Search This Blog

The Legend of Ntaapo-Apo Bird

Legenda Burung Ntaapo-Apo| Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from Southeast Sulawesi

ONCE upon a time, there was an old woman lived with her only son in Muna, Southeast Sulawesi. Her husband died a long time ago. To make a living, she went to the jungle to collect some firewood and sold them. Her son's name was La Ane.

The old woman always went to the jungle and arrived at home in the afternoon. Before she left home, she always told her son to do household chores.





"Don't forget to sweep the floor. And remember, wash the clothes. We have so many dirty clothes," said the old woman to her son.

Did he listen to her mom? No! La Ane was busy playing with her spinning top.

"La Ane, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Mom," but still he was playing with his spinning top.

He ignored his mother.

Later the old woman went to the jungle. When she arrived at home, the house was in a mess. It was obvious that La Ane did not do what she said.

"La Ane, where are you?"

He did not respond. After a while, La Ane came home. He looked very dirty.

"Where have you been? I was looking for you," asked the old woman.

"I was playing my spinning top with my friends," he said.

"I've told you to clean the house, right? Why didn't you do it?" the old woman was angry.

Yes, she was so angry! La Ane was very ignorant. He never helped his mother. He just liked playing with his spinning top. He always forgot the time when he was playing with his friends.

After his mother went, La Ane always left home to play with his friends. He came home in the afternoon to eat. That's what he always did everyday. His mother was sad to see her only son's behavior.

One day, the old woman could not stand it anymore. She wanted to give him a lesson. She cut the spinning top into pieces and put them in a plate.

When La Ane went home, he went to the dining table. He was so surprised when he did not find any food, instead he found the pieces of his spinning top on the plate.

La Ane was so sad. He thought his mother did not love him anymore.

He climbed a tree, and said, "Mother, why don't you love me anymore? Why don't you give me some food? If you don't love me anymore, I'd rather become a bird!"

Amazingly, right after he finished saying the sentence, some feathers grew in La Ane's body. Yes, he became a bird! When the old woman came home, she was looking for La Ane.

"La Ane, where are you? Are you still playing? Come home now!" said the old woman.

From the top of the tree, La Ane responded, "Ntaapo-apo!"

The old woman recognized the voice. "La Ane! Where are you?"

Again, La Ane responded, "Ntaapo-Apo!"

 When the old woman tooked up, she saw a beautiful bird on the top of tree.

"La Ane, is that you? Oh my God! What's happening to you? Get down now!"

La Ane just said, "Ntaapo-Apo!"

Then he flew.away. The old woman regretted it, but it was too late. Her son had changed into a bird. Since then people named the bird as Ntaapo-Apo bird. The bird is beautiful and can be found in Muna, Southeast Sulawesi. The bird looks like cendrawasih bird. ***

Wakatobi, Sulawesi

No comments:

Post a Comment

VIEW FOR MORE IMAGES BELOW

THUMBNAILS 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 910 |

The Faithful Tiger