Pages

The Ceremony of Nangluk Merana

Story of Peace: The Power of Forgiveness in Resolving Conflict




Upacara Nangluk Merana | Edisi Indonesia

Indonesian Folklore Webpage

Folklore from Bali

ONCE upon a time in Java, there was a wise king. His name was Batara Siwa. He had three sons. They were kings in the different places in Bali.

The first son lived in Mount Agung, his name was Batara Agung. He enjoyed taking care of his cattle. There were goats, chickens, pigs, cows, horses, and any other animals in his barn.

The second son lived by the sea. His name was Batara Andakasa. He loved fish very much. He could spend hours looking at the fish in the sea.





And the youngest son was Batara Batur. He enjoyed farming. There were many kinds of trees in his fields.

All the three sons lived peacefully and happily. The people in Bali were so happy to have them as the kings.

However, the peaceful life was disturbed. There was an incident. Batara Agung's cattle went to Batara Batur's fields. The animals ate the fruits, leaves, and left the fields in a mess.

Batara Batur was angry when he knew that his farm was in a terrible condition. He ordered his soldiers to kill the animals. He did not know that those'were Batara Agung's cattle.

Batara Agung was also angry when he knew his animals were murdered. He went to Batara Batur's palace.

"Why did you kill my cattle? You can just ask them to leave! And why don't you put fences around your fields?" said Batara Agung.

"I did not know that they were your cattle. By the way, why don't you feed them properly? They were hungry then they went to my fields!"

Batara Agung knew it was part of his mistake too. However he did not want to admit it. Instead, he cursed it.

"I hope those dead animals will rot and produce bad smell!"

It happened! The dead animals in Batara Batur's field rotted and the smell was terrible. People could not stand it.

"We have to throw them away to the sea!" ordered Batara Batur.

The sea was polluted by the dead animals. The seawater smelled so bad. The dead animals produced poison and that killed the fish!

Batara Andakasa was angry. When he knew that the sea was polluted by the dead animals thrown by Batara Batur, he went to Batara Batur's palace.

"You should have buried the dead animals!" said Batara Andakasa.

He was so angry, he then cursed the dead animals.

"I hope those dead animals will change into pests and destroyed the farms!"

Unfortunately it happened! The dead animals in the sea changed into pests. They all destroyed the trees in the fields.

Batara Siwa heard about the problem. He advised his sons live peacefully and help one another.

However the pests already multiplied and they attacked other fields. To solve the problem, Batara Siwa asked Batara Batur to apologize to Batara Andakasa. He asked Batara Batur to go to the sea and bring some offerings.

Batara Batur did it. He hoped Batara Andakasa would forgive him and the trees would grow well. Batara Andakasa forgave him. However he asked Batara Batur to regularly bring the offerings to the sea.

The habit still happens until now. People name it as Nangluk Merana Ceremony. It is held in order to prevent the farms from the pests.




The Consequences of Conflict and the Power of Forgiveness

The moral of this story is the importance of peace, cooperation, and forgiveness in maintaining harmony and balance among individuals or groups. The conflict between the brothers illustrates that hatred and revenge only lead to harmful consequences for all parties involved. However, by acknowledging mistakes, apologizing, and forgiving each other, we can resolve conflicts and build lasting peace and cooperation. It also highlights the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and learning from mistakes to prevent their recurrence in the future.







No comments:

Post a Comment