The Legend of Panekan

Folklore from East Java

“Where are you going?”

“I need some water for my cattle. They are thirsty.”

“Where are you going to find it?”

“I don’t know.”

It was a very common conversation for people in Magetan, East Java, a long time ago. They did not have enough water.

They needed water for their daily needs, such as taking a bath and washing dishes and clothes. They also needed water for their cattle and trees.

Actually they were quite lucky because the land was fertile. However, since they did not have enough water, the villagers could not plant a lot of trees. Therefore, the villagers sometimes had to walk very far away to fi nd water.

In every morning, the head of the village always asked some young men to find water. In one afternoon, the young men came home with good news.

“There was a water spring far from here. However, it was very difficult to go there.”

“Wol, who dares to go there?” asked the head of the village.

Some young men raised their hands.

“We will go there, Sir.”

Then those young men went to the water spring. they were right. The place was not easy to reach. They had to be very careful.

And finally they arrived. However, they saw a girl was there first. They were surprised. They all thought that a girl could not go there.

“Maybe she is not really human, maybe she is an angel,” said one man.

“Come on, let’s approach her,” said another man.

Strangely, before the men came to her, the girl disappeared.

“Look! She is over there!” he pointed to one place.

They immediately ran to come to her. Again, the girl disappeared.
“Look! What is that? It is shining!”

Exactly on the ground where the girl was standing, they found a big diamond. The diamond was
next to the well. Then they brought home the diamond and a lot of water.

When they showed the diamond to the head of the village, he said, “Our great great grand parents named this kind of diamond as Manikan.”

Then he continued. “Since the diamond was found next to the water spring. So let’s name the water spring as Manikan.”

Everybody agreed. Since then the area was named Manikan. The word Manikan had changed into Panekan. And now Panekan has become a great area in East Java. The people are happy because they have fertile land. ***

The Legend of Pamboang

Folklore from West Sulawesi

A long time ago, three men came to Majene, West Sulawesi. They wanted to open a new place. Those three men were brothers. They were I Lauase, I Lauwella, and I Labuqang.

They arrived in the beach. It was empty. No humans lived there. So the three brothers divided jobs among them.

I Lauase worked in the land. He wanted to open new fi elds for plantation. I Lauwella and I Labuqang worked on the beach. I Lauwella cleaned the beach from the seaweeds and I Labuqang covered the hole made by the crabs.

They worked hard everyday. And finally they succeeded. I Lauase had fields with so many trees, fruits and vegetables. I Lauwella and I Labuqang already cleaned the beach from the seaweeds and the covered the holes.

One by one people came to their place. And slowly it became a new village. The three brothers were the leaders of the village. They thought they had to fi nd a name for their village.

“I have an idea. Let’s name it Pallayarang Tallu,” said I Lauase.

“What does it mean,” asked I Lauwella.

“Well, Pallayarang means ship pole and Tallu means three,” explained I Lauase.

They all agreed. Since then they named the village as Pallayarang Tallu. More and more people came to Pallayarang Tallu. The village was growing into a small town.

The name Pallayarang Tallu was so famous. One man was interested to know more about the new town. His name was Puatta Di Karena. He was from Passokkorang kingdom. He went to Pallayarang Tallu with many people.

They were refugees. Their kingdom was attacked by their enemy. They came to Pallayarang Tallu to ask for help. The leader, Puatta Di Karena came to I Lauase’s house.

“Our kingdom is attacked. Can you help us?” asked Puatta Di Karena.

“I’m not the only leader here. I have to discuss with my brothers,” answered I Lauase.

Later, the three brothers held a meeting. After that they met Puatta Di Karena to tell him about their decision.

“We cannot help you. We don’t have enough soldiers yet. You can see that Pallayarang Tallu is a new town. There are not so many people live here,” explained I Lauase.

“But we really need your help. Pallayarang Tallu is the nearest town from our kingdom. Besides that, the three of you are very strong men. You can build this town. It means you have great power. I’m sure we can win if you help us,” said Puatta Di Karena.

He continued, “If you help us, I will give you tambo.” Tambo means fee or money.

The three brothers then discussed. They needed more money. And the tambo could be used to build Pallayarang Tallu.

“When will you give us the tambo?” asked I Lauase.

“Next week,” answered Puatta Di Karena.

Then the people of Pallayarang Tallu helped them. They won! However Puatta Di Karena did not show up yet. He disappeared. Nobody knew where he was. The people of Pallayarang Tallu always talked abou the tambo.

Slowly the word tambo changed into tamboang, then changed into pamboang. Since then the people changed the name Pallayarang Tallu into Pamboang. Pamboang is an area in Majene, West Sulawesi.***

The Dandaung Snake

Folklore from South Kalimantan

A long time ago, there was a big kingdom in South Kalimantan. The people lived happily and peacefully. There were no poor people. The land was fertile and they always had great harvest. The kingdom was also peaceful. The king was wise and always protected his people. The king had seven daughters. Those seven princesses were very beautiful. The king and the queen really loved them. Their daughters were all still single.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The king and his family spent their time in the garden. Suddenly the chief soldier came. He told the king a very bad news.

“Your majesty! A giant bird attacked our kingdom. The bird is destroying the rice fields. It is also attacking the people. Many people are wounded,” said the soldier.

“We have to do something. Prepare the soldiers. I’ll command the attack,” said the king bravely. He then took his weapon and led the soldiers.

When the king and the soldiers arrived, they were very shocked. The bird was very big. It was very powerful and mean. The king did not want to wait any longer.

The king and the soldiers fought bravely. At first, they could not match the fight. However they all were very brave. Slowly the giant bird gave up. It was very tired and stopped its attack. The people were happy. For a moment they were safe from the bird.

A week later, the kingdom was restless again. This time a giant snake came to the palace. Amazingly the snake could talk like humans. The snake wanted to meet the king and his family.

“Your Majesty, my name is Dandaung Snake. I’m here to marry one of your seven daughters,” said the snake.

All the daughters were screaming. They all were afraid. However the king was silent and calmed. He knew he had to be very careful. He tried to fi nd a solution.

“I cannot decide right now. We need to discuss. Come back tomorrow,” said the king.

He planned to prolong the time. Meanwhile he also had to ask his daughters. One by one the king asked them, but they all refused to marry the snake.

The king was hopeless. He was afraid the snake would attack his kingdom, he still had problems with the giant bird. It was because the bird was still alive and it could return and attack the kingdom and his people at any time.

Suddenly his youngest daughter came to him.

She said, “Father, I’m willing to marry the snake. I’m afraid the snake will be angry and attack our kingdom if nobody wants to marry him.”

The king was speechless. He was very touched with her youngest daughter’s sacrifice. Then he ordered his people to hold a great wedding ceremony for her youngest daughter and Dandaung
Snake.

The party was great. All the guests were proud with the youngest princess. When everybody was having fun, suddenly something strange happened.

Dandaung Snake slowly changed into a very handsome man. He looked into the youngest princess face and he said.

“Don’t be afraid. You have already helped me from the curse. A bad witch cursed me into a snake. Actually I’m a prince and I have great supernatural power.”

The prince went away. He knew the people were still afraid with the giant bird. The prince wanted to kill the bird. And fi nally he succeeded! The giant bird was dead. Everybody was happy. The king was also happy. He asked the prince to be the new king.
Since then the kingdom was always peaceful. ***

The Legend of Blue Pond

Folklore From Maluku

“Hey look over there! Water is flowing!”

A man pointed out to a direction. He saw something strange. Water was fl owing out of the big stones. The water was flowing into a lower ground. Slowly, the ground was full of water.

The water was clear and it was bluish.

“Look! It is blue! I have never seen bluish water like this,” said another man.

And then, he tried to taste the water, “The water is so fresh. Come on, let’s drink the water.”

Those people were villagers in Lisawa, Halmahera. They never saw water coming out of the stones before. It was very strange for them.

“We have to report this to the head of the village,” suggested one man.

They all agreed. Soon, the head of the village arrived at the pond. He was also surprised. The water was clear and bluish. He also wanted to know how it happened. He then asked all the elderly of the village pray to the gods and goddess.

They all prayed and fi nally they got the answer. The water was fl owing from a girl’s tears. She was crying so badly until the tears was fl ooding the ground.

“Who is she? We need to know who the girl is! Ask all the villagers including their children to gather here,” said the head of the village.

Later, all the villagers gathered in the pond. They all brought their children.

However there were two families who did not bring their children. Those two children were teenagers. The boy was Magohiduruu and the girl was Majojaru.

One woman told the villagers about them. The woman was Majoraru’s mother.

She told them that Magohiduruu and Majojaru were lovers. They planned to get married. A year ago, Magohiduruu left the village to fi nd a better life. He wanted to earn a lot of money before they got married.

A year passed by but Magohiduruu did not come back yet. She fi nally heard that Magohiduruu was dead. Majojaru was very sad. Everyday she was always sat down under a big tree. She spent her time crying. Majojaru was very sad. She did not believe that Magohiduruu had already died. She always cried. Her parents tried to comfort Majojaru, but she never listened to them. And one day Majojaru disappeared. She never returned to her home.

After they heard the story, all the villagers agreed to take care of the pond. And since the water was bluish, they named the pond as the Blue Pond.***

Mah Bongsu and a Snake

Folklore from Batam

ONCE upon a time in Batam, lived an orphan named Mah Bongsu. She was a nice girl. Mah Bongsu was poor. To earn a living, she worked as a maid at a rich woman’s house, her name was Mak Piah. She had a daughter named Mayang. Mah Bongsu and Mayang were at the same age.

Mak Piah was a mean lady. She always asked Mah Bongsu to work hard, she often hit Mah Bongsu and sometimes she did not gave enough food to Mah Bongsu. Mah Bongsu was helpless. She could not do anything.

She was alone in this world and she did not have any other place to stay. Everyday she prayed to God. She wanted to have a better life. Mah Bongsu was washing the clothes in the river. Suddenly she saw a big snake swimming towards her. Mah Bongsu was scared. She wanted to run away. However, she saw the snake was wounded. It was bleeding. Mah Bongsu felt sorry to the snake. Carefully, she brought the snake home. She put the snake in her room and healed the wound.

When Mah Bongsu was healing the wound, a piece of the snake’s skin was removed. Mah Bongsu took it. Amazingly the skin turned into gold. Mah Bongsu was happy. Everyday the snake removed its skin and the skin always turned into gold. Mah Bongsu collected all the gold and save it. She wanted to sell it later. Mah Bongsu sold all the gold and she became a rich girl. She did not work for Mak Piah anymore. She was richer than Mak Piah. Mah Bongsu also helped all the poor people. She bought a big house and she brought the snake with her.

Mak Piah was very jealous. She was so curious. She wanted to know how Mah Bongsu got the wealth. Secretly, she went to Mah Bongsu’s house. She saw Mah Bongsu was healing a snake.

Later, Mak Piah asked her daughter, Mayang, to go to the river. She asked Mayang to find a wounded snake.

And when Mayang finally found a wounded snake, she brought it home. Sadly, the snake bit her and poisoned her. Mayang instantly died. Mak Piah was scared, she tried to run away. Just right before she left the house, the snake was able to bite her. And she also died then.

Meanwhile, the wounded snake at Mah Bongsu’s house was finally healed. Amazingly, the snake turned into a handsome man.

“ Thank you, Mah Bongsu.

Actually, I’m a prince. A witch cursed me into a snake . And thanks to you I changed into a man now. Because you already helped me, I want to propose you to be my wife. Will you marry me?” asked the prince.

Mah Bongsu was so happy. She accepted the proposal and lived with the prince. Since then people named the river where Mah Bongsu found her husband as Sungai Jodoh. It means the river of soul mate. ***

The Salty River

Folklore from Central Kalimantan

A long time ago in Sepang Village, Central Kalimantan, lived a widow named Emas. Her husband died when her daughter was a baby. Her daughter’s name was Tumbai. The villagers in Sepang Village were poor.

Though they were poor, the villagers always worked hard. Fortunately there was a well in the village. So they always had enough water to live.

Tumbai was a very good daughter. She was diligent and obedient. She always helped her mother and listened to her mother’s advice. She also liked to help other people. That was why everybody knew her.

Tumbai was not only famous for her kindness, but she was also famous for her beauty. She was very beautiful! Many young men fell in love with her. One by one, they proposed her to be their wife. However, Tumbai always refused the marriage proposal. She was confused. So she prayed to God to give her guidance.

Finally she got the answer. In her dream, an old man asked her to marry a man who could change the well from fresh water into salt water. When she woke up, Tumbai was very confused.
She thought it was diffi cult for a man to change the fresh water into salt water. Fresh water did not have any taste. It was different from sea water which is salty.

When Tumbai told her mother about her dream, her mother was also confused. However, she knew that her daughter was very good and wouldnít lie to her. Her mother had a feeling, probably God was going to help t h e m from poverty.

Her mother then made an announcement that Tumbai would marry a man who could change the fresh water in the well into salt water. Everybody was laughing. They thought Tumbai and her mother were crazy.

But it did not stop those young men to try. They really wanted to marry Tumbai. So they all tried to change the fresh water into salt water. But they all failed.

One day a man came. He lived in the riverside of Barito River. He had supernatural
power.

“Ma’am, I’m here to marry your daughter,” said the man to Emas, Tumbai’s mother.

“Do you know the test?” asked Emas.

“I do. I will change the fresh water into salt water,” said the man.

The man then sat down next to the well. He was meditating and prayed to God. All the villagers were circling the man. They all were curious.

After a while, the man finished meditating. He stood up and asked the villagers to taste the water from the well.

It worked! He succeeded in changing the water. Tumbai was happy. She fi nally found her dream husband.

And her mother was right. After the water was salty, the villagers were not poor anymore. They changed the salty water into salt. They sold it and they had money.

The salty water was flowing from the well to the Kahayan River. Until now people still taste the salty water in Kahayan River. They also think that the legend really happened. ***