Kebo Iwa

ONCE upon a time in Bali, a man and his wife were praying. They have been married for a long time but did not have any children. They asked God to give them a child. They prayed and prayed.

God finally answered their pray. The wife, then, got pregnant and they had a baby boy. They were very happy.

The baby was extraordinary. He was very much different from other babies. He ate and drank a lot. Day after day he ate more and more. His body was getting bigger and bigger. And by the time he was a teenager, his body was as big as a buffalo. People then started to call him Kebo Iwa.

Because of his eating habit, Kebo Iwa’s parents spent a lot of money to buy his food in large amount. They finally went bankrupt. They gave up and asked the villagers to help them provide the food.

The villagers then worked together to cook and build a big house for Kebo Iwa. He was like a giant. He could not stay in his parents’ house anymore because of his big body. Sadly, after a few months, the villagers also could not afford to cook him the food. They then asked Kebo Iwa to cook his own food. The villagers just prepared the raw materials.

Kebo Iwa agreed and as an expression of his gratitude to the villagers, he built a dam, dug wells, and he also protected the villagers from animals and people who wanted to attack their village. He did those things by himself.

Meanwhile, the troops of Majapahit were planning to attack Bali. They knew about Kebo Iwa. And they also knew that they could not conquer Bali with Kebo Iwa there. Kebo Iwa was more powerful than they were.

Gajah Mada, the Maha Patih (Chief Minister) of Majapahit then planned something. They were pretending to invite Kebo Iwa to Majapahit to help them dig some wells. They said that Majapahit was suffering from a long dry season and needed much water. Kebo Iwa did not know the plan, so he went to Majapahit.

When Kebo Iwa was busy digging a very big well, the troops covered the well. Kebo Iwa had difficulty in breathing and buried alive. He died inside the well.

After the death of Kebo Iwa, Bali was conquered by Majapahit. Until now, people still remember Kebo Iwa because he had done a lot for Majapahit and Bali. The stone head of legendary Kebo Iwa can be found in Pura Gaduh temple in Blahbatuh. ***


http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2008/04/kebo-iwa.html

The Legend of Surabaya

A long time ago in East Java there were two strong animals, Sura and Baya. Sura was a shark and Baya was a crocodile. They lived in a sea. Actually, they were friends. But when they were hungry, they were very greedy. They did not want to share their food. They would fight for it and never stop fighting until one of them gave up.

It was a very hot day. Sura and Baya were looking for some food. Suddenly, Baya saw a goat.
“Yummy, this is my lunch,” said Baya.

“No way! This is my lunch. You are greedy! I had not eaten for two days!” said Sura.
Then Sura and Baya fought again. After several hours, they were very tired. Sura had a plan to stop their bad behavior.

“I’m tired of fighting, Baya,” said Sura.

“Me too. What should we do to stop fighting? Do you have any idea?” asked Baya.
“Yes, I do. Let’s share our territory. I live in the water, so I look for food in the sea. And you live on the land, right? So, you look for the food also on the land. The border is the beach, so we will never meet again. Do you agree?” asked Sura.

“Hmm... let me think about it. OK, I agree. From today, I will never go to the sea again. My place is on the land,” said Baya.

Then they both lived in the different places. But one day, Sura went to the land and looked for some food in the river. He was very hungry and there was not much food in the sea. Baya was very angry when he knew that Sura broke the promise.

“Hey, what are you doing here? This is my place. Your place is in the sea!”

“But, there is water in the river, right? So, this is also my place!” said Sura.

Then Sura and Baya fought again. They both hit each other. Sura bit Baya's tail. Baya did the same thing to Sura. He bit very hard until Sura finally gave up. He went back to the sea. Baya was very happy. He had his place again.

The place where they were fighting was a mess. Blood was everywhere. People then always talked about the fight between Sura and Baya. They then named the place of the fight as Surabaya, it’s from Sura the shark and Baya the crocodile. People also put their fight as the symbol of Surabaya city. ***

Keong Emas (The Golden Snail)

PRINCE Raden Putra and Dewi Limaran were husband and wife. They lived in a palace. Prince Raden Putra's father was the king of the kingdom.

One day, Dewi Limaran was walking around in the palace garden. Suddenly she saw a snail. It was ugly and disgusting.

"Yuck!" said Dewi Limaran and then she threw it away into a river.

She did not know that the snail was actually an old and powerful witch. She could transform herself into anything. The witch was angry to Dewi Limaran. The witch put a spell on her and changed her into a golden snail. The witch then threw it away into the river.

The golden snail was drifting away in the river and got caught into a net. An old woman was fishing and used her net to catch some fish. She was surprised to see a golden snail in her net. She took it and brought it home. When the old woman woke up in the morning, she was surprised that the house was in the good condition. The floor was mopped. And she also had food on the table. She was thinking very hard.

"Who did this to me? The person is very kind." It happened again and again every morning.

The old woman was very curious. One night she decided to stay up late. She was peeping from her room to know who cooked for her. Then, she could not believe what she saw. The golden snail she caught in the river turned into a beautiful woman. The old woman approached her.

"Who are you, young girl?"

"I am Dewi Limaran, Ma'am. A witch cursed me. I can change back as a human only at night," explained Dewi Limaran.

"The spell can be broken if I hear the melody from the holy gamelan," continued Dewi Limaran.

The old woman then rushed to the palace. She talked to Prince Raden Putra about her wife.

Prince Raden Putra was so happy. He had been looking for his wife everywhere.
He then prayed and meditated. He asked the gods to give him the holy gamelan. He wanted to break the witch's spell. After several days praying and meditating, finally gods granted his wish. He immediately brought the holy gamelan to the old woman's house. He played it beautifully. And then amazingly the golden snail turned into the beautiful Dewi Limaran.

The couple was so happy that they could be together again. They also thanked the old woman for her kindness. As a return, they asked her to stay in the palace. ***


http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2007/10/keong-emas-golden-snail-prince-raden.html

The Dandaung Snake

A long time ago, there was a big kingdom in South Kalimantan. The people lived happily and peacefully. There were no poor people. The land was fertile and they always had great harvest. The kingdom was also peaceful. The king was wise and always protected his people. The king had seven daughters. Those seven princesses were very beautiful. The king and the queen really loved them. Their daughters were all still single.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The king and his family spent their time in the garden. Suddenly the chief soldier came. He told the king a very bad news.

“Your majesty! A giant bird attacked our kingdom. The bird is destroying the rice fields. It is also attacking the people. Many people are wounded,” said the soldier.

“We have to do something. Prepare the soldiers. I’ll command the attack,” said the king bravely. He then took his weapon and led the soldiers.

When the king and the soldiers arrived, they were very shocked. The bird was very big. It was very powerful and mean. The king did not want to wait any longer.

The king and the soldiers fought bravely. At first, they could not match the fight. However they all were very brave. Slowly the giant bird gave up. It was very tired and stopped its attack. The people were happy. For a moment they were safe from the bird.

A week later, the kingdom was restless again. This time a giant snake came to the palace. Amazingly the snake could talk like humans. The snake wanted to meet the king and his family.

“Your Majesty, my name is Dandaung Snake. I’m here to marry one of your seven daughters,” said the snake.

All the daughters were screaming. They all were afraid. However the king was silent and calmed. He knew he had to be very careful. He tried to fi nd a solution.

“I cannot decide right now. We need to discuss. Come back tomorrow,” said the king.

He planned to prolong the time. Meanwhile he also had to ask his daughters. One by one the king asked them, but they all refused to marry the snake.

The king was hopeless. He was afraid the snake would attack his kingdom, he still had problems with the giant bird. It was because the bird was still alive and it could return and attack the kingdom and his people at any time.

Suddenly his youngest daughter came to him.

She said, “Father, I’m willing to marry the snake. I’m afraid the snake will be angry and attack our kingdom if nobody wants to marry him.”

The king was speechless. He was very touched with her youngest daughter’s sacrifice. Then he ordered his people to hold a great wedding ceremony for her youngest daughter and Dandaung
Snake.

The party was great. All the guests were proud with the youngest princess. When everybody was having fun, suddenly something strange happened.

Dandaung Snake slowly changed into a very handsome man. He looked into the youngest princess face and he said.

“Don’t be afraid. You have already helped me from the curse. A bad witch cursed me into a snake. Actually I’m a prince and I have great supernatural power.”

The prince went away. He knew the people were still afraid with the giant bird. The prince wanted to kill the bird. And fi nally he succeeded! The giant bird was dead. Everybody was happy. The king was also happy. He asked the prince to be the new king.
Since then the kingdom was always peaceful. ***


http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/South%20Kalimantan

Dewi Luing Indung Bunga

PEOPLE in Kampung Datar, South Kalimantan, suffered. There has been disaster. Long drought has made them lack of water. Many people were ill. Children were crying because they were very hungry. Their parents could not work because they were too weak. They had not eaten much.


The head of the village wasDatu Beritu Taun. He asked all the villagers to have a meeting. He wanted to discuss how to find the solutions of the problem. He knew God was angry with them. They had wasted all the blessing from God. Yes, previously their village was fertile. Water was easy to find. Their life was prosperous.


It all changed when the villagers cut down the trees recklessly in the jungle. After all the big trees were cut down, their village was flooded. It was very terrible. After that, long drought attacked their village.


“My fellow villagers, let’s find solutions for this disaster. We need a lot of water. Do you have any ideas?” asked Datu Beritu Taun, the head of the village, during the meeting.


“I think we have to dig to find well, Sir,” said one villager.


“But we are too weak to work,” said another villager.


“Well, if we don’t do anything, more people are going to die. I think we have to dig deeper to find the source of water,” said another villager.


“I agree. Now I want all the strong men to dig the land. We have to find water!” said Datu Beritu Taun.


Without waiting any longer, all strong men were busy digging. One of them was Antun Kumara Sukma. He was Datu Beritu Taun’s oldest son. Antun had a sister. Her name was Dewi Luing Indung Bunga. Days and nights the villagers were digging. In one night, Datu BerituTaun had a dream while he was sleeping. In his dream, he heard that the village could be prosperous again if a girl was willing to be sacrificed. The girl had to be kind hearted and obedient to her parents.


When he woke up, Datu Beritu Taun told the men about his dream. He asked them to find a girl who was willing to be sacrificed. The villagers waited and waited… Sadly, no girl wanted to be sacrificed.


Dewi Luing Indung Bunga was a very kind girl. She knew she had to be sacrificed. She then told his father about it.


“Father, mother… I want this disaster to end. I want our people to be happy again. If there is no girl to be sacrificed, let me sacrifice myself,” said Dewi Luing Indung Bunga.


Though they were very sad, but the family let Dewi to sacrifice herself. All the villagers gathered in a big field. Dewi Luing IndungBunga was standing in the middle. Suddenly, she fell down.


She died. Not long after that rain fell down heavily. All the villagers were thankful to God. They would never forget Dewi’s sacrifice to them. Since then the villagers were very careful to the forests. They did not want to cut down the trees recklessly. ***

http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/South%20Kalimantan

AN INSPIRATION SHORT STORY

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.
As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.
He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother.
But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.”
The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.”
He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers.
As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.
She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.”
She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.
The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s house.




http://www.theholidayspot.com/mothersday/stories/a_short_story.html

The Legend of Gunung Bangkai

THERE was a woman who lived near the jungle. She lived with her son. Her husband died many years ago. Her son's name was Andung. He always helped her mother.

Andung was in the jungle to collect some firewood. And while he was walking to go home, he heard someone asking for help. Andung was looking around and he saw an old man was injured. Andung immediately help him. The old man was really grateful. He gave Andung a gift.

"I want you to have this necklace. You have already helped me and this is my gratitude to you. This necklace is great. It can cure all disease," said the old man.

Andung was really happy. It looked so beautiful. And when he arrived home, he gave it to his mother. She was very happy to receive the necklace.

Andung wanted to have a better life. He wanted to leave his home and had a better job. He told his plan to his mother. At first she did not agree. However, Andung insisted with his plan and his mother could not hold him anymore.

"Before you go, please wear this necklace. I hope you will always remember me."

Andung had his journey and he finally arrived in a kingdom. When he arrived, he saw an old woman suffered skin rash. Andung really felt sorry. He then remembered the message from the old man who gave him the necklace. He tried to cure the old woman. He put the necklace into a glass of water. he asked the old woman to drink the water. Amazingly, the old woman was cured. She told everyone that Andung cured her.

The news spread very fast. Many sick people came to Andung. They all were cured. And the news about Andung was heard by the king.

The princess was ill. The king had already asked many healers to cure her. But none succeeded. The king asked Andung to cure his daughter.

Andung was also sad to see the princess. She was so beautiful, and sadly she could not leave her room. She was very weak. Her illness forced her just to stay in her room.
Andung put the necklace into the glass of water. He asked the princess to drink the water. And amazingly, she was cured. She was able to walk again. The king was extremely happy. He was so thankful to Andung. To show his gratitude, he asked Andung to marry the princess. Andung agreed. He then lived in the palace.

Later, the princess was pregnant. She wanted to eat a special fruit. However, the fruit was only found in the jungle. Andung then asked some soldiers to accompany him to go to the jungle.
Andung knew the jungle very much. It was not far from his house. On the way to the jungle, he saw his mother. She was very old and poor. His mother was very happy.

"Andung? I'm so happy to see you," said his mother.

Sadly Andung was ashamed with her. He did not want to admit her as his mother. "Who are you? I don't know you," said Andung.

Her mother was very sad. She prayed to God to punish him. Andung suddenly could not move his body. He realize he was wrong. He tried to apologize to his mother but it was too late. Andung finally could not move his body at all. Slowly, he changed into a stone. The stone looked like a human dead body. It was slowly getting bigger and bigger. The stone then turned into a mountain. People named it as the mountain of human dead body or Gunung Bangkai.***

http://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/South%20Kalimantan