Napombalu

Folklore from North Sulawesi

ONCE upon a time there were a handsome hunter, his name was Lawongo. In the jungle he only hunted wild hogs. The animals often always destroyed the villagers' fields. The villagers were very grateful. With Lawongo's help, their field were safe from the wild hogs.

Lawongo was also very great in playing a flute, it was so melodious. Everybody always enjoyed listening his playing the flute. One of the people was a beautiful girl. She always listened attentively. Lawongo knew there was a beautiful girl who always paid attention to him. Lawongo fell in love with her. The girl also loved him, later they got married.

They were very happy. They loved each other and promised to be always together. They would be together until they died.

In one night, Lawongo had a strange dream. In his dream he was hunting a very big wild hog. The hog attacked him. He did very hard to kill the hog. He used his knife to stab the hog and it finally died.

On the next morning, Lawongo went hunting. It was still early in the morning and he did not want to wake his wife up.

In the jungle ha did not see any animals. He could not find any wild hog either. He felt very strange. He walk and he felt very thirsty. He picked a coconut. And when he wanted to open it using his knife, he saw his knife was full of dried blood. He was confused. Suddenly he remembered his wife. Somehow he had a bad feeling about his wife. He immediately went home.
When he arrived home, many people were in front of his house. One of the people said,"We're sorry for your wife, Lawongo. Please accept our condolences."

"What happened?" asked him. He rushed into his house. He saw his wife was dead. Her body was full of blood. Lawongo was very sad. He felt very guilty. He knew last night he stabbed hi wife. He then told the villagers to do something.

"I cannot live without my wife. Please prepare two coffins, one for me and the other one is for my wife."

"No, please don't do it. You are still young and we still need you here. Besides that we still want to hear you play the flute." said one of the villagers.

"Don't worry, I still play the flute for you. Male a hole on the coffin's cover. If you cannot longer hear my playing, it means I'm dead. You go to the beach. A strange thing will appear from the sea. Do not point at that thing and do not say anything. It is my reincarnation." said Lawongo.

Later, the villagers buried the two coffins. At the first night, they could still hear his playing. However the sound was getting weaker and weaker. And finally the villagers did not hear anything.

They did Lawongo's request. They went to the beach. They all set down on the beach. Suddenly, a strange thing appeared from the sea. It was very big. They all were surprised. However they did not say anything. The thing finally stooped growing.

The villagers used their sampan and came to the thing. It was a coral island. They named the island as Napombalu, which is from the words Napo and Nawalu. Napo means a coral island and Nawalu means a strange thing which turn into an island. ***

Bujang Katak

Folklore from Bangka Belitung

There was an old woman. She lived alone in her hut. She was a poor farmer. She was getting older and getting weaker. She did not have husband but she prayed to god to give her a son. She hoped her son could help her work in the rice field.

“God, please give me a son. I really want to have a son although he looks like a frog”, prayed the old woman.

God answered her pray. She was pregnant. Later the baby was born. Surprisingly the baby looked like a frog. His head and his skin were like frog’s head and skin. At first, the old woman was sad. However, later on she was grateful to god. She raised her son with great love. The baby grew as a kind man. He was very strong and obedient to his mother. People called him Bujang Katak. Bujang means a young man and Katak means a frog.

Later Bujang Katak was adult. He wanted to get married. However he did not want to marry the girl in his village. He wanted to marry one of the king’s seven daughters’!

He told his plan to his mother. She was sad. She knew that the king would reject his married proposal. But she did not want to see her son sad. And later they arrived at the palace. Bujang Katak told the king about the married proposal.

“I really appreciate your courage young man. But I can not make any decision. I will ask my seven daughters to give their opinions and decisions”, said the king.

One by one all the seven daughters talked. The first daughter didn’t say good things about Bujang Katak. She insulted him. “You are so ugly. No wonder people call you Bujang Katak. You really look like a frog. I don’t want to have a husband who looks like a frog”, said the first daughter.

The second daughter also said bad things to him. “You are very poor. I don’t want to have a poor husband”. So the other daughters talked bad things about him.

Finally the youngest daughter had her turn to talk. She was the most beautiful and kindest daughter. She didn’t say bad things about him. She accepted Bujang Katak’s married proposal! “I will marry him, Father” said the youngest daughter to the king.

Everybody was surprised. All the elders’ sisters were laughing at her. The king was shocked! He never thought that one of his daughters would marry Bujang Katak. He wanted to cancel the married. So he asked Bujang Katak to do something very difficult.

“I will let you marry my daughter but you have to build a golden bridge from your house to this palace”, said the king.

Bujang Katak and his mother went home. His mother was very sad and confused.

“How can you build a golden bridge, Son?” she asked Bujang Katak. “Don’t worry, Mother. I will pray to God to help me”, said Bujang Katak.

Then Bujang Katak prayed days and nights. One night, amazing things happened. His frog’s skin removed from his body. His head also changed. He became a very handsome man. His mother burned the removed skin. Amazingly the skin changed into gold. They had a lot of gold. Slowly they built a bridge using the gold.

Finally the bridge was built from they house to the king’s palace. The youngest daughter was very happy. Her husband was very handsome and also very rich. He had a lot of gold. All her sisters were jealous. They were even more jealous when the king asked Bujang Katak to be the new king.***

The Legend of Tanjung Lesung

Folklore from Banten

THERE was a handsome traveler, his name was Raden Budog. He was resting under a big tree and soon he fell asleep. He had a dream. In his dream, he met a very beautiful woman. The woman was standing in front him. Raden Budog tried to touch her. Suddenly, a twig of the tree fell down and hit him. And that made him wake up from his sleep. He was upset!

Raden Budog could not forget that woman, he wanted to meet her. He traveled days and nights and never stopped to rest. And finally he arrived in a village. All of the villagers were farmers. Some girls were pounding rice in a mortar. The people called the mortar as lesung. They were busy pounding and the sound they made was like a harmony. The girls pounded the rice everyday, except Friday. Friday was a holy day for them, because it was time to pray to God.

Raden Budog enjoyed the sound. He was looking at all the girls one by one.

And suddenly, Aha! He saw the girl he met in his dream.

Raden Budog was very happy. He came closer to the girls. All the girls were afraid and they all went home. Raden Budog followed the beautiful girl.

And when the beautiful girl arrived home, Raden Budog knocked the door. An old woman opened the door.

“Who are you, young man,” asked the woman.

“My name is Raden Budog. May I spend the night in your house? I’m a traveler and I don’t have a place to stay,” said Raden Budog. He was trying to find an excuse to stay in the house.

“My name is Nyi Siti and I live with my daughter. Her name is Sri Poh Haci. My husband passed away. If you want to spend the night here, you can sleep in the terrace. I’m so sorry, I don’t allow men to stay in my house,” said Nyi Siti.

In the morning, Sri Poh Haci woke him up.

She also gave him a glass of coffee. Raden Budog was extremely happy. He then tried to find a way how he could stay in the village and got married with her. Later, he told Nyi Siti that he would help her in the rice field. Nyi Siti agreed.

Days passed by and later Sri Poh Haci also fell in love with him. Then they got married.

Raden Budog still worked in the rice field and Sri Poh Haci also continued to pound the rice in the lesung. One day Raden Budog wanted to pound the rice. He also wanted to make the good sound. However it was Friday, and he forgot that pounding rice in the lesung was not allowed on Fridays. And when he was busy making the sound, the villagers screamed.

“Hey, look! A monkey is pounding the rice!”

Slowly the villagers came closer to Raden Budog. He did not notice that all the villagers were looking at him, until one man yelled at him. “Hey, monkey! Stop it! It is Friday!”

Raden Budog did not understand why the villagers called him monkey. And when he looked at his body, he was surprised! His body was full of hair. He even had a tail. He had changed into a monkey! Raden Budog was so ashamed. He ran away to the jungle.

Since then people named the village as Lesung Village or Kampung Lesung.

And since the village is located in a cape, people then named the village as Lesung Cape or Tanjung Lesung.***

Oheo

Folklore from Southeast Sulawesi

THERE was a handsome man in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. His name is Oheo. He is a kind and diligent farmer. He plants sugarcane trees on his field. Everyday he always takes care of the trees. And he also takes care of the animals.

It was time to harvest the sugarcane. He was so happy. Early in the morning, he left his house and went to the field. However, he was so surprised when he arrived at the field. The field was in a mess. It seemed that some people had already taken his sugarcane. He was so upset.
He wanted to find the thief! He heard some people were laughing.

He heard, “Hmmm this sugarcane is so yummy!”

“Aha!” said Oheo.

“The thieves are still here. I’m going to catch them!”

Oheo tried not to make sounds. However, he could not find them. And when he looked upward, he saw seven beautiful angels fly at the sky. They had the sugarcane! Those angels flew to the river. They wanted to take a bath. Oheo followed them.

Oheo was not angry anymore. Instead, he was so happy. He fell in love and wanted to marry one of the angels. Secretly, he took one of the angels’ shawls. And of course, after finished taking a bath, one angel could not fly to the sky.

Oheo then showed up. He pretended that he was willing to help her.

“My name is Oheo. Why do you look so sad?”

“My name is Princess Anawai. I’m an angel. I just lost my shawl. Without it, I cannot fly back to my home. I live in a palace in the sky,” said the angel.

“Why don’t you stay at my home while I’m looking for it,” said Oheo.

Princess Anawai agreed to stay at his house. She did not know that Oheo was hiding her shawl. Later, Oheo asked her to marry him.

Princess Anawai agreed but Oheo had to promise one thing. Oheo had to clean and wash their children, if they defecated. Oheo agreed. He was really in love with her. Princess Anawai was so beautiful. He also thought that washing the child is not difficult thing to do. It was a year after they got married and they had one child. As promised, Oheo always washed the child after the child defecated.

In one morning, Oheo was busy in the field. The child was defecating. Princess Anawai asked Oheo to wash the child. Oheo refused. He said that he was very busy. Princess Anawai was so sad that her husband did not keep his promise.
So, she washed the child. And then accidentally, she found her shawl. It was kept in the bathroom.

She wore her shawl and flew to the sky. Oheo tried to impede her but Princess Anawai had already made up her mind. She was so disappointed.

Oheo was so sorry. He blamed himself for not being able to keep the promise. He really loved his wife. He tried very hard to fly to the sky.

Finally, he got help. A tree was willing to help him. Oheo and his child climbed the tree.
Slowly, the tree is getting higher and higher. And soon, Oheo was able to go to the palace in the sky.

When he arrived, the king was angry. “You already made my daughter sad. If you want to find her, go to that dark room. If you can find her, you can take her back to your home. But if you cannot find her, I will put you in the jail.”

Oheo was confused. He did not know how to find her wife in the very dark room. Suddenly, a firefly came to him. He was willing to help Oheo.

With the help of firefly, the room was no longer dark. Therefore, he could find her wife easily. After he found her, Oheo asked her to forgive him. He promised to be a better husband.
Later, they went back to their home on earth.***

The Legend of Laut Tawar Lake

Folklore from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

A long time ago, there was a kingdom in Takengon, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The king and the queen had a beautiful princess. Her name was Princess Pukes. She was single. The king and the queen wanted her to get married soon.

However they did not know that their daughter already had a boyfriend. The princess did not tell his parents because they did not approve their relationships. The princess really loved her boyfriend.

They did not want to separate. Therefore they secretly got married. Soon the king found out their marriage. The king was really angry. He asked the soldiers to lock her in her room.
The princess could not meet her husband. She was locked for many days.

Meanwhile her husband always waited for her. The princess tried to escape. But she always failed. And finally she succeeded! She jumped through the window and ran towards the palace garden.

Unfortunately, she was caught! The soldiers immediately brought her to the king. The king was so angry.

“You really make me angry! You are truly ungrateful daughter. If you want to leave this place, leave now! You can meet your husband. But remember on the way you go, don’t look back. Something bad will happen to you if you look back,” cursed the king.

Princess Pukes was sad. She was really confused. She had to choose between her parents and her husband. She loved her husband and she did not want to be apart from him.

Sadly, she walked and left the palace. Some soldiers followed her. The king asked them to guard her.

While she was walking, Princess Pukes heard her mother crying. Princess Pukes wanted to see her mother for the very last time. But she remembered her father’s message, not to look
back or something bad would happen to her.

She could not hold it anymore. She desperately wanted to see her mother. Then she looked back. Surprisingly, thunder attacked the kingdom. It was a very bright day, but suddenly rain fell heavily.

The guards asked the princess to go to a cave. The rain was so heavy. The guards did not want the princess to be wet.

Later the princess went inside the cave. She was standing in the corner of the cave. And after the rain stopped, the guards asked the princess to continue walking. They called out the princess to go out.

“My princess, let’s go now. The rain has stopped. We can continue walking,” asked the guards.

But the princess did not respond. Again, the guards asked her to go out. But still the princess did not respond. The guards were so curious. They went inside the cave. They were surprised. The princess had changed into a stone.

Meanwhile, the heavy rain had created a new lake. The lake was so big and then people named it as Laut Tawar Lake. People also can still find the stone of Princess Pukes. The local people say that when someone visits the stone and feels sad about the story of the princess, the stone will also cry!***

The Legend of Moopoo Bird

Folklore from North Sulawesi

A long time a go in Minahasa lived an old man with his grandson. The grandson’s name was Nondo. The old man loved Nondo very much.

He was a nice and diligent boy. When his grandfather went to the jungle to collect some fire woods, Nondo stayed at home. He always did the household chores.

Nondo always wanted to join his grandfather to the jungle. However, his grandfather did not allow him. Nondo was limped. He could not walk well.

His grandfather always went to jungle in the morning and returned home in the afternoon. In the evening, just before bedtime, the grandfather always told Nondo anything that happened in
the jungle.

Nondo really enjoyed listening about the animals in the jungle. Nondo always dreamed of going to the jungle and seeing the animals.

On one morning, Nondo could not hold his feeling anymore. He begged to his grandfather.
He really wanted to go to the jungle and see the animals.

“Please, Grandpa. Let me join you. Just this time, please,” Nondo begged. The old man did not want to disappoint his beloved grandson.

After thinking deeply, he then said, “You can join me this time. But you have to be near me, okay? I will bring the woods, so I cannot see you all the time.”

Nondo was so happy. He promised to his grandfather that he would always be near him. Nondo could not wait to see the animals.

Then, they left the house. And finally they arrived at the jungle. At fi rst, Nondo was able to walk near his grandfather.

However soon, the distance was getting farther. Every time Nondo saw an animal, he always stopped for a moment. He was really amazed. The grandfather always reminded Nondo not to stop walking. Sadly, Nondo was so happy looking at the animals. He ignored his grandfather’s warning.

Soon, Nondo was lost in the jungle. He was separated from his grandfather.

“Grandpa! Grandpa! Where are you? Grandpa, don’t leave me here,” Nondo screamed
.
Slowly, darkness covers the forest. Nondo was really scared. The sounds of the animals really frightened him. He kept on calling his grandfather.

Meanwhile, the grandfather just realized that his grandson was lost. He looked for Nondo and called out his name. But still he could not find Nondo.

The grandfather was really sad. He regretted to let Nondo join him. The grandfather decided to go back home. He hoped Nondo would already arrive at home. Unfortunately, Nondo did not come home yet.

In the morning, the grandfather went to the jungle again. He wanted to fi nd Nondo. And when he arrived in the jungle, he saw a bird.

The bird made a strange sound. It said, “Moo poo... Moo po...”

The grandfather was really curious. He never heard a bird make a sound like that. He looked at the bird carefully, and again the bird said, “Moo poo...”

Then he felt very strange. He felt that the bird said, “Opoku... Opoku...” It means “My grandpa... My grandpa...” Being really curious, he approached the bird. He was very surprised because the bird was limped.

The grandfather cried. He remembered his grandson. He was sure that his grandson had changed into a bird. Since then, people named the bird as Moopoo bird. It can be found in
Minahasa, North Sulawesi. ***