Indonesian Folklore (Folklor Indonesia): Tales from Nusantara (Archipelago): July 2008

Putri Ular | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from North Sumatra

ONCE upon a time in Simalungun, North Sumatra, there was a king with her beautiful daughter.

The princess was famous. Many young men admired her beauty.

One of the young men who fell in love with her was a prince from the neighboring kingdom. The prince came to Simalungun and talked to the king. He wanted to propose the princess.

Later, the king talked to his daughter about the wedding proposal. The princess was a very kind daughter. She did not want to disappoint her parents.

She knew her parents wanted her to accept the prince s wedding proposal. The king and the queen were happy.They were glad that finally their daughter planned to get married.

Then, a wedding ceremony was prepared. Everybody in the kingdom was busy. They all wanted to contribute to the wedding.

The princess was also busy preparing herself. One thing that she had to do was she had to take care of her body carefully. She wanted to look very beautiful during the wedding ceremony.

As always, the princess and her ladies-in-waiting were taking a bath in the pond inside the palace garden. The princess was so happy and she was playing around inside the pond. She was not careful and she accidentally slipped. Her nose hit a big stone and got bleeding. The ladies in-waiting immediately helped her.

When they could stop the bleeding, they were surprised. The princess nose was no longer beautiful.When the princess knew what happened, she was very sad. She was afraid that the prince would cancel the wedding.And if that really happened, the king would be very angry. The prince was very sorry, she was not careful in the pond.

However, it was too late. There was no use for her to regret what had happened.

The princess then prayed to God.

"I am not a good child, God. I cannot make my parents proud of me. Please punish me. I cannot live anymore. I don't want to see my parents being sad just because of me, prayed the princess. Amazingly, right after the princess finished praying, the princess slowly changed into a snake. It started from her legs and slowly to the upper body also changed. The ladies-in-waiting were shocked.

They went to the palace and reported to the king. When the king and the queen arrived at the pond, the princess had completely changed into a snake. The king and the queen were sad. They saw their only daughter had changed into a snake. The snake also looked very sad but she could not speak anymore.

Slowly, the snake went to the bushes and disappeared. The snake could not live in the palace anymore and could not change back as a human anymore. After all, that was her prayer to God. ***

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Legenda Kerajaan Jambi | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from Jambi

Once upon a time, there were five villages, Tujuh Koto, Sembilan Koto, Petajin, Muaro Sebo, and Batin Duo Belas. The villagers of those five villages lived peacefully. They helped each other.

Soon, the number of villagers grew highly. The villagers thought that they needed a leader to guide them. They wanted to have a king. So, the leaders from the five villages had a meeting.

They wanted to set the criteria who could be their king.

"Our king should be physically strong," said the leader from Tujuh Koto.

"I agree. The king should be able to protect us from the enemies, "said one leader.

"Not only that. He should also be well respected by us. So, the king should be strong and have good manners," said the leader from Petajin.

"Then, let’s set the criteria. I have a suggestion. The king should be strong from fire. He cannot feel the pain if we burn him," said leader from Muaro Sebo.

"And he cannot feel the pain when we boil him in the hot water. If we mill him in winding machine, he will survive," said another leader.

"Alright then, now every village must send one representative. Choose the best man in your village. He must be the strongest and the most respected," said one leader.

Later, the best five men were gathered in the field. All the leaders had prepared fire, a hot water, and a winding machine. The first one to come was the villager of Tujuh Koto. First he had to walk through a ring of fire. He survived! Audiences were applauding. Next he had to be boiled inside a big water jug. The water was so hot but still he survived!

Finally, he had to do the last test. He had to enter the winding machine. The machine was made of steel. The man was a bit scared. He knew his bones could break. Then, he was lying on the surface. Right after his feet were milled, he screamed in pain. The machine was stopped. He failed.

Then another contestant came forward. Unfortunately he also failed in the last test. Then came another contestant but he also failed. All the best men from five villagers failed. The leaders of the five villagers then had a meeting.

"If we cannot find a king from our place, let s find from other area. They then sailed the sea. And every time they visited an island, they always looked for the best man. However, no one dared to take the tests."

Finally, they arrived in India. There was a strong man there. They met him and talked about the tests. The man was interested and they went back to their hometown.

When they arrived, the man immediately took the tests. He passed the first test. Then, he was boiled in the hot water and amazingly he survived.

And then the final test. When he was lying on the surface, everybody screamed. They were afraid the man’s bones would break just like other contestants bones.

But they were wrong. The man survived. He passed the test. All the villagers were happy. They finally had a strong king that could protect them. And they named their kingdom as Jambi. ***

Strength Beyond Physicality: Resilience and Perseverance

The moral of this story is that true strength is not just about physical power, but also about resilience and perseverance in facing trials or challenges. Courage, resilience, and perseverance in facing trials are qualities more valuable than physical strength alone. Additionally, the story also teaches the importance of not judging someone solely based on outward appearance or physical abilities.