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The Legend of Hanging Stone

The Hanging Stone of Lake Toba: A Lesson in Parental Understanding


Legenda Batu Gantung | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from North Sumatra

ONCE upon a time, there lived a family near Lake Toba, North Sumatra. The parents had only one child. She was a beautiful girl. The girl was adult. The parents thought it was time to get married.

The parents planned to arrange her marriage. They have already matched her with a young man they chose. They did not know that they daughter already had a boyfriend. She loved him very much. Sadly, the parents did not agree with their relationship. They still asked her daughter to marry the man they chose.

The girl was very sad. Everyday she cried. She did not love the man her parents had already chosen for her. She only wanted to marry her boyfriend.

The time to get married was getting closer. Everyday the girl just sat near the Lake Toba. She was very hopeless. Her only friend was a dog.

The girl wanted to end her life. She wanted to jump to the Lake Toba. She was walking slowly. She approached the edge. She was very confused. She did not want to die or leave her boyfriend.

While she was thinking very hard, suddenly she slipped and fell to a big hole. The girl thought that it was time for her to die. She was surrounded by big stones. She felt the stone were getting closer to her. The stones were squeezing her.

Then she said, "Prapat... Prapat..." It means moving closer. 

Amazingly, the stones were slowly moving closer to her. She was being squeezed!

Meanwhile, the dog was barking. He was looking downward and keep on barking. It attracted people's attention.

They came to the dog and also looked downward. They heard a girl's voice saying, "Prapat... Prapat."

The people recognized her voice and her dog. They tried to help her. Some of them went to the girl's house. They wanted to tell her parents. The parents immediately went to save their daughter. More and more people came. They all tried to save the girl.

Unfortunately it was too late. The stone were finally squeezing her.

However, they were still able to hear voice saying, "Parapat... parapat."

Her parents were sad. They regretted their plan to marry her. Since then people named the area as Parapat.

Time passed by and several years later earthquake attacked the area. The stone were falling down to the lake. and when the quake stopped, people saw a big stone which looked like hanging. Actually the stone clung to the cliff.

People said that the stone was the girl who was trapped inside the stones. Since the stone looked like hanging, so people named it as the hanging stone or Batu Gantung. ***

Prapat or Parapat become a small town in North Sumatra province at the edge of Lake Toba, on the Uluan Peninsula where it forms the narrowest eastern link to Samosir Island. (wiki)












Moral Message

The moral message of this story is about the consequences of forcing one's will on others and the importance of respecting individual choices, especially in matters of the heart. It emphasizes that love should not be dictated or coerced, as doing so can lead to tragedy and regret. The story serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the need for compassion, understanding, and the acknowledgment of personal feelings and relationships.






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