The Legend of Catu Island

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago there was a village in Bali. The people worked as farmers. One of the was Jurna. He was a diligent farmer. He always had a great harvest. However he was never satisfied. He wanted to have better and better harvest.
"I will promise to gods. If they give me better harvest than I have now, I will give them offerings and I will share the harvest to the neighbors," said Jurna to his wife.
"I agree, But remember, you have to keep your promise," said his wife.
Soon, Jurna had better harvest. He had more rice than he had before. He was happy. And as promised, he prepared offerings to the gods and he also shared to his neighbors. They were very happy.
Jurna was not satisfied. He wanted to have better and better and more harvest. Therefore he promised to gods that he would double his offerings and his sharing to the neighbors.
His wish came true. His harvest was much better than before. The other farmers were amazed. They were also very thankful because he shared his harvest to them.
One day, Jurna went to his rice field. When he arrived, he saw a pile of soil on the ground. It looked like a catu. Catu was made of coconut shell. People used catu to measure the amount of rice. At home, Jurna talked about a soil which looked like a catu to his wife. She had an idea.
"Let's make catu from rice," she said. Jurna agreed. Later they formed the rice just like catu. On the following day, Jurna went to his rice field. He saw the soil catu was getting bigger.
"Hmm...I will make rice catu bigger than this," said Jurna himself. He asked his wife to make bigger rice catu. He felt very satisfied. He wanted to show his rise catu to his neighbors. He hoped that his neighbors would prise him as a rich man. And they did! All the neighbors praised him. Jurna became arrogant. On the next day, Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu were not getting bigger and bigger. But he was wrong. Strangely, the soil catu was bigger.
"Don't worry, I have much rice. I can make rice catu bigger," said Jurna arrogantly. While he was making the rice catu, he was thinking how the neighbors would prise him.
And his wish came true. All the neighbors were so amazed by the size of the rice catu. They all said that Jurna was very rich. Jurna became more arrogant.
Then Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu would stop growing. But he was wrong. Again, it became much bigger than before. Jurna was really upset. He made rice catu bigger than before.
It always repeated. Every time he went to his rice field he always found the soil catu became bigger and bigger.
His wife always reminded him to stop making rice catu. She said that their stock was getting lesser and lesser. She asked him to stop wasting the rice.
But Jurna ignored her. He was only thinking how he could make his rice catu bigger than the soil catu. Soon he lost all of his rice. He became poor. He regretted his bad behaviour. Meanwhile the soil catu became very big. It was like a hill. People then named it as Catu Hill or Bukit Catu. ***

Tanjung Menangis

Folklore from Maluku

THERE was a great kingdom in Halmahera. The people were sad. The king just died. He was a great king. He was kind and very wise. The people loved him very much.
The king had three children, two sons and one daughter. The son were Baginda Arif and Baginda Binaut, while the daughter was Putri baginda Nuri.
The queen talked to commander of the soldiers. They were discussing about the next king. According to the rule, the first child would be the next king. Therefore, they were preparing a ceremony to inaugurate Baginda Arif to be the new king.
Baginda Binaut heard they conversation. Actually, he had an ambition. he also wanted to be the king. He had a plan. Secretly, he talked to the commander and consequently the commander had to send the queen, Baginda Arif and Baginda Nuri to jail.
The commander agreed. He send them to the jail. The queen, the prince and the princess were very sad. Baginda Binaut told the people that his mother, his brother and his sister were drowned in the sea.
"Binaut is really ungrateful. He is really a bad person," said Baginda Arif.
"Be patient, my child. God will help us," said the queen.
Then Baginda Binaut became the new king. Unlike his father, he was very cruel. He asked his people to pay high taxes. The people suffered. They complained but they could not do anything. The soldiers would hurt them.
However, not all the soldiers wanted to follow Baginda Binaut. One of the soldier decided to leave the palace. His name was Bijak. He made his own troops. He knew the queen, the prince and the princess were in jail. He wanted to set them free.
On one night, Bijak and his troops attacked the jail. He wanted to set them free.
On one night, Bijak and his troops attacked the jail. They succeeded! Then he planed to attacked the palace. But the queen did not agree. She did not want to see her own people fighting. The queen then prayed to god.
Not long after that, the mountain erupted. The lava was flowing. It flowed to the palace. The people were running to save their life. Baginda Binaut was also running. Amazingly, wherever he was running, the lava always followed him.
Baginda Binaut was really scared. While he was running, he was thinking of his mother, brother and his sister. He screamed for help.
"Mother, please help me!" He went to the jail but they were not there. He was really panicked because the lava was getting closer to him.
"Help! Help!" screamed Baginda Bimaut but not one helped him.
Finally, Baginda Binaut could not run anymore. He was exhausted and he arrived at the sea. He could not go back to the land because it was full of lava. Then he swam to the sea.
Because he was very tired, he could not swim. He was drowned. Slowly, his body turned into a cave. The people often heard someone crying from the cave, therefore they named it the crying cave or Tanjung Menangis. ***

Putri Luh Cendrasari

Folklore from Bali

PRABU Maha Sila was a king. He had a beautiful daughter. Her name was Putri Luh Cendrasari. Many young men fell in love with her. They wanted to propose her to be their wife.

The king asked his daughter to choose carefully. Some of the men were princes from other kingdom. The king did not want to make the men disappointed and it would start a war.

Putri Luh Cendrasari understood. She held a competition. She would marry a man who could bring her the eyes and the scales of a white dragon. All the participants agreed. They started to look for a white dragon.

It was not easy to find a white dragon. Some of them climbed the mountains and some of them swam in the sea. However they still could not find the white dragon. One by one the participants gave up.

One of the participants was Manik Angkeran. He was not a prince. He was just a villager. Manik Angkeran really wanted to marry Putri Luh Cendrasari. Actually the princess also fell in love with Manik Angkeran.

She really hoped he could win the copetition. Manik Angkeran went to his teacher in his cave. The teacher was meditating. Manik Angkeran told his teacher about Putri Luh Cendrasari and the competition.

"What will you do to win the competition?" asked the teacher.

"I will do anything, Master. If I have to sacrifice my soul, yes... I will do it, said Manik Angkeran.
"I really admire your persistence. I can see that you really love her. And I also really love you, Manik Angkeran. And I will do anything to make you happy."

The teacher continued, "Actually I am a white dragon. Gods allowed me to be human," said the teacher.

Later an amazing things happened. The teacher slowly turned into a white dragon. Manik Angkeran was very surprised. He did not know that his teacher actually a white dragon.

The white dragon took out his eyes and shook his body. The scales fell off. He gave his eyes and his scales to Manik Angkeran. Then the white dragon disappeared. He went back to heaven.
Manik Angkeran was very sad. He lost his beloved teacher. He immediately went to the palace. The princess was happy. The winner was Manik Angkeran. They soon got married.

Not long after that the princess was pregnant. Everybody was happy except Manik Angkeran. He knew he had to fulfill his promise. He would die soon.

Manik Angkeran was talking to Putri Luh Cendrasari. Suddenly he fell down. Putri Luh Cendrasari saw the gods took manik Angkeran's spirit.

She cried. She asked gods not to take her husband. She told gods that she wanted to follow her husband. She also wanted to die.

The Gods answered, "It's not your time to die. You are pregnant."

"But I really want to be with my husband," said the princess.
Actually the gods did not want to take Manik Angkeran's spirit. They just want to test the princess if she really loved him, knowing that he was just a villager, The gods answered her request. Slowly Manik Angkeran came back to life.

He lived again. Since then Manik angkeran and Putri Luh Cendrasari lived happily ever after.***

The Legend of Ruai Bird

Folklore from West Kalimantan

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

The White Gibbon

Folklore from West Sumatra

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

Dayang Bandir

Folklore from North Sumatra

Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms in North Sumatra, the Eastern Kingdom and the Western Kingdom. The Eastern King got married with the Western King's sister. Later, they had a baby girl. They named her Dayang Bandir. Seven years later, they had another child. They named him Sandean Raja.
When Sandean Raja was a kid, his father, the Eastern King died. The rule said that the king's son would be the next king. However, Sandean Raja was still a kid. He had to wait until he was adult to be the king. The elderly of the kingdom asked Uncle Kareang to be the king. Uncle Kareang was the Eastern King's younger brother.
The Eastern king had a magical sword. Uncle Kareang wanted to have the sword. Without the sword, he was only the temporary king. He was looking for the sword everywhere but he could not find it. he knew Dayang Bandir hid the sword. She wanted to give the sword to her brother, Sandean Raja, when he was adult. She wanted her brother to be the next king. Uncle Kareang was really angry. He asked the soldiers to take Dayang Bandir and Sandean Raja to the jungle.
Soldiers then tied Dayang Bandir on top of a big tree in the jungle. They would bring her down after Dayang Bandir told them where the sword was. But she never told them. Then the soldiers left Dayang Bandir and Sandean Raja alone in the jungle. Sandean Raja cried under the big tree. He could not climb the big tree. Everytime he tried to climb, he fell down. Days passed by. Dayang Bandir was getting weaker and weaker. She finally died.
Sandean Raja then left alone in the jungle. He was not really alone actually. Her sister spirit always accompanied him. They still could talk each other.
When Sandean Raja was adult, he decided to go to the Western Kingdom. The King, King Soma, was his uncle. He wanted to talk about his bad experience.
King Sorma was surprised when he met Sandean Raja. He heard that sandean Raja and Dayang Bandir died in the jungle. He was not sure that Sandean Raja was really his nephew.
If you are really my nephew, remove that big tree, said king Sorma.
Sandean Raja was a powerful man. He could remove that big tree easily.
"I have the last test. Go to that dark room. There are many girls there. Which one is my daughter?' said King Sorma.
"Don't worry, my brother, I will help you," said Dayang Bandir's spirit.
Sandean Raja then could find the King Sorma's daughter. The king then was sure that the young man was really his nephew. After that, Tandean Raja told told him about his sister and all his bad experience with Uncle Kareang. King Soma then asked his soldier to attack the Eastern Kingdom.
The Western Kingdom won the war. Sandean Raja then became the king of the kingdom. Later, her sister's spirit told him where the sword was.***

Putri Tangguk

Folklore from Jambi

THERE was a village in Jambi. The people were farmers. One of them was Putri Tangguk. She lived with her husband and her children.
Putri Tangguk and her husband had a very small rice field. Amazingly, the rice field was able to harvest a lot of rice. Their harvest was always abundant. They put their harvest in their big barn. They were very happy with their life.
Putri Tangguk always helped her husband in the rice field. One day, she said that she wanted to quit helping her husband. She wanted to take care of the children and mingle with the neighbours.
In the morning, Putri Tangguk wanted to cook some rice. However she could not find any rice in the kitchen. She was surprised and she felt that she just took some rice from the barn and put it in the kitchen. Then, she went to the barn. Surprisingly, there was no rice in the barn. She immediately told her husband about the missing rice.
"Look! The rice is gone. Our rice is stolen!" said Putri Tangguk.
Putri Tangguk and her husband immediately went to the rice field. And after they finished, they brought the rice. On the way home, rain fell down heavily. The rain made the road slippery. Putri Tangguk fell down several times.
She was really upset. Later, she asked her husband to put the rice on the road.
"What for?" asked the husband.
"The road is slippery. If we throw the rice on the field, we can step on it. Therefore the road is not going to be slippery. Don't worry, we have an amazing rice field right?" asked Putri Tangguk.
Although he did not completely agree with her idea, the husband still threw the rice in front of them. The idea worked. Every time they stepped on the rice, they did not fall down.
When they arrived home, their rice was only left a little. It was only enough for their dinner. However they were not worried. Tomorrow morning, they planned to go to their rice field and took a lot of rice. They planned to fill their barn.
Surprisingly when they arrived, their rice field was full of grass. There was no rice at all. They were really confused.
At night Putri Tangguk had a dream. An old man came to her and said, "You were really ungrateful. You treated us badly."
"I am one of the rice you threw away on the road. You stepped on us! The god of the rice was really angry. He decided not to give you a lot of rice anymore. You can only get a little rice," said the old man.
Putri Tangguk then woke up. She really regretted what she did. She knew it was wrong to throw away the rice but it was too late. She could only feel sorry.***

The legend of n'Daung Snake

Folklore from Bengkulu

ONCE upon a time in Bengkulu, a widow lived with three daughters. They all were beautiful but they had different personalities. The oldest and the middle daughter were lazy but the youngest daughter was diligent.

One day, their mother was terribly ill. She could be cured only by eating special leaves that cooked by magical fire. Unfortunately, the leaves and magical fire were on top of the mountain and were guarded by a snake. It was not just an ordinary snake.

The snake had magical power. The name was n'Daung Snake. The oldest and the middle daughter did not want to go to the top of the mountain.

"I will go there, Mother. I'll take the leaves and the magical fire for you," said the youngest daughter.

Actually she was also very scared of the n'Daung Snake.

Then, after several days climbing the mountain, she finally arrived at the n'Daung Snake's place. It was a cave. The special leaves and the magical fire were inside the cave. Suddenly, she heard some noises. The n'Daung Snake was coming! She was very terrified but she did not want to run. She wanted to talk about her problem to the Snake.

In just a minute, the snake was already in front of her.

"Who are you, young girl? What are you doing here?" asked the snake politely.

She was surprised. Although the snake looked scary, he was very polite. Then, she asked the snake to give her the leaves and the magical fire.

"You can take them, but you have to be my wife. Agree?" asked the snake. She did not think twice. She just wanted her mother to be cured soon. Then, the snake gave her the leaves and the torch burned with the magical fire. She directly went home.

Later, the mother got cured. The youngest daughter knew that she had to keep her promise to n'Daung Snake.

So, she left the house without saying goodbye. When she arrived at the cave, it was already in the evening. She went inside the cave but she could not find the snake. She met a handsome man instead.

"Don't be afraid. My name is Prince Abdul Rahman Alamsjah. My uncle cursed me into a snake only during daylight. In the evening, I became a human. My uncle did not want me to be a king," explained the man.

In the meantime, her mother and her older sisters were looking for her. They finally arrived at n'Daung Snake's cave. It was also already in the evening. They saw the youngest daughter was with a handsome man.

After they knew who the man was, the older sisters were jealous. They burned the snakeskin. They hoped n'Daung Snake could not change back as a human.

However, the result was the opposite. By burning the snakeskin, the spell was broken. Prince Abdul Rahman Alamsjah was free from the curse.

He then asked his wife to go with him to the palace. He would be the next king and sent his uncle to the jail. The youngest daughter also asked her mother to stay with them in the palace. How about the older sisters? They were ashamed with their behaviours, so they stayed at the cave.***

Putri Bungsu and the Dragons

Folklore from Aceh

ONCE upon a time, there were two dragons lived in Aceh. The dragons were male and female, they were husband and wife. The dragons really wanted to have a child. They always prayed to God to give them a child.
One day the dragons were resting at the river side. Suddenly they saw a baby beside a basket. The basket was drifting by the current of the water.
"Myn husband, look! There is a human baby inside the basket. Let's save the baby!" said the mother dragon.
The father dragon immediately swam fast. He brought the baby to the side.
She was a baby girl. The dragons were very happy. They had a child. Although the baby was a human child, the dragons really loved her. They named her Putri Bungsu.
Days passed by, Putri Bungsu was adult. She was very beautiful. The dragons always took care of her. They also always protected her.
In mean time, putri Bungsu real parents were looking for her.
In the mean time, Putri Bungsu real parents were looking for her. There was an incident and accidentally Putri Bungsu was drifting in the river.
After years looking for her, Putri Bungsu's real parents finally found her.
"My child, thank God we finally found you. You are our daughter. We know it from the mark in your hand," said the mother.
The dragons were angry! they said Putri Bunsu was their daugter. "No! She is our daughter! We have raised her since she was a baby. We loved her and she loved us," said the mother dragon.
Putri Bungsu's real parents and the dragons were arguing. They each claimed to be Putri's Bungsu's parents and they asked Putri bungsu to stay with them.
They were arguing and they did not get any solutions. Putri Bungsu's real parents asked for help. They asked Tuan Tapa to help them. Tuan Tapa was a holy man. He also had supernatural power.
Tuan Tapa then asked the dragons to let Putri Bungsu leave and stay with her real parents. The dragons were angry. They asked Tuan Tapa not to interfere.
Tuan Tapa realized that the dragons could not negotiate. Therefore Tuan Tapa challenged them to fight.
"If you win, you can keep her. However you have to let her go and stay with her real parents if you both lose the fight," said Tuan Tapa.
"Ha ha ha...No problem! We will win the fight!"
Then Tuan Tapa and the dragons were fighting bravely. Although he was alone and had to fight with two dragons, Tuan Tapa was very brave. he used all his skills to fight them.
And finally he won the fight! The father dragon was dead. The mother dragon was very sad and angry. She knew she could not win the fight. She escaped.
The mother dragon was very angry. She wagged her tail. It broke an island into two small islands. people named the islands as Pulau Dua.
The tail also wagged another big island into many small islands. People named the island as Pulau Banyak.
While the body of the father dragon changed into a big stone.
People named it as Batu Hitam. And the blood dried into a big red stone, people named it as Batu Merah.***

The Legend of Tes Lake

Folklore from Bengkulu

THERE was a man lived in Kutei Donok village, Bengkulu. People call him Pahit Lidah. He was named Pahit Lidah because he had magical power. Whatever he said would come true. That was why Pahit Lidah was always careful with his words.
Pahit Lidah had a son. One day Pahit Lidah left his village. He wanted to open new rice field. He asked permission to the head of the village.
The head of the village gave him the permission.
Pahit Lidah went alone.
His son still stayed at home.
After walking for several hours, he finally found a good place for his new rice field. He brought his hoe and started using it. He dug the soil and threw it to the Air Ketahun River.
He was working days and nighst and he never stopped to rest. He was very powerful. He kept on hoeing the soil and always threw it to the river.
He had been working for two days and there was a lot of land covering the river. Slowly the soil blocked the water. The soil in the river made the water did not flow smoothly.
The villagers were restless. They knew if Pahit Lidah kept on throwing the soil to the river, finally the river would totally blocked by the soil. They were afraid that the water would overflow and their village would be flooded.
The villagers then reported this to the head of the village. After he knew the problem, the head of the village sent some villagers to meet Pahit Lidah. They had to persuade him to stop working and returned home.
“If he still does not want to go home, tell him that his son is dead,” said the
head of the villagers.
Later the villagers left. They finally met Pahit Lidah.
As planned, they tried to persuade him to stop working. However, Pahit Lidah ignored them. Then they told him that his son was dead.
“Impossible. My son is fine. He is still alive,” said Pahit Lidah.
They villagers gave up. They went home and reported to the head of the village.
“I’m sorry, Sir. Pahit Lidah did not want to listen to us. Maybe if you tell him, he will listen to you. He really respects you,” said one villager.
“Hmmm. Alright, I will go now,” said the head of the village.
The head of the village then found Pahit Lidah still hoeing the soil. Later he persuaded Pahit Lidah.
“Pahit Lidah, let’s go home now. Your son is dead,” said the head of the village.
Pahit Lidah stopped working. He really respected the head of the village.
Then he said, “Because you said that my son is dead, now I really believe that my son is dead,” said Pahit Lidah sadly.
“So, why don’t you go home now?”
“I will, Sir. I just need to hoe the soil a little more,” said Pahit Lidah.
After that, the head of the village left him. Pahit Lidah just realized his mistake.
Pahit Lidah was so sure that his son was not dead, then his son was indeed dead. He was so angry. However it was too late. He kept on hoeing and throwing the soil to the river. And finally the land completely blocked the river and it made a new lake. People named the lake as Tes Lake.***

The Legend of Kemaro Island

Folklore from South Sumatra

A long time ago, there was a kingdom in South Sumatra. The king had a very beautiful daughter. her name was Siti Fatimah. She was single. many young man fell in love with her. however, they did not have any courage to propose her. The king wanted his daughter only to marry a rich man.
One day, a ship from China arrived. The captain of the ship was Tan Bun Ann. He was a prince. He came to South Sumatra to do business. He was a merchant. he planned to stay for several months. He came to the palace to meet the king. He wanted to ask the king's permission.
"I will let you stay here and do this business. but remember, you have to share your profit. You have to give half of your profit to the kingdom," said the king.
"I agree, your majesty," said Tan Bun Ann.
Since then, Tan Bun Ann often came to the palace. He met Siti fatimah several times.
He really admired her beauty. He tried to find out more about her. He asked his man to ask the people about her.
After several days, Tan Bun Ann finally got information about Siti Fatimah. He knew that she was single and the king only wanted to have a rich son in law. The information made Tan Bun Ann worked harder. he wanted to be richer.
Tan Bun Ann also approached Siti Fatimah secretly. Siti Fatimah really admired his patience and his spirit to work hard. She also fell in love with him. they secretly had a relationship. After a while, Tan Bun Ann felt it was time for him to propose Siti Fatimah. He talked to the king.
"I will let you marry my daughter. But there is one thing you have to do. Give me nine big jars filled with gold," said the king.
Tan Bun Ann wrote a letter to his parents in China and told them about Siti Fatimah. The parents agreed and sent him nine big jars filled with gold. To cover the gold from the thieves, the parents put some vegetables on top of the gold.
Later, the nine big jars arrived at the pier of Musi River. Tan Bun Ann immediately looked for the jars. He was so surprised. When he opened the cover of the jar, he saw rotten vegetables. He only looked at the top of the jar. he did not search at the bottom of the jars.
"Hmmm...Maybe the gold is in the second jar," thought Tan Bun Ann. Again he did not find the gold. He was so angry. He threw the jars into the river. Every time he did not see any gold in the jar, he always threw it to the river. And finally he opened the last jar. Again, he did not see any gold. This time he was so tired. He did not have any power to throw the jar into the river. Instead he smashed the jar with a big stone.
And when the jar was broken, Tan Bun Ann found the gold! He knew he made a mistake.
He immediately jumped to the river. He wanted to collect the gold.
Siti Fatimah saw what was happening. She waited for Tan Bun Ann at the river bank, but he never showed up. She was impatient. She also wanted to jump and helped him.
Before she jumped, she told her guards a message, "If you see a pile of soil on the river bank, and that means it is my grave." Then she jumped into the river.
The guards waited and waited. And several days the people saw a pile of soil. The soil was getting bigger and bigger. It finally became an island. The people named it Kemaro Island. Kemaro is from the word kemarau, it means drought season. People named it that because the island is never drowned although the level of the water in the Musi River is high.***

A Loyal Farmer

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago, there was a small village in Bali. The villagers were farmers they were very happy. Gods gave them fertile land. They always had great harvest. There were no poor family in that village.
One day, a young man came to the village. He came from a very far place.
He went to the richest farmer in the village. The richest farmer's name was Jero Pasek.
"My name is I Tundung. I came here to work, Sir. I promise I will work hard."
"Hmm...Okay, I will let you work in my rice field. But remember, I will ask you to leave if you are lazy." said Jero Pasek.
I Tudung was very happy. He did not want to disappoint Jero pasek, his master. He worked diligently. Jero Pasek was very grateful. The harvest was much better. Besides cultivating, I Tundung also look care of the animals, such as chickens, ducks, goats and cows. The number of the animals also increased. Jero Pasek become richer.
Jero pasek planned to ask I Tundung to cultivate his field in Kangin Hill.
Unlike the land in the village, the land in Kangin Hill was not fertile.
However, I Tundung accepted it very happy. He felt that Jero Pasek had already trusted him. He wanted to repay his trust by giving him great harvest.
The land in the hill was arid. It was very dry. However, I Tundung was never gave up. There was a small spring. I Tundung made irrigation. He used the water in the spring and flew it through the irrigation.
It worked! The land was not dry anymore. The plants grew very well. And again they had great harvest. Now the whole hills are green, thanks to I Tundung.
Unfortunately, their happiness did not last long. A thief stole the harvest and the animals.
Sadly, I Tundung was never able to catch the thief. The harvest and the animals kept on missing, Jero Pasek was angry.
"I'm very disappointed in you. I have lost a lot of harvest and animals!"
I Tundung was sad. He went to a temple to pray. While he was meditating, he heard a voice.
"I know your promlem and I can help you."
"Thank you. I'm willing to do anything as long as I can protect my master's harvest and animals." said I Tundung.
"I will change you into a big black snake. You will live in the hill and you can protect the harvest and the animals."
I Tundung agreed. he did not want to make his master disappointed and angry at him. Slowly, he changed into a big black snake.
Meanwhile, Joko Pasek was looking for I Tundung. And when he arrived at his field, he saw abig black snake. He was so surprised when the snake was able to talk!
"Don't be afraid, Sir. It's me, I Tundung. From now on, I will always protect your harvest and your animals."
Jero Pasek was very sad. He never meant to ask I Tundung to do anything.
But it was to late.***

The Curse of Joko Bandung

Folklore from Yogyakarta

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

Maninjau Lake

Folklore from West Sumatra

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

Jangga Hatuen Bulan

Folklore from Central Kalimantan

A long time ago, a man lived on the moon. his name was Jangga. He lived with his mother. Jangga loved hunting. Everyday he went hunting with his dog. His mother often told him not to go hunting too long. But Jangga often ignored her.
One day Jangga and his dog went hunting as usual. He was looking for the animals. However, he could not find any of them. Sadly, he was lost. He could not find a way to his home. While he was walking, suddenly he saw an old woman.
Jangga followed the old woman. She arrived at her house. jangga wanted to stay the night at her house. He knocked the door. an old man opened the door. Jangga told him that he wanted to stay. The old man gave him the permission.
Apparently, it was a family. The old man and the old woman had a beautiful daughter. Jangga told them that he was lost. He said that he lived on the moon. The old man said that Jangga was really far from home. They were on the earth.
Jangga was so sad. He could not go back to his home and meet his mother.
The old man offered Jangga to stay at his home. Jangga agreed.
Day passed by ans soon Jangga fell in love with the old man's daughter. Then they got married.
Jangga still enjoyed hunting. With his dog, he often went hunting in the jungle. His wife often told him not to go hunting too long. However, Jangga ignored her.
Jangga's wife was pregnant. She often asked Jangga to stay at home and not to go hunting. Again, Jangga ignored her. Her wife was often angry with him.
In the morning, Jangga wanted to go hunting. This time his wife was really angry.
"Please stay. Don't go! I feel like I'm going to deliver the baby today."
"Don't worry. If the baby is a boy, name him Jangga Batuen Bulan. It means Jangga, a man from the moon. And if the baby is a girl, name her Hendan Bawi Bulan. It means Hendan, a woman from the moon," said Jangga.
Then he left his wife. Not long after that Jangga's wife delivered a baby boy. She was so angry that her husband was not next to her. She did not want her husband to see the baby.
Later Jnagga came home. He heard a baby was crying. He was so happy.
"Where is the baby? I want to see my baby," said Jangga.
"No, you can't! I don't want you to see the baby!" said Jangga's wife.
Jangga was so sad. Ans he was also very angry! He went outside of his home. His dog followed him. After that he prayed. He called out his mother.
Suddenly thunder attacked the place. Dark cloud covered him and his dog. Surprisingly, Jangga and his dog disappeared. Not long after that the baby was dead. Jangga brough the baby spirit to the moon.
Jangga's wife was so sad. She called out Jangga's name. But it was to late. Jangga and the baby now lived on the moon. Jangga's wife was crying. She never stop crying.
The Gods heard how she cried and they didn't like it. The were upset with her and changed her into a bird. People named the bird as pungguk bird.
Until now, during full moon we still can hear the sound of pungguk bird. And we can also see the image of a dog in the moon. From the legend, people make a proverb. It says, "Just like a pungguk waiting for the moon". It means that it's just waiting in vain.***