indonesia folktales

INDONESIAN FOLKTALES # 4

1. BATANG TUAKA

Tuaka, the only son of his parents, resident in Indragiri basin together with his mother, a poor widow. Oncde upon a time, there were two snake in jungle, fighting against one another for a Batu Kemala a kind of gems stone, which instead was get by Tuaka who was than searching for wood in the jungle. Afterwards he sold the stone to a merchant, but the merchant has no sufficient money for the stone was too expensive. Finally, they agreed that payment would be made in Tumasik, Singapore’s port, because the merchant has buisness there. His mother approved reluctantly her son’s journey and told him to return soon after the completion of his affair. However, Tuaka seemingly has other plan. He decided to be a merchantin Singapore and married local girl. Now he became a great merchant. One time his wife eager to meet with her mother-in-law who she has not known, so that Tuaka and his wife returned to Indragiri by a ship. His mother was among thoseinhabitants who welcome he arrival of Tuaka, being a very successful man abroad. Soon after seeing his old and plan mother, Tuaka scolded her and not recognized her as his mother. His mother felt ill, and then she cursed wicked Tuaka to be an eagle and his wife to be a pigeon. Now the site of event is know Batang Tuaka.

2. SI PITUNG

Toward midnight a group of mysterious gang disturbed the tranquillity of shop propietors, landlords, usurers, and alleged henchnen of Kompeni (Dutch rule). The gang robbed properties of men. During in action, they covered their heads with sarong cloths, so that they were difficult to recognize. Meanwhile, in the morning those natives who were suffering under colonization, suddenly as if get a flash of hope. The poor, families with debts, and fatherless childrens found a bag of rice and bundle of money at the front of their houses’ doors. This rampant occurrence made Dutch ruler fury and strive to uncover the mysterious robbers. The rule eventually leanrt that Si Pitung, silat (a kind of self-defence art) champion from Rawabelong village,was the brain behind the gang and the Dutch ruler vowed to arrest him. However, the rurel seemingly faced trouble uin arresting si Pitung who was well known of supernatural power. Then a trick was undertook by intimidating Rawabelong’s inhabitants in order that Si Pitung give up. However, rather than gave up, he bravely fought against the ruler’s stroops. Unfortunately he was not concious that the secret of supernatural power had been known by the ruler and in the end Si Pitung dead from bullet, escoted by lamentation of sorrowful people. Today a Mosque Si Pitung inherted can be seen in Marunda, North Jakarta.

3. TERUSAN NUSA

A long dry spell hit a village that lay in Rugan basin, a tributary of river Kahayan. Danger or starvation attacked the people, so had they strove for food stuff to hinterland fertile jungle. An inhabitant, named Tambing, found an egg in jungle and he ate it because he was very hungry. The people and his families was strarle when they saw Tambing chang slowly to be a big dragon. The eventually knew that the egg was a dragon’s egg. Tambing naw being dragon, had to adapt with river living. Then another turbulent occurred, the village people nearly ran uot of fish stock because the dragon Tambing had preyedthem. The people then moved Tambing to river Kahayan, which was bigger, and consequently population of fish there decreased drastically. In attempt to guard against extinction, fish Seluang took initiative ti lead other fishes in river Kahayan to expel dragon Tabing. A false news was issued that the dragon Tambing had been challenge, Tambing hurriedly moved to downstream, and he hid behind of an islan at the estuary to ambush his enemy. Because he was waiting too long, he overslept for tired. Suddenly he woke up when something touched his head. He thought that it was upset and in plain, because he had in fact eaten his tail. Indeed, when he was sleeping his long tail bent unconsiously by current until it touched his own head. He dead in the end. The stream dragon Tambing passed toward downstream of river Kahayan is now named Terusan Nusa.

4. ILE MAURAJA

Once upon a time there wa a family of sarong cloth maker who lack of cotton to be used as raw material for making sarong. A son of their family named Raja get insipation in his dream to go to a cave. In the cave he met a long bearded old man and he gave a handful of cotton seeds and asked him to plan them on his parents land. Afterward the old man was transformed to a piton snake. Raja ran fearfully and brought with him the cotton seeds. In a short time the plant grew bigger, so thet the family could produce yards for sarong cloth quickly. Raja’s family began get richer. One day Raja returned to the cave and saw seven girls in the cave. HE was told then that they really were daugters of snake and the old man was their parent. The old man had seemingly blinded Raja’s eyes so that he saw the girls as if human. The Raja married the youngest of the girls and took her to his village. The people of village watched Raja nurtured a piton and attempt to kill the snake. Raja’s house was burnt by mass in to a ruin, including the youngest. Hearing the bed news, family of the youngest revenged snake troops were employed to attack by pushing the content of bowels of the earth, and brought the village to chaos. The village turn into a mount and it is new called mount Mauraja or Ile Mauraja.