, Mouse Deer! The

King will never know,” said Tiger. ”Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so the

King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse Deer. You can go now.” Mouse

Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then took the snake and started to warp it around

himself. The cobra woke up. It squeezed Tiger and bit him. SSssssstt! “Oouch! Ow! Ooow!

That’s not a belt! That’s a cobra! Help! Mouse Deer! Help!” But Mouse Deer was already far

away. He laughed aloud. Mouse Deer was safe from Tiger now.***

Mouse Deer and Crocodile

One day, Mouse Deer went down to the river to take a drink. But he knew that the crocodile

might be waiting underwater to eat him, so he said out loud. “I wonder if the water’s warm.

I’ll put in my leg and find out.” Of course Mouse Deer didn’t put in his leg. He picked up a

stick instead and put one end into the water. Chomp…! Crocodile grabbed the stick and

pulled it underwater. Mouse Deer laughed. “Ha… ha…ha… Stupid crocodile! Cant you tell

the difference between a stick and a leg?” Then Mouse Deer ran off to drink somewhere

else.

In the next day, Mouse Deer wanted to cross the river. He wanted to eat the fruits on the

other side of the river. He saw a floating log in the river. He knew that Crocodile looked like

a log when he floated. Mouse Deer didn’t want to be eaten by Crocodile when he crosses

the river. He had an idea. He called out loud, “Crocodile!” Crocodile rose from the water,

“Hello, Mouse Deer. Have you come to be my lunch?” Mouse Deer smiled. “Sorry, not

today, Crocodile. I have orders from the King. He wants to invite all the crocodiles in this

river to a party. He wants me to count all the crocodiles so he could prepare enough meal

for you.”

“Really…? Tell us what to do,” said Crocodile. “You must line up from this side of the river to

the other side,” said Mouse Deer. Crocodile then got all his friends and family. They lined up

across the river. Mouse Deer then jumped onto Crocodile’s back. “One,” he counted. He

jumped onto the next crocodile, “Two.” And the next crocodile, “Three.” Mouse Deer kept

jumping until he arrived on the other side of the river. “How many are there?” asked

Crocodile. “Just enough,” said Mouse Deer. He laughed as he ran to the forest.***

Timun Emas

Long time ago, lived an old women named Mbok Sirni. She lived by herself because her

husband had long passed away and she had no children. Every day, she prayed so God

would give her a child. One night, when she was praying, a giant passed her house and

heard her pray. “I can give you a child on one condition,” the giant said to Mbok Sirni, “You

must give the child back to me when it is six years old.” Mbok Sirni was so happy; she did

not think about the risk of losing the child later and agreed to take the giant’s offer. The

giant then gave her a bunch of cucumber seeds. “Plant it around your house.” The giant

then left without saying anything else. In the morning, Mbok Sirni planted the seeds. The

seeds grew within mere days, and blossomed plentifully.Not longer after that, a big golden

cucumber grew from plants. Carefully, Mbok Sirni plucked the golden cucumber and carried

it home. With caution and care, she sliced the cucumber. She was very surprised to see a

beautiful baby girl inside the cucumber. She then named the baby Timun Emas (it means

Golden Cucumber).

Years passed by and Timun Emas has grew to become a lovely and beautiful little girl. She

was also smart and kind. Mbok Sirni loved her very much. But she kept thinking about the

time the giant would take Timun Emas away from her. One night, Mbok Sirni had a dream.

In order to save Timun Emas from the giant, she had to meet the holy man who lived in

Mount Gundul. The next morning, Mbok Sirni took leave of Timun Emas to go to Mount

Gundul. The holy man then gave her four little bags, each one containing cucumber seeds,

needles, salt, and shrimp paste. “Timun Emas can use these to protect herself,” said the holy

man to Mbok Sirni.

A few days later, the giant came to see Mbok Sirni about her promise. “Mbok Sirni! Where is

Timun Emas?” shouted the giant. "My daughter, take these bag with you. It can save you

from the giant. Now, run through the back door," said Mbok Sirni. But the giant saw Timun

Emas running to the woods. The giant was angry. Starved and enraged, he rushed toward

Timun Emas. Mbok Sirni tried to stop him, but the giant was unstoppable.

The giant was getting closer and closer, so Timun Emas opened the first bag she got from

Mbok Sirni. Inside the bag were cucumber seeds. She threw the seeds, and instantly they

grew into large cucumber field. But the giant ate them all, giving him more strength. As the

giant was getting close, Timun Emas took the second bag with needles inside and spilled the

content behind her. The needles turned into bamboo trees, sharp and thorny. The giant’s

body was scratched and bled. “Aaargh, I’ll get you, Timun Emas!” shouted the giant as he

tried to get himself out from the bamboo field. He made it and still chasing Timun Emas.

Timun Emas then reached the third bag and spilled the salt inside. The ground which the salt

touched turned into a deep sea. The giant almost drown and had to swim to cross the sea.

After some time, he managed to get out from the water. Timun Emas saw the giant coming,

so she reached for the last bag. She took the shrimp paste and threw it. The shrimp paste

became a big swamp of boiling mud. The giant was trapped in the middle of the swamp. The

mud slowly but surely drowned him. Helpless, he roared out, “Help! Heeeeelp…!” Then the

giant drown and died. Timun Mas then immediately went home. Since then, Timun Emas

and Mbok Sirni live happily ever after.***

JAWA TIMUR (EAST JAVA)

Cindelaras

Raden Putra was the king of Jenggala kingdom. He had a beautiful queen and concubine.

Unlike the queen, the concubine had bad personalities. She was envious and jealous with

the queen, so she planned to make the queen leave the palace. The concubine then asked

the royal healer to help her in her plan. One day, the concubine pretended to be ill. Raden

Putra called the royal healer to give the concubine treatments. “What is her disease?”

Raden Putra asked the royal healer. “I’m very sorry, My Majesty. She is sick because the

queen put poison in her meal,” the royal healer lied.

Raden Putra was shock and angry to hear the explanation. He called the queen and asked

her if the story was true. Of course the queen denied, but Raden Putra won’t listen. “Please

Your Majesty, have mercy. I really didn’t do anything,” cried the queen in her tears. Raden

Putra’s anger ended in a decision. The queen should be banished to the woods and

terminated. He did not know that the queen was already pregnant. Raden Putra

commanded one of his general to do the punishment. The queen was banished to the

woods, but the wise general didn’t have the heart to kill her. He built a simple house in the

woods for her. On his way back to the palace, he smeared his sword with rabbit blood, so

Raden Putra would believe that he had killed the queen.

After the general left, the queen lived by herself in the woods. Several months later, she

gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The baby was named Cindelaras. He grew up as a nice,

healthy, and handsome boy. One day, while Cindelaras helped her mother to collect some

fire woods, an eagle dropped an egg. Cindelaras brought the egg to be brooded by a chicken

behind their house. The egg hatched into a chick and then it slowly became a strong rooster.

The rooster is no ordinary rooster. The rooster could sing. Every morning, the rooster woke

Cindelaras up with its beautiful song, “My master is Cindelaras. His house is in the woods.

He’s the son of Raden Putra.” The rooster often sang that song.

Cindelaras always woke up early in the morning and listen happily to his rooster’s song. He

didn’t realize the meaning of the song until one day, he started to think. “Who is Raden

Putra?” he asked his mother. The queen then told him the whole story. She also told him

why they were banned from the kingdom and lived in the woods. Cindelaras was very

surprised. He decided to go to the palace to meet the king, his father. Cindelaras asked her

mother’s permission to go to the kingdom and to tell the king what really happened. He also

brought his rooster that grew bigger and stronger each day.

On his way, Cindelaras stopped at a village. There, he met some people who were involved

in cockfighting. They challenge him to see how strong his rooster was. “If your rooster wins,

you’ll get a reward,” said the man who challenged him. Cindelaras accepted the challenge.

In a few minutes, his rooster defeated the opponent’s rooster. He was challenged again by

other man, and one more time, his rooster won. He won again and again.

The news about Cindelaras’ rooster quickly spread to the whole Jenggala kingdom and made

Raden Putra curious. So, he invited Cindelaras to the palace. “What is your name, boy?”

Raden Putra asked as Cindelaras arrived in the palace. “My name is Cindelaras, Your

Majesty,” Cindelaras answered. He felt both thrilled and happy to see Raden Putra.

Raden Putra challenged Cindelaras with one condition. If Raden Putra’s rooster won,

Cindelaras’ head would be cut off. But if Cindelaras’ rooster won, Raden Putra would share

half of his wealth. Cindelaras accepted the condition. The competition was held in the front

yard of the palace. The two roosters fought bravely. But in just a few minutes, Cindelaras’

rooster won the fight! Raden Putra shook his head and stared at Cindelaras from his seat,

“That rooster is no ordinary rooster, and the boy is not an ordinaty boy either. Who is he

exactly?” he thought. Raden Putra was about to asked when suddenly Cindelaras’ rooster

sang the song, “My master is Cindelaras. His house is in the woods. He’s the son of Raden

Putra.”

Raden Putra was surprised. “Is it true?” he asked. “Yes, My Majesty. My name is Cindelaras

and my mother was the queen,” said Cindelaras. Raden putra called the general who had

banished the queen. The general then confessed that he never killed the queen. Later, the

royal healer also admitted his mistake. Raden Putra was so shocked. He immediately went

to the woods to pick up the queen. Ever since, Cindelaras and his parents lived happily

together. As for the concubine, she was sent to the jail as punishment.***

Jaka Tarub and Nawang Wulan

Jaka Tarub was a handsome and diligent young man. He lived in a village near a lake. One

day, when Jaka Tarub passed the lake, he heard some giggles and laughs of some girls who

were bathing in the lake. He was curious, so he peeped through the bushes. There were

seven beautiful girls in the lake. They’re fairies from the heavenly kingdom of kahyangan.

Jaka Tarub saw a scarf near the bushes. It belonged to one of the fairies. Jaka Tarub then

took it and hid it.

Crack!!! Accidentally, Jaka Tarub stepped on a twig. “There’s someone!” said one of the

fairies. “Let’s get back. Hurry!” she said. They pulled over and wear their scarf. “Where is my

scarf?” one of the fairies couldn’t find her scarf. She was the youngest fairy called Nawang

Wulan. They tried to search for it, but it was no where to be found. “We’re sorry, Wulan.

We have to go back to kahyangan,” said the eldest fairy. “You’ll have to find it by yourself.

We’ll wait for you in kahyangan,” she said in empathy. The other fairies then flew to the sky

leaving Nawang Wulan behind. Nawang Wulan saw them leaving in tears. She was so sad.

“Excuse me …,” said Jaka Tarub, startling Nawang Wulan. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Nawang Wulan moved backward, “Who are you?” she asked. “My name is Jaka Tarub. I was

passing by and I heard you crying, so I came to see what happen,” Jaka Tarub lied. Nawang

Wulan then told him about her problem. “I can’t fly without my scarf,” she said. Jaka Tarub

then asked Nawang Wulan to come home with him. At first, Nawang Wulan refused the

offer. But since she didn’t have anywhere else to go, Nawang Wulan then decided to follow

Jaka Tarub.

Nawang Wulan stayed with Jaka Tarub in the village. A month passed, and they decided to

get married. Nawang Wulan was willing to marry a human because she fell in love with Jaka

Tarub. After a year, they had a beautiful daughter. They named her Kumalasari. They lived

happily.

Jaka Tarub was also happy to live with Nawang Wulan and Kumalasari. Especially because he

always got a lot of harvest since he married Nawang Wulan. He couldn’t even keep all of his

harvest in the barn because it was always full. “It’s so weird. Nawang Wulan cooked

everyday, but why is my barn always full,” Jaka Tarub mumbled to himself. He was so

curious. One day, Jaka Tarub stayed at home. “I want to stay home today. I’d like to play

with Kumalasari,” he said to his wife. “Well, I’ll go to the river to wash the clothes. Please

keep an eye on Kumalasari,” asked Nawang Wulan. “I’m cooking rice now. Please do not

open the pan cover before it’s done,” she said just before she left. “Could this be the

secret?” Jaka Tarub thought. After Nawang Wulan left, he curiously opened the pan cover.

He found only one single paddy. “How come?” he wondered.

Before lunch, Nawang Wulan came home. She headed to the kitchen to see the rice she had

cooked. She found that the rice turned into only a few grains. “Did you open the pan

cover?” she asked her husband. “I… I’m sorry. I was curious,” Jaka Tarub said as he realized

his fault.

Ever since, Nawang Wulan had lost her power. She couldn’t cook rice with only a single

paddy. Their paddy supply was slowly lessened. Their barn was almost empty. One day,

Nawang Wulan went to the barn to get some paddy. When she took one of them, she found

a scarf. “What’s this? This is my scarf,” said Nawang Wulan startled.

That night, Nawang Wulan asked her husband about the scarf. Jaka Tarub’s eyes widened,

“You found it?” he asked. Jaka Tarub looked down and asked for her forgiveness. “Because

I’ve found my scarf, it’s time for me to go back to where I belong,” Nawang Wulan said. Jaka

Tarub tried to stop her, but Nawang Wulan had made up her mind. “Please take good care

of Kumalasari,” she said. “If she wanted to see me, take seven grains of candlenut and put it

into a basket. Shake it as you play the bamboo flute. I’ll come to see her,” she explained.

Jaka Tarub promised to take good care of their daughter. He once again asked for

forgiveness for all of his mistakes. “I’ve forgiven you, so you don’t have to feel guilty. I must

go now. Take care,” said Nawang Wulan as she flew to the bright full moon.***

KALIMANTAN BARAT (WEST KALIMANTAN)

The Golden Watermelon

Long time ago, at the north area of West Kalimantan, lived a wealthy merchant. He had two

sons. The older one is named Muzakir and the younger one is named Dermawan. The two

brothers were so different in their attitudes. Muzakir had a very mean and greedy character.

On the contradictory, Dermawan was a caring and kind person. He was not greedy and

always tried to help those in needs.

Before he passed away, the merchant divided all of his money equally to both of his sons.

He did it so that both of his sons will not envious at each other. Muzakir then bought a big

cash-box. He put his entire share inside the cash-box and locked it. When a poor came to

Muzakir’s house, he laughs at them instead of giving them something. If the poor don’t

want to leave, Muzakir would summon his servants to chase them away.

Many of the poor in that area had heard about Muzakir’s rude attitude, therefore they

preferred to come to Dermawan. When Dermawan saw those peoples coming, he sincerely

welcome them to his house and shared money with those who needed it. It was almost

every day a poor came for his help that f inally he ran out of money. Dermawan then moved

to a smaller house. He also worked as a foreman. His salary was not much, only enough to

buy his own daily meals. But Dermawan was happy with his simple life.

His elder brother laughed when he heard the news about Dermawan. He always thought

that Dermawan was a fool to share his money with other people. He himself has just bought

a large new house. “There is no one who as stupid as my younger brother,” he said.

One day, when Dermawan was sitting and relaxing in his house yard, a sparrow suddenly fell

off in front of him. The sparrow twittered in pain. “Poor bird, did you broke your wing?” He

took the bird and examines its wings. He’s right. One of the sparrow’s wings is broken. “Let

me take care of you,” he said. Dermawan bandaged the sparrow’s wing and then he took

some rice to feed the poor bird. After some time, the bird gradually tamed and was no

longer afraid to Dermawan. Few days later, its wings were completely healed. After a while,

it flew to the sky. The following day, the sparrow came to visit Dermawan. It held a seed

with its beak, and then it put the seed in front of Dermawan. It was an ordinary seed, but

Dermawan accepted it with a big smile on his face. He then planted the seed in the back

yard of his house.

Three days later, the seed started to grow. It was a watermelon tree. Dermawan took good

care of the tree. He thought the tree would bear many fruits since it was so blossomy. But,

from all the flowers, only one turned to fruit. Day by day, the fruit grows bigger, bigger than

any watermelon Dermawan ever see. Harvesting time finally came and he decided to take

the watermelon. “Oh my God, it is so heavy”, he uttered while trying hardly to carry it into

the house to put on the table. He took a knife and started to cut the watermelon.

Dermawan was shocked. Inside the watermelon is some kind of yellow sand. “What could

this be?” Dermawan wondered. Then he realized that the strange yellow sand was actually a

pile of pure golden sand. “Holy God, it’s gold. I’m rich,” he danced happily. He heard bird

twittered and he looked outside. He saw the sparrow on a tree. “Thank you”, he shouted.

“Thank you”, he shouted again, and then the sparrow flew away.

Dermawan then bought a big house with a very big garden the next day. All of the poor

came to his house and were welcomed for meals. This time, Dermawan would not run out

of money. He had so much money, and his fields produced plants with good fruits as well.

The news about Dermawan’s fortune was heard by Muzakir and made him envy. He went to

Dermawan house, and Dermawan honestly told his brother about the sparrow. Muzakir

immediately commanded his servants to find a bird with broken wings as he heard the story

from his brother. A week passed, but Muzakir’s servants still couldn’t find such bird. He was

so angry and even couldn‘t sleep during the nights. The next day, he asked one of his

servants to catch a bird using chopsticks. Of course, the chopsticks hurt the bird and broke

its wings. Muzakir then pretended to pity the bird and took care of it. Days passed and the

bird was completely healed and let to fly. The following day, the bird came back to Muzakir

and brought a seed for him. He was very happy. ”I will be very rich soon, even richer than

Dermawan,” he said to himself.

Muzakir planted the seed at the back yard of his house and it grew to a fine watermelon

tree after several days. It also bore only one fruit, which was much bigger than that once

owned by Dermawan. As the harvesting time approached, Muzakir asked his servants to

take the fruit into his house. He couldn‘t wait to find a pile of golden sand inside. He cut the

watermelon himself and was very shocked when black mud mixed with dirt flushed out to

his face. It smelled very bad. Muzakir‘s clothes and also the room were terribly dirty

because of it. He ran to the street because he couldn‘t stand the rotten smell from the

watermelon. All the people on the street laughed at him for what they saw.***

The Origin of Landak River

Long time ago, lived a farmer and his wife in a village by the side of a forest. They lived

simply and they like to help other people, especially one who in afflictions. One night, the

farmer and his wife were resting in their house. The farmer was sitting beside his sleeping

wife. Suddenly, a white centipede came out from the wife’s head. The farmer was amazed.

He then followed the centipede until they reach a small pond not far from their house. Then

the centipede suddenly disappeared. The farmer went home and found his wife still soundly

asleep.

In the morning, the wife told his husband about the dream she had last night. “I was walking

through a vast field, and I came to a lake. I saw a giant hedgehog in the lake. It was glaring at

me, so I ran away.” After he heard his wife’s dream, the farmer went back to the small pond.

In the pond, he saw something very shiny. He came to the shiny object and took it. It was a

golden hedgehog statue. It was very beautiful. Its eyes were made of diamond. The farmer

then brought the statue home.

At night, the farmer had a dream. A giant hedgehog came to him, “Please let me stay in your

home. As 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.”

In the next day, 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,

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. The rice then stopped coming out

from the statue.

The farmer and his wife then asked for other things, jewelry and other stuff they needed.

They became very rich. But they still like to help other people. A lot of poor came to them

for help. Unfortunately, a thief found out about the secret of the golden hedgehog statue.

Pretending to be a poor asking for help, he stole the statue from the farmer’s house.

The thief blurred to the district area of Ngabang. There was a drought in the area. The thief

wanted sympathy from the people, so he said to them that he would provide them with

water. The thief then caressed the hedgehog statue and said the prayer. Water came out of

the statue’s mouth. All the people were so happy. But the water kept on coming out. The

thief didn’t know the prayer to stop the wish. People who saw the incident were really

scared. They ran away to avoid the water as it was started to flood the area. The thief also

wanted to run away, but he cannot move his legs. In his vision, there was a giant hedgehog

holding both his legs. Water kept coming from the statue and slowly it became a river. The

thief was drowned in the river. People then named the river as Hedgehog River or Sungai

Landak.***

The Crying Stone

One upon a time, lived a poor old widow in a small village. She lived with her daughter. Her

daughter was very beautiful but also very lazy and arrogant. She never helped her mother

and didn’t want to know what problem her mother had. Everyday, she put make up and

wears her best clothes. She always wanted to look rich and beautiful.

One day, the mother and her daughter went to the market to buy some food. At first, the

daughter refused to accompany her mother, but finally she agreed. “I’ll go with you, but you

must walk behind me,” said the daughter. She didn't want to walk side by side with her

mother. Although her mother was very sad, she agreed to walk behind her daughter.

On the way to the market, everybody admired the girl's beauty. But they were also curious.

Behind the beautiful girl, there was an old woman with a simple dress. The girl and her

mother looked very different. “Hello, beautiful girl. Who is the old woman behind you? Is

she your mother?" they asked. “No, she is not my mother. She is my servant,” the girl

answered. Her mother was very sad to hear that, but she didn't say anything. She could

understand that her daughter was ashamed.

The girl and the mother met other people. Again they asked who the woman behind the

beautiful girl. And again the girl answered that her mother is her servant. She always said

that her mother is her servant every time people asked.

At last, the mother cannot hold the pain anymore. She prayed to God to punish her

daughter. Suddenly, the girl's leg turns into stone. Slowly, the process continues to the

upper part of the girl's body. The girl was in panic. "Mother, please forgive me! Mother!"

she cried and asked her mother to forgive her. But it's already too late. Her whole body

finally becomes a big stone. Until now, people can still see tears falling down from the

stone. People then call it batu menangis (it mean the crying stone).***

The Wise King

Long time ago, there was a kingdom named Sanggau in the Borneo Island. It was a peaceful

and prosperous kingdom under the leadership of their wise king. There was a market in the

kingdom of Sanggau. Pak Razak was a famous cook there. He owned his own restaurant in

the market. One day, Pak Razak was cooking in his restaurant when a farmer passed by. But

the farmer stopped in front of Pak Razak’s restaurant. He smells the aroma of the delicious

food Pak Razak was cooking. “Hmmm… delicious… yummy,” said the farmer. "Hey! What are

you doing? Do you want to come to my restaurant or not?” Pak Razak asked. "No, I don't.

Smelling the aroma of your delicious food makes me full," said the farmer. “So you’re full by

smelling my food?” asked Pak Razak again. “Yes, I am,” the farmer answered. “If that’s the

case, you have to pay me for the smell of my delicious food,” said Pak Razak. “Ridiculous, I

don’t want to pay. I didn’t eat anything,” the farmer refused to pay. But Pak Razak kept

persisting that the farmer must pay for the aroma of his food. Both of them started to

quarrel. People came and asked them to calm down. They suggested that Pak Razak and the

farmer go to the King to solve the problem.

In the following day, Pak Razak and the farmer went to the palace. "Please tell me what

happened,” asked the King. Pak Razak and the farmer told the King about the problem.

"Hmm...I have the solution,” said the King after he heard the story from both Pak Razak and

the farmer. The King then asked the farmer to bring out his money. The farmer took a gold

coin from his pocket. “Now put your coins into this bottle.” The farmer then put his coin into

a bottle prepared by the King’s servant. ”Do you hear the sound of the coins?" asked the

King to Pak Razak. "Yes, I do," answered Pak Razak. "Then, the farmer has just paid you. He

pays your delicious aroma with the sound of his money," explained the King. Pak Razak was

silent. He knew the King was right. The King just gave him a lesson. He then apologize to the

farmer.***

KALIMANTAN SELATAN (NORTH KALIMANTAN)

Ning Rangda

A long time ago in the southern area of Borneo Island, lived a beautiful girl named Rangda.

She had excellent weaving and sewing skills. Her beauty was known in the whole area. Many

young men fell in love with her.

One day, the prince who had heard about Rangda’s beauty, came to her house to order a

dress from her. The prince was amazed by Rangda’s beauty and her humbleness. He fell in

love with her. After he got his dress, the prince immediately went back to the palace. He

wanted to tell his father that he already found his future wife. However, right after the

prince arrived at the palace, he suffered a terrible illness. He was unconscious and got high

fever. Every night in his sleep, he always whispered a name, "Rangda... Rangda... Rangda."

The king was really worried. He asked his advisors about the Rangda's name. One of the

king’s advisors, Wakil Mangkubumi was familiar with the name. “Rangda is a beautiful

young girl who lives at the southern area. She had excellent weaving and sewing skill. All of

the prince’s clothes were made by her,” explained Wakil Mangkubumi.

The king knew that his son had fallen in love with the girl. The next day, he ordered his

soldiers to take him and the prince to Rangda's house. Wakil Mangkubumi went first to

Rangda’s house. The king had ordered him to tell Rangda and her parents about the

wedding proposal. Rangda was very happy because she also fell in love with the prince.

When the prince heard that he would meet with Rangda, he was very happy. His health

improved significantly. Then the prince, the king, and the soldiers went to Rangda's house.

But the trip was very tiring and made the prince suffered his illness again. The illness was

worse than the previous one. It was so bad that finally the prince died on the journey.

The king was so 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 wedding. She wanted to give the prince the best wedding dress.

Everyday, she waited and waited for the prince, but he never came. She kept on sewing the

wedding dress until she was old. People then called her Ning Rangda. She was called Ning

because she was old and had a hunchbacked body.***

Legend of Gunung Batu Bangkai

Many years ago, in Loksado, lived a young man with his mother. He was called Andung

Kuswara. He was a smart young man. He had medical skill that he learned from his late

father. Andung Kuswara worked hard everyday to fulfill their daily needs. One day, Andung

Kuswara went to the forest alone, searching for fruits and vegetables. On his way home, he

found an old man squeezed badly between two big trees. Andung Kuswara immediately

helped him. He then healed his wound perfectly. “Dear young man, I thank you for your

help,” the old man said and took something hanging on his neck. “As my gratitude, I give

you this necklace. Hopefully it would bring good fortune for you,” said the old man. Andung

Kuswara took the gift and went home.

Both Andung Kuswara and his mother passed their times happily. But Andung Kuswara

wanted a better life for him and his mother. “Maybe it is better to leave my home to

another country and practice my medical skill,” he thought. However, he had not enough

courage to tell his intention to his mother. He knew his mother would be alone if he left.

After a month passed, finally Andung Kuswara told his mother about his intention. “Mother,

I want to make our life better. I want to go to other country and find a better job,” he said to

his mother. “Andung… my son. If it is your final decision, I won’t stop you. All I can do is pray

for you to find what you’re searching for,” his mother said wisely. “Thank you, Mother,”

Andung Kuswara smiled happily.

The next morning, Andung Kuswara left his homeland to pursue his dream. He went

overseas. He walked for weeks until he reached the kingdom of Basiang. On his way, he met

a farmer whose body was full of ulcers and scabies. Andung Kuswara tried to help him. He

cured the farmer with his medical skill.

The farmer was so happy. He offered Andung Kuswara to stay at his home. He also told

Andung Kuswara that almost all inhabitants of the country were suffering from the same

diseases. The news about Andung Kuswara’s medical skill quickly spread throughout the

whole country. All sick people come to him to be cured from their sickness.

The king of Basiang also heard the news about Andung Kuswara’s excellent medical skill. The

king then ordered his guard to brought Andung Kuswara to cure the princess who was also

been sick. “My daughter has been on her bed for two weeks. She can not do anything. Many

healers had attempted to recover her, but they failed. Will you cure her?” asked the king to

Andung Kuswara. “My Majesty, I am just a poor wanderer and I have minimal medical skill.

So, please forgive me if I also fail in recovering the princess”, Andung Kuswara replied.

Andung Kuswara was then allowed to enter the princess‘s room. The princess was very pale

and weak. However, her beauty clearly seemed through her wonderful face. Andung

Kuswara was amazed looking at her, “Ah, the princess is so beautiful,” he said to himself. He

then tried to cure the princess with all his skill, but the princess did not move at all. Andung

Kuswara then thought of another way. He took the necklace hanging on his neck. The

necklace was soaked in the cup of water for a moment. After reading some prayers upon

the water, Andung Kuswara spattered it on the princess‘s face for several times. Suddenly,

the princess could move her body. Her eyes and lips opened, and her face turned bright. The

princess was eventually able to sit on her bed.

The king was very grateful for Andung Kuswara‘s help to his only daughter. To express his

gratefulness, he allowed Andung Kuswara to marry his daughter. The princess was happy to

welcome Andung as her husband. The same was felt by Andung who fell in love with the

princess.

A year passed, and the princess was pregnant. She told her husband that she desired to eat

kasturi fruit that only grew in Kalimantan Island. Andung Kuswara‘s accompanied by several

kingdom troops went to search the fruit. After arriving at the Kalimantan Island, Andung

Kuswara headed to Loksado to find the kasturi tree which, according to local people, was

bearing fruit. Andung Kuswara stood surprisingly after knowing that the tree grew exactly in

front of his mother‘s small hut. Andung Kuswara immediately commanded the troops to

return to the kingdom without taking the fruit to avoid meeting his own mother.

But suddenly Andung Kuswara’s mother went out from the hut. She saw her son among the

troops in front of her home. “Andung…Andung…my son,” she tried to call her son. Andung

Kuswara and the troops continuously walked to keep away from the old woman. However,

she ran after them and kept calling for his son. Feeling ashamed in front of the troops,

Andung Kuswara said angrily to his own mother, “Stop calling me as your son, old woman. I

am a nobility of the Basiang Kingdom. I never know an old woman like you.” After that,

Andung kuswara continued walking.

Andung Kuswara’s mother was shocked to hear those words from her beloved son. She

cried and prayed with trembling lips, “Oh my God, show your power and justice.” Her tears

had not been drying when the sky suddenly turned dark and thunder stroke repeatedly.

After that, a sudden storm smashed and heavy rain fell dementedly. Suddenly Andung

Kuswara‘s body slowly turned into stone.

Since the time, the locals called the mountain as Gunung Batu Bangkai (mountain of

decease stone), because the stone that lays on it resembles human body. The mountain

located in the sub district of Loksado, South Kalimantan .***

SUMATERA UTARA (NORTH SUMATERA)

Lake Toba

In the northern area of Sumatra Island, lived a young man. Everyday, he work hard as a

farmer. One day in the morning, the young man went fishing in a river. Not so long after he

threw the bait, it was bitten by a fish. He pulled the fishing rod and was amazed by the fish

he caught. It was a golden fish. “Wait, please don’t eat me,” the fish suddenly spoke to the

young man. Startled, the young man dropped the golden fish and it suddenly turned into a

beautiful girl.

“I must have been dreaming,” the young man said to himself. “Don’t afraid, Sir. I was a

princess cursed by the gods because a mistake I did. You’ve save me,” said the girl. “As my

gratitude, I’m willing to be your wife.” The young man was so amazed to see the beauty of

the girl, so he accepted her as his wife. They became man and wife but with one condition,

the young man promised not to mention about the fish form of the girl. Terrible disaster will

happen if the promise is broken.

A year passed, the young man and his wife already had a son. They were so happy. Their son

grew up as a healthy boy. But he was a little naughty. He also had a habit, he was always

hungry. One day, the wife asked their son to deliver lunch to his father. But, the son ate the

food on his way to the fields. The father had been working since morning. He was so hungry.

Finding that there’s no food left for him, he said angrily, “Stupid boy! You little fish boy!” He

didn’t realize that he broke the promise.

After he said those words, his son and wife mysteriously disappeared. From their footstep

on the ground, there’s water bursting out. The water kept coming out and started to flood

the area. The whole village and the surrounding area became a lake. There’s a small island

in the middle of the lake, known as Samosir Island. And the lake is known as Lake Toba. ***

Lau Kawar

Once upon a time, there was a very fertile land at the Karo Regency. It was known as the

Kawar Village. Its people were mostly farmers, and the land did produce wonderful harvest.

It is said that one day the harvest was doubled compared to the previous year. The barns

were extremely full with rice. For this reason, the people agreed to have a celebration party.

On one beautiful day, all the villagers gathered in a field. They wore beautiful dresses and

made delicious food. Everybody was having good times. They were singing, laughing, and of

course, eating delicious food.

All of the villagers attended the party except an old woman who was paralyzed. Her son, her

daughter-in-law, and her grandson all went to the party. The old woman lay on her bed

alone. “I really want to be at the party but I cannot even stand on my feet,” sobbed the old

woman. She could only see the merry party from distance.

The lunch time came and all of the people at the party gathered around the table for the

foods that had been prepared. All of them enjoyed the foods happily. Contradictory to what

was going on at the party, the old woman was starving in the house. She didn`t eat even a

bite since morning. “My goodness, I am so hungry. Why any of my family didn`t come to

bring me something to eat?” sighed her with her body shivering for hunger. She forced

herself up from the bed and searched for something to eat in the kitchen, but there’s

nothing. Her daughter in law did not to cook that day, realizing that foods would be

prepared in the feast. The poor old woman came back to her bed. She was so disappointed

and sad that her tears dropped. She cried for her poor life.

At the party, the son asked her wife, "Why don't you take some food from the party and

give it for my mom. Ask our son to deliver it. “Alright”, said the woman while hurriedly

wrapping the foods for the mother. After that, she asked her son to take the foods home for

her as her husband told her previously, “My son, please take these foods for your

grandmother.”

The old woman was very happy for the foods. Finally, she got something to eat. But her

happiness turned into sadness when she saw find only leftovers. It just had little rice and

there were only some bones of beef and lamb which were almost without any meat to eat.

“What is this!? Do they think I’m an animal? Why did they give me leftovers and bones!”

moaned her furiously.

The mother stored complete grilled meat into the package in fact. However, the grandson

ate the foods on his way to his grandmother that only bones were left. The old woman

didn`t know anything about this that she thought her son and daughter in law did it on

purpose. She felt so disappointed and humiliated that she hardly held her tears to fall down.

She then prayed to God to curse both her son and daughter in law. “My God, they were

sinful to me. I beg You to punish them!” said the woman in her prayer.

Suddenly, there was a very strong earthquake not even a minute when the woman

completed her prayer. The sky was turned dark and cloudy, and there was a great thunder

followed by heavy rain. All the villagers were so scared. They wanted to save themselves.

They tried to find shelters. The village was drowned in a short time and there was not even a

single person survived. The drowned village turned into a big crater and flooded by water.

The people in the surroundings later on call it Lau Kawar.***

The Origin of Pond Sampuraga

In the area Sumatra, lived a widow with her son named Sampuraga. They lived in a small hut

in the forest. Everyday they worked hard as employees in a farm owned by a rich man. One

day, Sampuraga and his boss took a rest, leaning on a tree after working all day. While

enjoying their lunch, the boss asked, “Sampuraga, you’re still young. Why don’t you move to

a prosperous land and find a better job?” Sampuraga was an honest and diligent young man.

That why his boss cared for him and wanted a better life for him. ”Actually I`ve been

dreaming to move to search for a better life. I want to make my mother happier. But where

to?” asked Sampuraga. “You should go to Mandailing. One of my friend live there. Most of

the inhabitants have farms and fields. They also seek for living by panning for gold in the

river since it has high level of gold content,” explained the boss. The conversation made

Sampuraga decided to follow the boss’s advised.

Back in his hut, Sampuraga told his mother about his decision. “Mother, I want to move to

look for a better life. In this place, I’ll always be employee and work for other people. I want

to go someplace else and try out my luck,” Sampuraga said to his mother. “Where will you

go, son?” his mother asked. “I was thinking about Mandailing. The boss told me that the

people in Mandailing live in prosperity because of its fertile soil,” Sampuraga said. His

mother knew that Sampuraga had made up his mind and nothing can change his decision.

“Though I`m afraid of being separated with you, as I get older, but I have no reason to forbid

you. I`m sorry I never make you happy,” his mother said. “Thank you, Mother! I promise I`ll

be back soon if I were success. Pray for me Mom,” Sampuraga asking for his Mother’s

blessing.

Sampuraga depart on his journey to Mandailing the following day. He left his mother alone.

Days passed, he walked throughout a forest passing by villages. One day, he reached a city

in Pidoli Kingdom, in Mandailing. In that place, he tried to apply for job. A rich merchant

accepted his application. The merchant took a great trust in him as he was diligent and

honest young man. After a year, the boss gave him some financial capitals so that he could

run his own business. His business grew up rapidly in a short time. Some of his profits were

kept to increase his capital in order to make his business bigger. Finally, he was known a rich

young business man.

The merchant was so proud with Sampuraga. One day, he asked Sampuraga if he is

interested to marry his daughter. “Sampuraga, you are honest and diligent man. Do you

want to marry my daughter?” asked the merchant. “Of course, Sir,“ Sampuraga answered.

The merchant’s daughter was known as the most beautiful girl in the Pidoli Kingdom.

They got married in a luxurious wedding party. All preparations had been started months

before the wedding day. Ten buffalos and goats were provided in the party. Everybody knew

about the big wedding including Sampuraga’s mother. She heard the news from a passing

merchant from Mandailing. “Is it true? Maybe it’s just the same name,” she was at doubt.

How could it possible for her son to marry a beautiful girl from a wealthy family, whereas

he’s just a son of poor widow. But, Sampuraga’s mother still wanted to make sure, so she

went to Mandailing to watch the wedding. When she arrived in Pidoli Kingdom, the wedding

party already started. It was so crowded and noisy. She tried to get closer in the crowd. She

was shocked when she saw the man who was sitting next to a beautiful girl. It was her son,

Sampuraga. “Raga…! Sampuraga, my son,” she shouted, trying to get Sampuraga’s

attention.

Sampuraga was shocked to hear that familiar voice. “Oh…It`s not possible,” he thought

while looking for the source of the voice among the crowded. But then he saw an old

woman ran to him. “Sampuraga, my son! I’m your mother!” said the old woman while she

tried to embrace Sampuraga. But Sampuraga was so embarrassed to see his own mother.

His face turned red. “Hey, old woman! Don`t pretend to be my mother! I have no mother

like you! Go away from here now! Don’t disturb my party!” he shouted with angry tone. His

mother was startled to see Sampuraga’s reaction. “Raga… Sampuraga. I’m your mother.

How could you forget your own mother?” she started to cry.

“No!! You`re not my Mother! She’s already dead! Guard, take this old woman out of here!”

Sampuraga ordered his guard. His heart had totally hardened until he denied and chased

away his own mother. All of the guests only kept on silence, no one dared to mediate them.

The old woman then was dragged by two guards out of the party. While still crying, she

prayed, “Dear God…If he were truly my son, Sampuraga, please give him a punishment for

disavowing me.”

Suddenly, the sky turned dark, covered by thick cloud. The rain fell down followed by

thunderstorm. All of the guests tried to ran away, but they couldn’t escape the storm. Just in

a short time, no one was safe, including Sampuraga and his wife.

On the next days, that place turned into a hot pond surrounded by limestone whose shape

were the same as buffalos. There were also two heaps of sand and colorful mud that looked

like the food offered on Sampuraga`s wedding party. People later call it “Kolam Sampuraga”

or Pond Sampuraga.***

Nai Manggale

Once upon a time in Tapanuli, lived a famous sculptor named Datu Panggana. When he got

an order, he went to the forest to look for the most suitable wood and carved it according

to the order. One day, he got an inspiration to carve a wood he found. He worked all day in

his workshop to carve the wood into a statue of a beautiful woman. Then, he put the statue

in front of his house.

Later, a young merchant passed by and saw the statue. His name was Bao Partigatiga. He

was very impressed by the beauty of the statue. He then put beautiful clothes and jewelries

on the statue. “It’s so beautiful,” he said to himself proudly. The statue looked like a real

human. Then he left Datu Panggana’s house.

After that, a priest named Datu Partoar and his wife passed by. They were also impressed by

the beauty of the statue. "I want to pray to God to make her live like a real human. I want to

make her as our daughter," said Datu Partoar to his wife. The couple didn’t have any

children yet. The statue changed into a very beautiful girl. Datu Partoar and his wife then

took the girl home. They named her Nai Manggale.

The news about Nai Manggale’s beauty spread throughout the village. All the villagers came

to Datu Partoar’s house to see Nai Manggale. Among them were Datu Panggana and Bao

Partigatiga. Nai Manggale honestly told the villagers that she was actually a statue which

became a living woman by the grace of God.

Datu Panggana went after Datu Partoar to claim his own creation and Bao Partigatiga also

claimed his right for the living statue. “It was me who carved her from a wood. So, she is

mine,” said Datu Panggana. “She is wearing my clothes and jewelries. So, she should go with

me,” said Bao Partigatiga. "Remember, I am the one who made her live like a human. So,

she stays here," Datu Partoar also join in the argument.

Those three men were arguing. They claimed to have the rights of Nai Manggale. To calm

them, an elderly of the village gave a solution. His name was Aji Bahir. "You all can have her

and have a relationship with her. Datu Panggana, you’re her uncle. Bao Partigatiga, you’re

her brother. And Datu Partoar, you’re her father." The three men accepted Aji Bahir's

advice. And they were happy because now they were related.***

SUMATERA BARAT (WEST SUMATERA)

Malin Kundang

Once upon a time, on the north coast of Sumatra lived a poor woman and his son. The boy

was called Malin Kundang. They didn’t earn much as fishing was their only source of income.

Malin Kundang grew up as a skillful young boy. He always helps his mother to earn some

money. However, as they were only fisherman’s helper, they still lived in poverty. “Mother,

what if I sail overseas?” asked Malin Kundang one day to his mother. Her mother didn’t

agree but Malin Kundang had made up his mind. “Mother, if I stay here, I’ll always be a poor

man. I want to be a successful person,” urged Malin kundang. His mother wiped her tears,

“If you really want to go, I can’t stop you. I could only pray to God for you to gain success in

life,” said his mother wisely. “But, promise me, you’ll come home.”

In the next morning, Malin Kundang was ready to go. Three days ago, he met one of the

successful ship’s crew. Malin was offered to join him. “Take a good care of yourself, son,”

said Malin Kundang’s mother as she gave him some food supplies. “Yes, Mother,” Malin

Kundang said. “You too have to take a good care of yourself. I’ll keep in touch with you,” he

continued before kissing his mother’s hand. Before Malin stepped onto the ship, Malin’s

mother hugged him tight as if she didn’t want to let him go.

It had been three months since Malin Kundang left his mother. As his mother had predicted

before, he hadn’t contacted her yet. Every morning, she stood on the pier. She wished to

see the ship that brought Malin kundang home. Every day and night, she prayed to the God

for her son’s safety. There was so much prayer that had been said due to her deep love for

Malin Kundang. Even though it’s been a year she had not heard any news from Malin

Kundang, she kept waiting and praying for him.

After several years waiting without any news, Malin Kundang’s mother was suddenly

surprised by the arrival of a big ship in the pier where she usually stood to wait for her son.

When the ship finally pulled over, Malin Kundang’s mother saw a man who looked wealthy

stepping down a ladder along with a beautiful woman. She could not be wrong. Her blurry

eyes still easily recognized him. The man was Malin Kundang, her son.

Malin Kundang’s mother quickly went to see her beloved son. “Malin, you’re back, son!”

said Malin Kundang’s mother and without hesitation, she came running to hug Malin

Kundang, “I miss you so much.” But, Malin Kundang didn’t show any respond. He was

ashamed to admit his own mother in front of his beautiful wife. “You’re not my Mother. I

don’t know you. My mother would never wear such ragged and ugly clothes,” said Malin

Kundang as he release his mother embrace.

Malin Kundang’s mother take a step back, “Malin…You don’t recognize me? I’m your

mother!” she said sadly. Malin Kundang’s face was as cold as ice. “Guard, take this old

women out of here,” Malin Kundang ordered his bodyguard. “Give her some money so she

won’t disturb me again!” Malin Kundang’s mother cried as she was dragged by the

bodyguard, ”Malin... my son. Why do you treat your own mother like this?”

Malin Kundang ignored his mother and ordered the ship crews to set sail. Malin Kundang’s

mother sat alone in the pier. Her heart was so hurt, she cried and cried. “Dear God, if he

isn’t my son, please let him have a save journey. But if he is, I cursed him to become a

stone,” she prayed to the God.

In the quiet sea, suddenly the wind blew so hard and a thunderstorm came. Malin

Kundang’s huge ship was wrecked. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship, and fell on a

small island. Suddenly, his whole body turned into stone. He was punished for not admitting

his own mother.***

Pak Lebai Malang

Pak Lebai was an old man living in a village by the river. Everyday, he used his sampan for

travelling at the river. Pak Lebai had a bad habit. He always changed his mind before he did

something. He was an inconsistent man. One day, Pak Lebai was invited to a party by his

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 different places. The two neighbors who invited him lived in different sides of

the river. One neighbor lived on the east side and the other one lived in the west side. "If I

go to the west side, I will only get one buffalo’s head. If I go to the east side, I can have two

heads of buffalo. But the host at the west side is friendlier,” he said to himself. He was

confused.

On the following day, Pak Lebai paddled his sampan to the party at the west side of the

river. But then he changed his mind and went to the east side. On the way there, he met

with some friends. "The party is awful. There are not many buffalo's heads," said one of

them. So, Pak Lebai turned back his sampan again and went to the west side. Unfortunately,

the party was already over when he arrived there. Pak Lebai immediately paddled his

sampan to the east side again. But he also missed the party.

Pak Lebai was upset and blaming himself for being so inconsistent. He was so hungry and

tired because he was padding back and forth in the river. He then fell asleep in his sampan.

He did not realize that his sampan was drifting away at the river. When he woke up, he was

already in the different village. That’s why all his neighbors started to call him Pak Lebai

Malang (poor mister Lebai).***

SULAWESI TENGAH (CENTRAL SULAWESI)

Legend of Batu Bagga

Long time ago in Sulawesi Island, lived a man named Intobu. He lived alone with his only

son, named Impalak. They were poor. Everyday they work as fishermen. They went to the

sea every night to catch fish, even in bad weather. Intobu always advised his son, “Being

fishermen is our only income. Do not take the bad weather as our enemy.” Impalak nodded.

“Yes, Father,” he replied.

Intobu and Impalak worked as fishermen for years. But, Impalak started to feel bored with

the job. He wanted to try something new. He wanted to make a better living for his father

and himself. One day, Impalak tried to talk to his father about his desire. “Father…, please

forgives me,” Impalak felt hesitated. “What is it, my son?” Intobu was curious seeing his

son’s strange attitude. “Father, actually I want to quit working as fisherman. I want to go

abroad and try working something else,” explained Impalak.

Intobu was sad hearing his son’s decision, but he also wanted Impalak to be a successful

person. “If that is your decision, I couldn’t do anything else but to allow you. I can only pray

for your safety and success” said Intobu. “But I want you to always remember your

homeland. Always remember your father,” he continued. “Yes, Father. I will remember.

Thank you,” said Impalak happily.

In the next day, Impalak went to the harbor. He saw a bagga (sailboat) and went to see the

owner. “Excuse me, Sir. I’m wondering if I can sail with you?” asked Impalak. The bagga’s

owner was silent for a moment. “It’s not a problem for me. But why do you want to sail with

me, and have you asked permission from your parents?” asked the bagga’s owner then. “I

worked here as fishermen with my father, but I want to try my luck abroad. My father

already agreed with my plan,” said Impalak. “All right, I will set sail tomorrow. Come met me

here in the morning. And by the way, what’s your name?” asked the bagga’s owner. “Thank

you, Sir. My name is Impalak, Sir,” Impalak answered happily.

Back in his house, Impalak told his father about the bagga boat. “When do you depart?”

asked Intobu. “Tomorrow, Father,” answered Impalak. The next morning, impalak went to

the harbor together with his father. The bagga was ready to set sail. “Hurry, Impalak!” shout

the bagga’s owner. Impalak kissed his father’s hand, “I’m going, Father. Take care,” said

Impalak. “Go, Son. My blessing is with you,” said Intobu. There were tears in his eyes as he

saw the bagga leaving the harbor.

A few years passed. Every time Intobu saw a bagga boat, he always hoped that his son is

coming home. But there’s no news at all from Impalak. One day, Intobu went fishing as

usual. He used his small sampan and headed to the open water near the harbor. But then he

saw a bagga heading to the harbor.

When the bagga was getting close to Intobu’s sampan, he saw a handsome young man

standing in front of the bagga’s deck. The young man was accompanied by his beautiful

wife. Intobu recognized the young man. He was Impalak, his son. “Impalak! Impalak, my

son!” Intobu shout happily.

Impalak heard his father’s shouting, but he ignored him. “Honey, there’s someone down

there calling your name. Is that your father?” asked his wife. “No, he’s not my father. Just

ignore him, honey” Impalak was embarrassed to acknowledge his old father in front of his

beautiful wife.

Intobu tried to row his sampan closer to the bagga, but suddenly there’s a big waves in the

sea. Intobu’s sampan was hit by the waves and almost drowned. “Help… Help me… Impalak,

help…!” Intobu was shouting, asking help from his son. But Impalak ignored his father. He

even turned his bagga into the opposite direction from Intobu’s sampan.

Intobu’s heart was broken to see his son’s ignorance. His felling is mixed with sadness and

anger. He looked into the sky and prayed, “Oh, God. Please hear my prayer. I curse that

rebellious son’s bagga into stone.” Not long after Intobu said the prayer, a storm came and

struck Impalak’s bagga. The wind blew so hard, pushing the bagga to the shore. Suddenly,

the bagga and Impalak turned into stone. The stone still exist until now. People called it

Batu Bagga (Bagga Stone).***

ACEH

The Parakeet King

Once upon a time, there was a group of parakeets in the forest. The parakeets group was

led by a king. One day, their peaceful life was threatened by a hunter who planned to catch

and sell them in the market. The hunter put some glues around the parakeet’s nests to trap

them. Some parakeets and the parakeet king were trapped on the glues that the hunter set

up before. They had tried to release themselves from the trap, but their efforts resulted

nothing. All of them cried for help, except their king. “Relax my friends! This glue is put by

the hunter. He wants to catch us alive. If we die, he will not bring us with him. I suggest we

all pretend to be dead when he comes to take us tomorrow. When the hunter releases us

from this trap, he will checks whether we still alive or not. If he thinks we are dead, he will

leave us here. Please wait for my counting to one hundred, and then we will fly together,”

the parakeet king said calmly. All parakeets agreed with the idea, “Good idea. Tomorrow we

will pretend to be dead to free ourselves from the hunter.”

The hunter came in the next morning, and released those parakeets one by one from the

trap. Finding all of them had not breathed, the hunter was very upset. The parakeets were

left unattended in the ground, and the hunter walked home. But suddenly, the hunter

slipped and felt down. Surprised by the accident, the pretending parakeets flied and

scattered to all directions without waiting for the king‘s counting. The hunter realized that

the parakeets had deceived him. But then he saw one bird was still on the ground. It was the

parakeet king who was still pretending to be dead. "Gotcha!" he seized the parakeet king.

“I’ll kill you,” said the hunter in his anger. “Forgive me, sir! Please do not kill me! Please

release me,” the parakeet king asked for mercy. But the hunter replied angrily, “I will not

release you. Your friends and you have fooled me. But I’ll not kill you if you promise to

entertain me,” the hunter said. “Okay, sir. I’ll chirp for you everyday,” said the parakeet king

agreed.

The hunter then brought the parakeet king to his home. He put the parakeet in a cage. The

parakeet king chirped melodiously everyday to please the hunter. “Wonderful voice, luckily I

didn’t kill him,” said the hunter. The news about the beautiful voice of the parakeet king was

heard by the king of Aceh. The king decided to invite the hunter to come to his palace. The

king intended to buy the parakeet.

At first, the hunter refused to sell the parakeet. “Oh my Majesty, I do not intend to go up

against your wish to have this bird, but it is hard for me to hand over him to you,” said the

hunter. “I would like to buy him with high price,” replied the king. After thought the price

offered by the king for a while, the hunter finally said, “Oh my Majesty, if you really intend

to have the bird, I would gladly sell it to you.” The king was delighted to hear the hunter‘s

answer, and quickly paid him the amount of the promised money.

At the palace, the parakeet king was put in a golden cage. He was given so many delicious

foods, but he still felt imprisoned. He wished that he could back home to the forest and

could fly freely with his parakeet fellow. His sorrow made him sick. He stopped singing at all.

“Why does my beloved bird stop chirping? Is he sick?” the king asked the guard. “My

Majesty, I do not know exactly the causes. I have provided him with many delicious foods

and taken care of him carefully, but he still keeps silent,” replied the guard. The king was so

sad hearing the guard‘s explanation.

Meanwhile, in his golden cage, the parakeet king began to think a way to escape. He came

up with an idea. “I will pretend to be dead as I had ever done before,” he said to himself. In

the next morning he began to do his plan and imagined could fly freely. The palace guard

who saw the condition of the parakeet king came to the king to tell the bad news. The king

was very sad hearing the news, because the parakeet‘s beautiful twitter was no longer be

heard. To express his love for the parakeet king, the king had his guards dug a cemetery for

the dead parakeet.

The burial ceremony would be held with the kingdom tradition in the next morning. The

parakeet was then taken out from the golden cage. Everybody thought that he had been

dead. Suddenly, the parakeet king flied fast and high on the sky. All people were amazed

seeing him, because they thought that he had died. The parakeet king got his freedom

again, and flied directly to the forest.***

Mentiko Betuah

A long time ago, there was a kingdom in Simeulue, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The king and

the queen had a son, Prince Rohib. They loved the prince very much and they always gave

him anything he wanted. That’s why the prince grew as a spoiled young man. The prince

was then sent to study in a school. The King told him to study seriously. But because the

prince was used to be spoiled, he couldn’t finish his study in time. The King was so angry. He

realized his mistake. He wanted to give the prince a lesson. He then ordered the prince to

leave the palace and became a merchant. "I will give you some money. Use the money only

for trading. Don't come back until you are rich!" said the king.

Prince Rohib was sad. He knew his father was angry with him because he was a spoiled boy.

He then promised himself that he could become a great merchant. After he left the palace,

he went to a village. While he was walking, he saw some kids were trying to shoot a bird

using their slingshots. “Stop… Don't hurt the bird!” Rohib tried to stop the kids. “Hey, it’s

none of your business,” replied one of the kids. “I'll give you some money if you stop hurting

the bird," said Rohib. After that, he gave some money to those kids.

Later on his journey, Rohib saw some men were torturing a snake. Again, he asked them to

stop hurting the snake. He also gave them some money. He kept on giving some money to

people who tortured animals. Finally he ran out of money. He was so worried. He knew he

could not become a merchant without any money in his pocket. He was also scared of going

home. He knew that his father would be very angry at him.

The prince then went to the forest because he didn’t know anywhere to go. He was so tired,

so he took some rest. While he was sitting under a big tree, a giant snake came to him. He

was so scared. “Don't worry, young man. I will not eat you,” said the giant snake. “You…you

can talk? Who are you?” Rohib asked. “I am the king of snakes in this jungle. I heard you

helped many animals from being tortured. Now, I want to give you a gift. This is Mentiko

Betuah. This magical stone can give you anything you want." Then the snake went deep into

the forest. The prince was very happy. He asked the Mentiko Betuah to give him a lot of

money. Then he went home and told his father that the money was from his business as a

merchant.

Rohib kept the Mentiko Betuah carefully. He then went to a goldsmith and asked him to

make the magical stone as a ring. But the goldsmith stole the Mentiko Betuah. Luckily Rohib

had made friends to the animals. He asked a cat, a dog, and a mouse to help him find

Mentiko Betuah. The dog followed the smell of the goldsmith, and they found his hideaway.

However they could not enter his house because it was locked. Only the mouse was small

enough to enter through a small hole in the door.

After waiting for a moment, the mouse came out of the house. He said he could not find the

magical stone. After that they all went back to the palace. The cat and the dog did not know

that the mouse actually had found the magical stone. He was hiding it in his mouth. The

mouse then gave the Mentiko Betuah to the prince. Rohib was so happy and said that the

mouse was the hero. The cat and the dog were jealous and angry. They knew that the

mouse had tricked them. According to the local people, that’s why until now cats and dogs

always tried to catch mice.***

BALI

Kebo Iwa

Once upon a time in Bali, lived a wealthy man and his wife. They have been married for a

long time but did not have any children. They prayed to God to give them a child. They

prayed and prayed. God finally answered their pray. The wife got pregnant and they had a

baby boy. They were very happy. The baby was extraordinary. He was very much different

from other babies. He ate and drank a lot. Day after day he ate more and more. His body

was getting bigger and bigger. And by the time he was a teenager, his body was as big as a

buffalo. That’s why people called him Kebo Iwa, it means uncle buffalo. Because of his

eating habit, Kebo Iwa’s parents spent a lot of money to buy his food. They finally went

bankrupt. They had no other choice but to ask the villagers to help them provide the food.

The villagers then worked together to cook and build a big house for Kebo Iwa. He was like a

giant. He could not stay in his parents’ house anymore because of his big body. After a few

months, the villagers also couldn’t afford to cook him the food anymore. They then asked

Kebo Iwa to cook his own food. The villagers just prepared the raw materials. Kebo Iwa

agreed and as an expression of his gratitude to the villagers, he help built a dam, dug wells,

and he also protected the villagers from animals and people who wanted to attack their

village. It was easy task for him since he also had incredible strength.

Meanwhile, the kingdom of Majapahit was planning to attack Bali. They knew about Kebo

Iwa. And they also knew that they could not conquer Bali with Kebo Iwa there. Kebo Iwa

was more powerful than they were. The Maha Patih of Majapahit then planned something.

They were pretending to invite Kebo Iwa to Majapahit to help them dig some wells. They

said that Majapahit was suffering from a long dry season and needed water. Kebo Iwa did

not know the plan, so he went to Majapahit to help them. When Kebo Iwa was busy digging

a well, the Majapahit troops covered the well. Kebo Iwa had difficulty in breathing and

buried alive. He died inside the well. After the death of Kebo Iwa, Bali was conquered by

Majapahit. Until now, people still remember Kebo Iwa because he had done a lot for

Bali.***

Manik Angkeran

A long time ago, lived a rich man named Begawan Sidi Mantra. He was very famous for his

kindness and also for his supernatural power. He had a son named Manik Angkeran who

liked to gamble. Because of Manik Angkeran’s bad habit, his father soon bankrupt. Begawan

Sidi Mantra had spent all of his money to pay his son‘s debts. But, Manik Angkeran still liked

to gamble and he still owed some people a lot of money.

Begawan Sidi Mantra wanted to help his son to pay the remaining debts. He meditated for

days, and finally he got a clue from the gods to go to Agung Mountain. He went to the

mountain. There, he met with a dragon named Naga Besukih. It is said that Naga Besukih

could provide gold and jewelries to those who could say a certain prayer and ring the sacred

bell. Fortunately, Begawan Sidi Mantra had the bell, and he also knew the prayer from his

meditation. “My name is Sidi Mantra. I have a problem. My son likes to gamble. I’ve spent

all of my money to pay his debts, but it’s still not enough. I came here to ask for your help,”

explained Begawan Sidi Mantra after he met with Naga Besukih. “I’ll help you, but you have

to advise your son so he would not gamble again,” said Naga Besukih. The dragon then

shakes his body and cause some of his scales fall of. Magically, the scales turn into gold and

diamonds.

Begawan Sidi Mantra took the gold and diamonds and return home. He paid all the

remaining debt and advised his son about his gambling habit. Manik Angkeran promised to

stop gambling, but soon he broke the promise. Bagawan Sidi Mantra had to go to the

dragon for help once again. “What brought you here again?” asked Naga Besukih. “I’m very

sorry, Naga Besukih. My son had disappointed me; he broke his promise to me. I beg for

your help once again,” said Begawan Sidi Mantra to the dragon. “I’ll help you, but this is the

last time,” said Naga Besukih.

Begawan Sidi Mantra once again paid Manik Angkeran’s debts and advised him not to

gamble again. Manik Angkeran promised and soon he broke his promise again. This time,

Begawan Sidi Mantra didn’t want to help him anymore. He was too ashamed to meet with

the dragon.

Manik Angkeran knew that his father got the jewelries from the dragon. So, he stole his

father’s sacred bell and went to Agung Mountain. After he arrived, Manik Angkeran rang the

bell. Naga Besukih heard the bell but there’s no prayer. He decided to see who was calling

him. “Hey, Manik Angkeran. What are you doing here with your father’s bell? Did you steal

it?” asked Naga Besukih angrily when he saw Manik Angkeran. “Please help me, Naga

Besukih. I really need the money to pay my debts. Those people would kill me if I don’t pay

them in time. Please, I beg for your mercy,” said Manik Angkeran to the dragon. “Okay, I’ll

help you. But this is the last time, and you have to promise to stop gambling,” Naga Besukih

then give him the jewelries.

But suddenly, Manik Angkeran had a bad idea. He wanted to kill the dragon and take all the

jewelries. So he drew his keris and attacked Naga Besukih. He managed to cut the dragon’s

tail, but he was no match for Naga Besukih. With his great power, Naga Besukih burned

Manik Angkeran and killed him instantly.

In his home, Begawan Sidi Mantra couldn’t find his sacred bell. He knew that his son had

stolen it, so he went to Agung Mountain. He was so sad when he found out what happened

in the mountain. “I’m very sorry, Naga Besukih. But he was my only son. I beg you, please

bring him back to life,” Begawan Sidi Mantra begged the dragon for mercy. Naga Besukih

agreed with one condition, Manik Angkeran had to stay at Agung Mountain. Naga Besukih

said some prayer and after few moments, Manik Angkeran lived again. Begawan Sidi Mantra

then used a stick to make a big line between them on the ground. From the line, water

flowed. Soon it became a river. Finally it became a strait. It separated Java and Bali. People

then named the strait as Bali Strait.***

RIAU

Dang Gedunai

Long time ago in Riau, lived a kid named Dang Gedunai. He lived with his mother. Dang

Gedunai was a stubborn kid. His mother was sad. Dang Gedunai was her only child but he

never made her happy. One day, Dang Gedunai went to the river to catch some fish.

“Mother, I want to go to the river. I want to go fishing,” said Dang Gedunai to his mother.

“It’s cloudy outside. Rain will soon fall. Why don’t you just stay at home?” said his mother.

As always Dang Gedunai ignored her. He then went to the river.

It was very cloudy when he arrived at the river. Soon it was drizzling, but Dang Gedunai was

still busy fishing. Later rain fell down heavily. Dang Gedunai finally gave up. However right

before he left, he saw something shining in the river. It was a very big egg. Dang Gedunai

then brought the egg home.

His mother was surprised to see him brought a big egg. “What egg is that? Where did you

find it?” she asked. “I found it in the river, Mother,” replied Dang Gedunai. “Be careful with

the egg. It’s not yours. You should return it,” advised his mother. As always, Dang Gedunai

ignored his mother’s advice. He planned to eat the egg even though his mother said not to.

In the morning, his mother was ready to go to the paddy field. Again, she advised Dang

Gedunai to put the egg back to the river. Dang Gedunai did not say anything. When his

mother left the house, he immediately boiled the egg. Then he ate it. It was so delicious. He

was so full and suddenly he fell asleep. He had a dream. A giant dragon came to him in his

dream. “Human, you stole my egg! For the punishment, you will become a dragon.”

Dang Gedunai woke up with fear. He was sweating. He felt very thirsty. Later his mother

went home. She saw her son panicking. “What happened?” she asked. “I don’t know,

Mother. Suddenly I feel very thirsty. My throat is like burning,” said Dang Gedunai. His

mother then gave him a glass of water. It’s not enough. He drank another glass, and then

another glass until there was not any water left in the house. His mother told him to go the

pond. Dang Gedunai drank all the water until the pond was dried. But it was not enough.

Then they went to the river.

Again it was not enough. Dang Gedunai knew his dream would come true. He would

become a dragon. “Mother, please forgive me. I ignored you. I ate the egg. It was a dragon’s

egg. I will change to a dragon. I cannot live with you anymore. I will live in the sea. If you see

big waves in the sea, that means I’m eating. But if the waves are calmed, then it means I’m

sleeping,” said Dang Gedunai.

Then Dang Gedunai left his mother. He headed for the sea. His mother couldn’t do anything

to stop him. She just cried. Until now fishermen don’t want to go fishing in the sea when the

waves are big. They know that the dragon is eating. They just wait until the dragon is

finished eating and the waves are calmed.***

The Greedy Man

Once upon a time in Riau, lived a pair of husband and wife. They were very poor. The wife

was very diligent, while the husband was very lazy. He just slept and slept everyday. He did

not want to help his wife to earn a living. The wife was helpless, she often prayed to God to

help her husband.

One night the husband had a dream. In his dream, an old man came to him. He told the

husband to take his sampan and went to river. "Go to the middle of the river and wait until

a rope appears from the river. Take the rope slowly, and then you will find a golden chain.

You can cut and take it, but don't take the chain too long," said the old man. The husband

then woke up from his dream.

In the next day, the husband took his sampan and went to river. He wanted to do the old

man's advice as said in his dream last night. "Where are you going?" asked the wife. She was

so surprised to see her husband was busy preparing the sampan. "I want to go fishing,

Honey. See you later!" the husband didn’t want to tell his wife about his dream. He knew his

wife would think he was crazy by following up a dream.

After the husband arrived in the river, he rowed his sampan until he reached the middle of

the river. He then looked around the water surface very carefully. Suddenly a rope appeared

from the river. "The old man was right!" said the husband to himself. He then slowly pulled

the rope and at the end of the rope he saw a golden chain! The chain was sparkling and

glowing. It was made from pure gold. "Wow! It’s really made of gold. I’m rich. I’m rich," the

husband said happily. He kept pulling the chain. He forgot the old man's advice to take only

short chain because it was enough for him. The poor man became greedy. He wanted to

take the golden chain as long as possible.

While he was busy pulling out the golden chain, a bird came to him. It talked, "Remember

the old man's advice. Take only a short golden chain." But the poor man ignored the bird

and kept on pulling out the chain. Slow but sure, his sampan was full of the golden chain. It

was so full that finally the sampan could not hold the weight any more. The sampan started

to drown. The golden chain was sinking and went to the bottom of the river creating a big

wave in the river. The wave almost swallowed the poor man. He was so panicked. He swam

as fast as possible to the river side.

When he arrived on the river side, he felt sorry to himself. He blamed himself for being a

greedy man. But it was already too late. But then he realized that it was a lesson for him to

work hard if he wanted to earn money.***

BANGKA BELITUNG

The Blowpiper

Long time ago in a small village in Bangka Island, lived a young man who was an expert in

using blowpipe, especially for hunting. That why people in the village called him the

blowpiper. He also had excellent medical skill that was passed down from his late father.

One day, the village chief Pak Raje came to the blowpiper’s house, asking him to chase away

the fold of wild boars that entered and ruined his paddies. Pak Raje told the blowpiper that

his father once owed him some money. Thus, the blowpiper should work for him

voluntarily. The blowpiper took the job, though he would not be paid.

In the next day, the blowpiper went to Pak Raje‘s field. He watched the field and did some

patrols to every side of the fields. He watched the field everyday, but he still not found any

suspicious movements. Entering the seventh day of his work, the blowpiper noticed a

suspicious movement from the far distance. He walked slowly to the source of voice where

he saw a fold of boars trying to enter the field. The blowpiper then hid behind a big tree

with a blowpipe in his hand. When the fold of boars ruined the paddies, the blowpiper

pointed his blowpipe toward one of the boars that was closest to him. He blew his

blowpipe. The dart hit the boar, but it didn’t paralyze the boar as the blowpiper expected.

The fold of boars then runs outside the field and disappeared from the blowpiper‘s view.

“Hmm... My dart had hit one of them, it must hurt it,” said the blowpiper curiously.

In the morning, the blowpiper went to follow the blood trail of the boar he shot last night.

The trail led him to the forest and finally it ended in front of a big cave. Cautiously, the

blowpiper entered the cave. He was surprised to found a beautiful lady bleeding on a soft

bed, surrounded by some other beautiful ladies. One of them was an old lady, the mother of

the fainted lady. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” asked the old lady. “I’m sorry to

interrupt. I’m looking for my lost dart, it was stuck to a wild boar,” the blowpiper explained

to the old lady. “The stuff you are looking for is on my daughter,” said the old lady angrily.

“How come it is on your daughter?” asked the blowpiper surprised. “That’s because... the

boar that you shot with your blowpipe last night is in fact my daughter‘s manifestation,”

explained the old woman sadly.

The old woman‘s explanation surprised the blowpiper. “So..., all of you were the boars that I

saw last night?” asked the young man. “What you have said is right young man,” answered

the old woman softly. “I did not mean to…. I am so sorry to hear that. I would not do that if I

knew that the boars were you,” the blowpiper apologized. “Never mind,” said the old

woman. “Forget all about that. The most important thing right now is how to release the

dart from my daughter‘s body,” added the old woman sadly. “I can help you with that,” said

the blowiper. He came closer to the beautiful lady and uncovered the blanket. He then took

out the dart from her body and with his medical skill he immediately stopped the bleeding.

In a short time, the wound recovered, leaving no traces. “Now, she has recovered. Let me go

home now. May be we can meet again someday,” said the blowpiper politely. “Yes young

man... But before you leave, I have something to give to you as my gratitude,” said the old

lady while giving the blowpiper a wooden box. “Do not open the box until you’re in home,”

added the old lady. “Thank you for your kindness,” said the blowpiper. He then left the cave

and returned home. At his home, the blowpiper opened the wooden box. Surprisingly, the

young man found jewelry, gold and diamonds inside the box. “Wow...! I’m rich,” murmured

the young man happily.

In the next morning, the blowpiper sold all the precious stuff and used the money he got to

purchase a field, garden, house, and paid all debt his father had owed to Pak Raje. The news

about the blowpiper fortune quickly spread throughout the village. Everyone knew including

Pak Raje. He intended to be like the blowpiper, so he went to borrow the blowpipe from the

blowpiper to hunt a boar in his own field. On the way, he met with a boar, and shot it with

the blowpipe. Then he followed the blood trail left by the boar until he entered the cave. It

was like what happened with the blowpiper. Pak Raje was asked to cure the bleeding

woman, but he could do that as he had no such skill. Suddenly, tens of boars attacked him,

making him bleeding and seriously wounded. With all his strength, he escaped from the

cave. He fainted when he finally arrived in front of his own house.

Pak Raje’s daughter informed what happened to her father to the blowpiper. Hearing the

bad news, the blowpiper rushed to Pak Raje‘s house to help him. With his medical skill, he

tried to cure Pak Raje’s injuries. Finally, Pak Raje could make it and recovered from his

serious wounds. After thinking about what he had been through, Pak Raje realized his own

bad intention. He felt sorry for being greedy. “Thank you, young man. You’ve help me once

again. As my gratitude, I would like to appoint you as the next village chief. Would you

accept?” asked Pak Raje. “Of course, Pak Raje. Thank you,” answered the blowpiper happily.

After a week, the blowpiper asked Pak Raje’s daughter to be his wife. They live happily as a

couple. The blowpiper was a polite and kind person, and Pak Raje’s daughter was a beautiful

woman. Under the leadership of the blowpiper, all the villagers lived in prosperous and

harmony.***

NUSA TENGGARA BARAT

Princess Mandalika

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom in Lombok Island that was ruled by a king named

Raja Tonjang Beru. He was a wise king. He had a queen named Dewi Seranting. He also had

a beautiful daughter named Princess Mandalika. It is said that princess Mandalika was the

prettiest girl in the whole island. Everybody knew about Princess Mandalika’s beauty and

kindness, even the people from other kingdom around the island.

Princes from all over the place wanted to marry her. One by one, they came to propose her.

Princess Mandalika was a kind girl. She hated to make people sad. So, when those princes

came to propose her, she was very confused. She could not decide, and she didn’t want to

make them sad. She also didn’t want to cause a war to happen because of her.

To solve the problem, Raja Tonjang Beru then held a competition in Seger Kuta beach. He

asked all the princes to take part in archery competition. The rule was simple; whoever shot

the target perfectly will be accepted as Princess Mandalika’s future husband. One by one, all

participants tried their best. After some time, there was no winner. All the participants were

great in archery.

Because there was no a winner, all the participants started to argue. They claimed to be the

best. The argument was getting hotter. Finally, they all were fighting. Soon, the fighting got

bigger. It was like a war, because all the princes brought their soldiers in the archery

competition. Princess Mandalika was really worried. She did not want the war to get bigger

and hurt many people. Finally, she had an idea. "Everybody, listen up! I know you all love

me and want me to be your wife. But I don't want you to fight because of me. And I don't

want you to be sad either. I want you all to have me, but not as your wife. I want to be

someone that everybody can have," said Princess Mandalika.

Raja Tonjang Beru and all other people in the beach did not understand what she meant.

The king then came to her. But suddenly, Princess Mandalika jumped to the sea. She

disappeared in the big waves. Everybody was surprised. It was chaos on the beach. All the

princes tried to swim to find the princess, but they found nothing.

After several hours trying to search the princess, suddenly they found a lot of colorful sea

worms on the beach. Raja Tonjang Beru then realized that his daughter had returned as sea

worms. The worms were then called nyale. Until now, people in Lombok always try to catch

nyale. Nyale is very delicious and that is why a lot of people come to Lombok to catch it.

However, they can only find it once a year, in February or March. The tradition to catch the

sea worms is called Bau Nyale.***

PAPUA

Biwar and the Dragon

One day, the people from the village of Mimika were very busy. They prepared twelve boats

and set off on a journey to find sago (traditional food of the people in the island of Papua).

After three days, their boats were filled with sago. But on their way back to the village, they

were attacked by a dragon. The dragon’s tail caused a big wave in the river. Most of the

villagers were drown, but there’s a woman who managed to save herself. She was hanging

to a tree log and finally arrives in a land.

The woman was the only survivor from the incident. She was pregnant. Her boat was broken

so she couldn’t go back to the village. The woman then lived in the forest near the river.

Later she gave birth to a son. She named her son Biwar. He grew up as a skillful hunter. He

can make various weapons, set traps to catch animals, and provided sufficient food for both

of them.

One day he brought some fish for their food. When his mother saw him bringing fish, she

asked where Biwar got them. He said it was from the river. The mother was still afraid of the

dragon, so she forbade Biwar to go near the river again. She also told him about his father

and the villagers that were killed by the dragon, "Your father was killed by the dragon. I'm

the only one survived from the incident. That's why we live alone here, Son."

Biwar then decided to hunt the dragon so that he and his mother could go back to the

village. He set traps near the river. Then he made some noise by playing the tifa (traditional

drums). Attracted by the noise, the dragon came to Biwar. When the dragon started to

attack, Biwar pulled the rope that linked to his traps, releasing spears that hit the dragon’s

head directly. The dragon died instantly.

Biwar then came to his mother and told her about the death of the dragon. The next day, he

built a boat and set sail to return to the village. When they arrived in the village, all the

people were so happy to hear the news about the dragon’s death. Thanks to Biwar, they are

not afraid to sail in the river anymore.***