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Breaking the Sun





Rangga and the Magic Spear

Folklore from Papua

A long time ago, the sun did not shine too long. It was only shine for a while then it set to the west. Earth was in the dark most of the time. People did not like it. There were not many things they could do during the day. They wished to see the sun shine longer.

There was one man who really hated to be in the dark. His name was Rangga. Everyday he was thinking how he could make the sun shine long enough. One day he had an idea.





"I think the sun is too big to move. If we can break it into some pieces, the sun can move quickly. Therefore we can have enough light from the sun," said Rangga to his friend.

"But how can we break the sun?" asked one of his friend.

"We can break it by throwing a spear. But it should be a magic spear," said Rangga.

"How can we get the magic spear?" asked his friend.

"We ask the elf to guide us to find the magic spear," asked Rangga.

Then Rangga and his friends meditated in the jungle. It was not an easy thing to do. They were disturbed by wild animals. Luckily they had strong concentration. They were save from the animals. after a while, an elf finally came to them.

"What do you want, my child?" asked the elf.

"We want to break the sun. We need to find a magic spear," explained Rangga.

"Hmm.. the magic spear belongs to the great thief. You have to fight him and grabs the spears from him, said the elf.

Rangga and his friends understood. They knew about the great thief. They herd that he had a supernatural power. Luckily the elf had also give them the supernatural power to fight against the great thief. Rangga and his friends were looking for the great thief. They finally found him. At first Rangga nicely asked the great thief to give him the spear, but of course the thief refused.

"Why should I give you the spear so you can break the sun? I love darkness. I can steal easily, ha.. ha.. ha.." said the thief.


Rangga and his friend knew that they did not have other choice. Then they were fighting. Thanks to the supernatural power given by the elf. Rangga and friends won the fight.

Finally Rangga held the magic spear. He held it firmly. he did not want to waste the time. He wanted to throw the spear and break the sun.

Rangga concentrated and threw the spear with great power towards the sun. and it worked! The sun was breaking into some pieces. The biggest piece became a moon and the small pieces became the stars.

Since then, the sun shines long enough. and when it set to the west, the earth was not completely in the dark. The moon and the stars gave people enough light. ***



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