King Tilahunga

King Tilahunga and the Value of Humility and Community

Raja Tilahunga dan Nama-nama Tempat | Edisi Indonesia

Indonesian Folklore Webpage

Folklore from Gorontalo

ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom named Bolango. The kingdom was led by King Tilahunga. He was a wise king. He was very close to his people. They loved their king. They were grateful to have King Tilahunga as their king.

King Titahunga regularly visited his kingdom. He did that to monitor what happened with his people. When he went to meet his people, the king always stayed in their houses. He did not want to be treated differently. He was such a humble king.







One day, the king wanted to monitor his kingdom. He asked his soldiers to prepare well.

"Don't forget to bring enough food. Remember, I don't want to burden people preparing the food for us. We have to bring our own food!" ordered the King.

"Yes, Sir!" replied the soldiers.

"Besides food, bring some items of gardening equipment. Bring mattocks, crowbars, and axes," ordered the king.

He continued, "We will help the farmers."

Then the King and the soldiers started their trip. It was quite a tiring trip since they were having dry season. The king often motivated the soldiers not to feel weak. Indeed the trip was not easy for them. They had to go through jungles and even crossed a river.

It was very hot and when they arrived at a hilly area, they rested for a while. Some soldiers were busy preparing a good place for the king to rest. However the king refused to be treated differently.

"No, I don't want a special place to rest. Let's share a place together," said the king.

The soldiers were so touched to see their humble king. They then named the hill as Tapa Hill. Tapa is taken from the word tapatopo which means temporarily leave the position for a while. When they rested, the king did not want to be treated as a king. So he left his position as a king for a moment.

The king and the soldiers continued their trip. Later it was time for them to rest again. They started to eat the food. However there was one soldier named Denggi who ate too much. Denggi even ate other soldiers' food. Of course that made them angry at Denggi.

The king heard the problem. He advised Denggi not to do it. Denggi finally understood his mistake. He apologized to the king and other soldiers. Since then the place was named as Tuladenggi. Tula means greedy, so Tuladenggi is the greedy Denggi.

They continued their journey. Later they arrived at Limboto Lake. The view was so beautiful. Trees grew well. The king loved the place instantly. He knew the land was fertile. 

"Soldiers, we will stop here. Set the tents now because we will stay here bit longer. Now, prepare the gardening equipment," ordered the king. 

Some soldiers set the tent and others prepared the equipment. However they were surprised when they saw their equipment were broken. They immediately reported to the king. 

"What? How could that happen?" the king was surprised. 

The soldiers were also surprised. They brought the best equipment when they left the palace. The king ordered the soldiers to fix the broken equipment. He then named the place as Panthungo. It means the handle of gardening tool. 

And that's how those places got their names. ***

Moral Message:

King Tilahunga's story teaches us the importance of humility, empathy, and community spirit. Despite his royal status, he chose to live simply among his people, sharing their hardships and helping them directly. His actions demonstrate that true leadership involves understanding and supporting those we lead. The tale also highlights the consequences of greed, as seen with Denggi, and the importance of taking responsibility for our actions. Additionally, it shows that challenges can be overcome through cooperation and resourcefulness.

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The Legend of Dembe Village

Dembenga: The Fight Against Oppression

Legenda Desa Dembe | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from Gorontalo

THERE are two villages in Gorontalo named Dembe I Village and Dembe II Village. There is an interesting story why those villages are named Dembe I and Dembe II. Do you want to know the story? Read on!

Limonu was a strong young man. He lived alone with his mother. Limonu always helped his mother. He'was really obedient.





In his spare time, Limonu always practiced martial arts. He already went to many teachers. He was so skillful. He was dreaming that he could become one of the king's soldiers.

One day Limonu heard that King Hemuto is going to recruit some young men to be his soldiers. However, only the invited young men could join the test. Unfortunately Limonu was not invited.

King Hemuto was known for his great skills in martial arts. He taught all the soldiers how to master the skills. Limonu did not give up. He had already made up his mind that he wanted to join the king's troop and became the king's student.

Limonu told his mother about his plan. His mother was speechless when she heard it.

"Please, Son. Don't join King Hemuto. Why do you want to be his student? You are already great," begged his mother.

"King Hemuto is the best, Mother. Please allow me."

His mother could not do anything. She knew how much her son wanted to be a soldier. There was something that she had to tell about the king. She planned to tell the secret about King Hemuto after Limonu was accepted to be a soldier.

Limonu was so happy when his mother finally let him become King Hemuto's soldier. However there was one thing that he had to solve. He was not invited to take the test.

"All right, I will let you join the test. But first, you have to beat my best soldier," said King Hemuto when Limonu told him that he wanted to be a soldier.

Limonu won the fight! He was accepted! Wow! He was happy. He learned all the king's skills and that made him an expert in martial arts. The king liked him very much, he appointed Limonu to be the commander of his troop. He led the soldiers!

 Limonu's mother thought it was time for him to tell the truth about King Hemuto.

"Your father was a king, Son. He was the king in Western Area while King Hemuto was the king in Northern Area. When you were a baby, Western Area and Northern Area had a war. King Hemuto killed your father, Son," explained the mother.

Limonu was shocked. His respect to king suddenly disappeared. He knew he had to take revenge against him. He talked to his soldiers. They agreed to fight against the king. After all they loved Limonu very much. 

When King Hemuto knew that Limonu was the son of king in Western Area, he asked his soldiers to attack Limonu

The battle was massive! Both sides attacked bravely. People supported Limonu. They also loved him and hated the king. King Hemuto was mean and collected high tax from people. 

The people said, "Dembenga! Dembenga!"

It means throw them away!

The place where the battle happened then called Dembe I Village. King Hemuto went to north to avoid Limonu's soldiers. Later the place is narned as Dembe II Village. ***

Moral Message in English:

The story of Limonu teaches us the importance of courage and loyalty, but also the need for caution when making decisions based on revenge. Limonu is a young man who is obedient to his mother, highlighting the importance of listening to parental advice. However, when he learns about his father’s past, his respect for the king turns into vengeance. This serves as a warning that actions driven by revenge can lead to greater destruction. Moreover, the people's support for Limonu shows the strength of unity in facing injustice. They stand together against the cruel king, seeking freedom. Thus, this story also teaches that justice and truth will always prevail in the end.

Traditional Clothes of Gorontalo

Limboto Lake

Danau Limboto >> Edisi Bahasa Indonesia

Folklore from Gorontalo

JILUMOTO was a god. He lived on earth. One day, when he was travelling he saw some goddesses taking a bath in a lake. He stopped and peeped them.

Jilumoto was amazed by their beauty. He stole one of the goddesses' wing. When they finished taking a bath, they prepared to go back to heaven. However, one goddess could not fly, she lost her wing.

"Oh no! Where's my wing?"

"I'm so sorry, Sister. I could not accompany here. We must go back to heaven."

"I know... I understand that you have to go back to heaven. Please pray for me."

The rest of the goddesses flew back to heaven. Jilumoto approached the goddess who still stayed in the lake.

"What's your name? Why are you crying? How can I help you?" asked Jilumoto.

"My name is Mbu'i Bungale. I'm a goddess and I lost my wing. I could not go back to heaven."

"Don't worry Mbu'i Bungale, I will help you. You can stay with me. By the way, my name is jilumoto."

Since then, Mbu'i Bungale and Jilumoto lived together. They fell in love and later they got married.

One day, Mbu'i Bungale received a package from heaven. It was a golden egg. The egg was so big. Mbu'i Bungale and Jilumoto were afraid that the egg was stolen. So they hid it carefully near the lake. It was the same lake that Mbu'i Bungale and her sisters taking a bath.

After they hid the egg, Mbu'i Bungale and Jilumoto went home. Later four men came to the lake. And while they were resting, one of the men accidentally found the egg. They were so surprised.

"Wow! This must be very expensive if we sell it."

"I agree, let's sell it tomorrow," said another man.

On the following day, Mbu'i Bungale and Jilumoto came back to the lake. They found the men kept the golden egg.

"The egg is ours," said Mbu'i Bungale.

"No, it belongs to us," said the men.

"Let's prove it. If you can make the lake grows bigger, the egg is yours. But if you can't the egg is ours," said Mbu'i Bungale.

"I accept your challenge," said the men.

They started to dig the sides of the lake. They had spent hours, but the progress was so small. They gave up.

"It's my turn " said Mbu'i Bungale.

With her power as a goddess, she could make the lake grew bigger easily. The lake was expanding. And that made the men speechless. They gave the egg to Mbu'i Bungale and Jilumoto.

When Mbu'i Bungale received the egg, surprisingly the egg hatched. Inside, they saw a cute baby girl. The couple were so happy. They named her Tolango Hula, which means the moon light.

When the family were about to go home, they saw some oranges floating in the lake. Jilumoto took the oranges.

Mbu'i Bungale and jilumoto recognized the oranges. It was the oranges from the heaven. When they looked around, they saw some orange trees in the sides of the lake. Then Mbu'i Bungale and Jilumoto named the lake as Bulalo lo limu o tutu which means the lake that was made from oranges in heaven. Stowly the name of lake then changed into Limboto Lake. ***

Orange tree

Limboto Lake

Lahilote

Footprints of Truth: Lahilote's Lesson in Honesty

Edisi Bahasa Indonesia: Lahilotea

Folklore from Gorontalo

ONCE upon a time there was a man named Lahilote. He was well respected. People said he had a supernatural power. He could change himself into anything. He was also able to talk to animals and trees.

Lahilote loved hunting in the jungle. One day while he was looking for some animals, he heard some noise in a lake. He carefully went to the lake. He hoped he could flnd some animals. Well, he was wrong! He did not see any animals in the lake. Instead, there were some beautiful girls having fun in the water.

Lahilote changed himself into a rooster He slowly approached them. Who were the girls? Well, they were angels from the heaven. They were sisters and they occasionally went to the earth to have fun. The girls put their wings on the ground. Lahilote took one wing and went away.

All the angels had enough time in the water and they wanted to go back to the heaven. Each of them was looking for their wings. However, the youngest sister was not able to find her wings. All her sisters were ready to fly and they could not wait for her forever. Sadly, they had to leave her and flew to the sky.

The youngest sister was sad. She kept on searching her wings. Meanwhile, Lahilote had been watching her and then he suddenly showed up in front of her.

"Why do you look so sad? What happened?" asked Lahilote.

"My name is Boilode Hulawa. I'm an angel from heaven. I lost my wings."

"Don't worry I'll help you find your wings. In the mean time, you can stay in my home until you find your wings."

Boilode Hulawa happily accepted his offer. Since then she stayed in his house. Time passed by and they began to fall in love. Later they got married and lived happily.

Lahilote had a rice barn and it was always full of rice. Lahilote was so curious why the barn was always full of rice although his wife always cooked it. So one day, while his wife was cooking, he opened the pan. He saw only one piece of rice! He was so curious! He asked his wife how it happened.

She told him that she used her magic to cook. Unfortunately, the magic was broken after he opened the pan. It meant that she had to cook normally.

While the angel was trying to get some rice in the barn, she found her wings! She was so happy!

She immediately wore her wings and flew back to the heaven. Before she left, she told all the animals and the trees not to tell her husband that she flew to the heaven. They all agreed, except rattan tree. The tree did not want to lie.

Lahilote went home. He was looking for his wife but she was nowhere to be found. He asked the animals and the trees but they did not tell him. Finally, the rattan tree told him the truth. The tree even offered him help. Lahilote could climb the tree to reach the heaven in the sky.

Lahilote climbed the tree and later he arrived in the heaven. He looked for his wife and he finally found her! Lahilote begged her to stay with him on earth. He also promised that he would not lie anymore. His wife was so touched. After all she also loved him.

She agreed to live with him on earth. Then she wore her wings to fly to the earth while Lahilote would climb down the tree.

Unfortunately the rattan tree was old. The branches were decayed and they could not hold his body. Sadly, he fell down terribly. He landed on the big stone and it had his footprints.

The stone still exists in Gorontalo and it has an image of footprints. Local people believe that the footprints belong to Lahilote! ***

Moral message: consequences of curiosity and the importance of honesty in relationships

The story of Lahilote carries a moral lesson on the impact of curiosity and the significance of honesty in relationships. Lahilote's curiosity led to a series of events that tested the trust between him and his angelic wife, Boilode Hulawa. The tale emphasizes the value of honesty and the repercussions of straying from truth, showcasing the eventual triumph of truthfulness and love in their union.

Woman and beautiful rice field

Curly Rattan Vines

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