The Spirit of Community and Respect for the Unknown
Hampang Datu | Edisi Indonesia
Indonesian Folklore Webpage
Folklore from South Kalimantan
ONCE upon a time in South Kalimantan, there was a village named Padang Batung. The villagers were farmers. They were very grateful to have such a fertile land. They all lived prosperously.
To show their gratitude they regularly held a ceremony. It was held after they had harvest. They named it Manyanggar Banua. In the ceremony they prepared offerings. Food and beverages were arrange nicely as the offerings.
The villagers just harvested. Soon they would have Manyanggar Banua ceremony. Men and woman, young and old started to prepare their place. Some were busy cooking and others were busy cleaning and preparing their place.
Everything was set. Food and beverages were ready: Their place n'as dean. On the following day they would hold the ceremony.
It was dawn. Someone was screaming!
Hey! Where's the food? Who stole the food for the offerings?"
People immediately came to see what happened! They all were shocked to see their offerings were in a mess.
"What happened here? Who did this? Who ate this food?"
Those were the questions. Nobody knew the answers.
"We have to find who did this! We have to punish the thief!"
"Yes, but how?" asked someone.
"I have an idea. We set the food and the beverages once again. But we put the rice in a leaked pan. When the thief brought the pan, we can follow the trail of the rice."
"It's a good idea. Let's do it."
Then the villagers once again set their offerings. They cooked some rice and put it in a leaked pan. They all hoped they could catch the thief.
They set the offering as they did it earlier. They also cleaned the mess. At night they all went home. In the morning, all the villagers woke up and immediately went to the place of their ceremony. And yes, the place ==was in a mess again. And the pan was missing.
"Hey, look! There is some rice here. Let's follow the trail!"
The villagers carefully followed the trail. They did not want to miss the rice on the ground. The trail stopped in front of a cave. The villagers were hesitant.
"What should we do? Should we enter?"
"No!" said an old woman.
She continued, "Do you know who lives here?"
"I don t. Please tell me who lives here."
"It's a spirit called Datu. It's very dangerous if we go inside the cave," said the old woman.
"So, what should we do?"
"Just close this cave with bamboos. I'm sure the spirit will never disturb us again."
The villagers collected some bamboos and they all closed the cave. After that they all went home. On the following morning, they all went to see their offerings. And nothing happened. Their offerings were still nicely arranged. They could hold the ceremony well. Since then, they named the place as Hampang Datu. Hampang means closing with bamboos and Datu means spirit. ***
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Indonesian Folklore Webpage
Folklore from South Kalimantan
ONCE upon a time in South Kalimantan, there was a village named Padang Batung. The villagers were farmers. They were very grateful to have such a fertile land. They all lived prosperously.
To show their gratitude they regularly held a ceremony. It was held after they had harvest. They named it Manyanggar Banua. In the ceremony they prepared offerings. Food and beverages were arrange nicely as the offerings.
The villagers just harvested. Soon they would have Manyanggar Banua ceremony. Men and woman, young and old started to prepare their place. Some were busy cooking and others were busy cleaning and preparing their place.
Everything was set. Food and beverages were ready: Their place n'as dean. On the following day they would hold the ceremony.
It was dawn. Someone was screaming!
Hey! Where's the food? Who stole the food for the offerings?"
People immediately came to see what happened! They all were shocked to see their offerings were in a mess.
"What happened here? Who did this? Who ate this food?"
Those were the questions. Nobody knew the answers.
"We have to find who did this! We have to punish the thief!"
"Yes, but how?" asked someone.
"I have an idea. We set the food and the beverages once again. But we put the rice in a leaked pan. When the thief brought the pan, we can follow the trail of the rice."
"It's a good idea. Let's do it."
Then the villagers once again set their offerings. They cooked some rice and put it in a leaked pan. They all hoped they could catch the thief.
They set the offering as they did it earlier. They also cleaned the mess. At night they all went home. In the morning, all the villagers woke up and immediately went to the place of their ceremony. And yes, the place ==was in a mess again. And the pan was missing.
"Hey, look! There is some rice here. Let's follow the trail!"
The villagers carefully followed the trail. They did not want to miss the rice on the ground. The trail stopped in front of a cave. The villagers were hesitant.
"What should we do? Should we enter?"
"No!" said an old woman.
She continued, "Do you know who lives here?"
"I don t. Please tell me who lives here."
"It's a spirit called Datu. It's very dangerous if we go inside the cave," said the old woman.
"So, what should we do?"
"Just close this cave with bamboos. I'm sure the spirit will never disturb us again."
The villagers collected some bamboos and they all closed the cave. After that they all went home. On the following morning, they all went to see their offerings. And nothing happened. Their offerings were still nicely arranged. They could hold the ceremony well. Since then, they named the place as Hampang Datu. Hampang means closing with bamboos and Datu means spirit. ***
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Moral Message:
1. Community Vigilance and Cooperation: The villagers of Padang Batung showcased the power of community vigilance and cooperation. By working together to uncover the thief and solve the problem, they highlighted the importance of unity and collective effort in overcoming challenges.
2. Respect for the Unknown: The villagers demonstrated respect for the unknown and supernatural by heeding the advice of the old woman. They chose a non-confrontational solution to deal with the spirit, showing wisdom and caution in their actions.
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