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LUTUNG KASARUNG ("KASARUNG"
THE MONKEY)
Prabu Tapa Agung had led a kingdom in West
Java for a long time. He was getting old and therefore wanted to
choose a successor. But unfortunately, he had no son. He thought of choosing
one of his daughters, Purbararang and Purbasari. But it wasn’t an easy choice.
They were both very pretty and smart. The only difference was their
temperament. Purbararang was rude and dishonest, while Purbasari was kind and
caring. With those considerations, Prabu Tapa Agung finally chose Purbasari to
be his successor.
Purbararang didn’t agree with her father’s decision. “It’s
supposed to be me, Father. I’m the eldest daughter!” Purbararang said. Prabu
Tapa Agung smiled. “Purbararang, to be a queen takes more than age. There are
many other qualities that one must possess,” explained Prabu Tapa Agung wisely.
“What does Purbasari have that I don’t?” Purbararang pouted. “You’ll find out
when Purbasari has replaced me,” Prabu Tapa Agung answered.
After the discussion, Purbararang went back to her room. “Is
there something wrong?” asked Indrajaya. Indrajaya is Purbararang’s future
husband. “I’m upset! Father chose Purbasari as his successor and not me! I have
to do something!” Purbararang said. Driven mad by her anger, she came to a
witch and asked her to send rash all over Purbasari’s body. Before going to
bed, Purbasari started to feel itch all over her body. She tried applying
powder to her body, but it’s no use. Instead, the itching grew even worse. She
didn’t want to scratch it, but she just couldn’t help it. In the next morning,
there were scratch mark all over Purbasari’s body. “What happened to you?”
asked Purbararang, pretending to be concerned. “I don’t know, sis. Last night,
my body suddenly felt very itchy. I scratched and scratched, and this is what
happened,” Purbasari answered. Purbararang shook her head. “You must have done
something really awful. You’ve been punished by the gods!”
That day, the whole kingdom was scandalized. “What have you
done, Purbasari?” demanded Prabu Tapa Agung. Purbasari shook her head. “I
didn’t do anything that would upset the gods, Father,” she answered. “Then how
can you explain what happened to your body?” Prabu Tapa Agung asked again. “If
you don’t confess, I’ll banish you to the woods.” Purbasari took a deep breath.
“Like I said before, I didn’t do anything wrong. And I’d rather be thrown into
the woods than to confess to a deed I didn’t commit.”
After a short discussion with his advisor, Prabu Tapa Agung
ordered Purbasari to be moved to the woods. Purbasari was very sad, but she
couldn’t do anything to defy her father’s order. She was accompanied to the
woods by a messenger. He built a simple hut for Purbasari. After the messenger
left, suddenly a black monkey came to Purbasari’s hut. He carried a bunch of
bananas. From behind him, some animals looked on. “Are the bananas for me?’
Purbasari asked. The black monkey nodded, as if he understood what Purbasari
said. Purbasari took the bananas with pleasure. She also said thanks. The other
animals that were looking on also seemed to smile. “Are you willing to be my
friend?” Purbasari asked them. All the animals nodded happily. Although she was
living by herself in the woods, Purbasari never lacked of supplies. Everyday,
there were always animals bringing her fruits and fish to eat.
A long time had passed since Purbasari was banished to the
woods, but her body still itched. At some places, her skin was even ulcerating.
What am I supposed to do?” Purbasari sighed. The monkey who was sitting next to
her stayed still, there were tears in his eyes. He hoped Purbasari would remain
patient and strong.
One night, on a full moon, the monkey took Purbasari to a
valley. There is a pond with hot spring water. The monkey suddenly spoke, “The
water of this pond will heal your skin,” he said. Purbasari was surprised, ”You
can talk? Who are you?” she asked. “You’ll find out, in time,” the monkey said.
Purbasari didn’t want to force the monkey. She then walked to the pond. She
bathed there. After a few hours, Purbasari walked out of the pond. She was
shocked to see her face reflected on the clear pond water. Her face was
beautiful again, with smooth and clean skin. Purbasari observed her entire
body. There were no traces of any skin ailments. “I’m cured! I’m cured!”
Purbasari shouted in joy. She quickly offered thanks to the gods and also to
the monkey.
The news of Purbasari’s condition quickly spread to the
kingdom, irritating Purbararang. She then accompanied by Indrajaya go to the
woods to see Purbasari. Purbasari asked if she would be allowed to go home.
Purbararang said she would let Purbasari return to the palace if Purbasari’s
hair were longer than hers. Purbararang then let her hair down. It was so long,
it almost touched the ground. But it turned out that Purbasari’s hair was twice
longer than Purbararang’s hair.
“Fine, so your hair is longer than mine.” Purbararang
admitted. “But there is one more condition you must fulfill, do you have a
future husband who is handsomer than mine?” said Purbararang as she walked
toward Indrajaya. Purbasari felt miserable. She didn’t have a future husband
yet. So, without much thought, she pulled the black monkey beside her.
Purbararang and Indrajaya burst out, but their laughter didn’t
last long. The monkey meditates and suddenly transformed into a very handsome
young man, a lot more handsome than Indrajaya. “I’m a prince from a kingdom far
away. I was cursed to be a monkey because of a mistake I committed. I could
regain my true form only if there’s a girl who would be willing to be my wife,”
said the young man.
Finally, Purbararang gave up. She accepted Purbasari as the
queen, and also confessed everything she had done. “Please forgive me. Please
don’t punish me,” Purbararang said, asking for forgiveness. Instead of being
angry, Purbasari smiled. “I forgive you, sis,” she said. Soon after, Purbasari
become queen. Beside her was the handsome prince, the former monkey known as
Lutung Kasarung.***
Telaga Warna (THE COLORFUL LAKE)
A Folk story from
West Java
Long time ago there was
a kingdom in West
Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king called Prabu. He was a kind
and wise king. Under Prabu’s leadership, the kingdom grew into a prosperous
kingdom. There’s no hunger in the kingdom. Everybody in the kingdom loved their
king. But, there’s one problem. The king and his queen hadn’t got any children.
It made the couple very sad. That was why Prabu decided to go to the jungle.
There, he meditated and prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His
dream finally came true. A few months later, the queen got pregnant. All people
in the kingdom felt very happy. They sent many presents to the palace to
express their happiness. Nine months later a baby girl was born. The baby grew
as a beautiful teenager then.
Prabu and his queen loved
their daughter so much. They gave what
ever she wanted. It made the princess grew into a spoiled girl. When her wish
couldn’t be fulfilled, she would be very angry. She even said bad things often.
Even though the princess behaved badly, her parents still loved her, and so did
the people in the kingdom.
Time passed and the princess
grew more beautiful. In a few
days, the princess would be seventeen years old. That’s why people of that
kingdom brought many presents for her. They bring gold and beautiful jewelries.
Prabu collected the presents. Then Prabu stored them in a special room. Some
times he would take them to give to his people who needed it. Prabu only took a
few gold and jewels. Then he brought them to a goldsmith. “Please make a
necklace for my daughter,” said Prabu. “My pleasure, Your Majesty,” the
goldsmith replied. The goldsmith worked with all his heart and his ability. He
wanted to create the most beautiful necklace for the princess.
The birthday came. People
gathered in the palace field. Then
Prabu and the queen appeared. They waved to their beloved people. Cheers were
loud and louder when the princess appeared. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu
got up from his chair and took a small pillow. A beautiful necklace was on the
pillow. Prabu took that necklace. “My beloved daughter, today I give this
necklace to you. This necklace is a gift from people in this country. They love
you so much. They presented it for you to express their happiness, because you
have growing to a woman,” said Prabu. The princess accepted the necklace. She
looked at the necklace in a glance. “I don’t want this necklace! It’s ugly!”
shouted the princess as she threw the necklace away. The necklace hit the floor
and was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor.
No body dared to speak.
They never thought that their beloved
princess would do such a cruel thing. In their silence, people heard the queen
crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was crying.
Suddenly, from the middle of the field, a spring emerged. It quickly became a
pool. The palace was getting flooded. Soon the place became a big lake.
Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full
as
before. There is only a small lake now. People called the lake
Telaga
Warna (it means lake of colour). On a bright day, the lake is full of colour.
These colors come from the reflections of forest, plants, flowers, and sky
around the lake. But some people said that the colours are from the princess’
necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.***
The Mouse
Deer and The Tiger
A popular Children Folk
Tale
Once upon a time, there was a mouse deer living in a forest.
Although he was small, he wasn’t afraid of the other bigger animals which
wanted to eat him. He was so smart; he always managed to ditch them. One day, a
tiger was wandering around for food. He hadn't been eating for days. He was
really hungry. While he was walking in the forest, he saw Mouse Deer. The tiger
wanted to eat him.
The tiger slowly ducked, crawled, approaching the Mouse Deer, then..."Gotcha!"
said Tiger. He caught Mouse Deer. “Hello, Mouse Deer! I’m really hungry right
now. You’ll be my lunch!” said Tiger. Mouse Deer didn’t want to be his lunch.
He tried to be calm. He looked around and saw some buffalo’s dung. He had an
idea. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has ordered me to
guard his cake,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His cake?” said Tiger curiously.
“Yes, there it is. It’s very delicious. The King doesn’t want anyone else to
eat it, so he ordered me to guard it,” Mouse Deer pointed the buffalo’s dung.
“Can I taste it?” Tiger asked. “Of course you can’t. The King would be very
angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just one little bite, Mouse Deer! The King
will never know,” said Tiger. “Well, okay, Tiger. But first let me run far
away, so the King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse deer. You
can go now.” Mouse Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then took a big
mouthful of the ‘cake’. “Phoooey!” He spit it out. “Yuck, that’s not cake.
That’s buffalo’s dung.”
Tiger ran through the forest. He caught up with Mouse Deer.
“Mouse Deer, you tricked me. But now you will be my lunch.” Mouse Deer looked
around and saw a wasp nest in a tree. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch
now. The King has ordered me to guard his drum,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His
drum?” said Tiger curiously. “Yes, there it is. It has the best sound in the
world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to hit it,” Mouse Deer pointed the
wasp nest. “Can I hit the King’s drum?” Tiger asked. “Of course you can’t. The
King would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just one little hit, Mouse
Deer! The King will never know,” said Tiger. ”Well, all right, Tiger. But first
let me run far away, so the King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right,
Mouse Deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then
reached up and hit the wasp nest. Bzzzzzzz…! “Ouch…ouch! That’s not a drum.
That a wasp nests!”
Tiger ran away. But the wasps keep following him. He came to
the river. He jumped in and stayed underwater as long as he could. At last the
wasps went away. Then he jumped out. He ran through the forest till he found
Mouse Deer. “Mouse Deer, you tricked me again. But now you will be my lunch.”
Mouse Deer looked around and saw a cobra. The snake was coiled asleep on the
ground. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has ordered me
to guard his belt,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His belt?” said Tiger curiously.
“Yes. There it is. It’s the best belt in the world. The King doesn’t want
anyone else to wear it,” Mouse Deer pointed the cobra. “Can I wear it?” Tiger
asked. “Of course you can’t. The King would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer
refused. “Just for one moment, Mouse Deer! The King will never know,” said Tiger.
”Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so the King won’t blame
me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse Deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran
quickly out of sight. Tiger then took the snake and started to warp it around
himself. The cobra woke up. It squeezed Tiger and bit him. SSssssstt! “Oouch!
Ow! Ooow! That’s not a belt! That’s a cobra! Help! Mouse Deer! Help!” But Mouse
Deer was already far away. He laughed aloud. Mouse Deer was safe from Tiger
now.*** Aji Saka
A Folk Story from
Central Java
A long time ago there was a kingdom called Medang Kamulan. The
kingdom of Medang Kamulan
was ruled by Prabu Dewata
Cengkar. The people in the kingdom were very scared by the king. It was because
the king liked to eat human flesh. Once a week, he commanded his messenger,
Patih Jugul Muda, to find him a human to eat.
Far away from the kingdom
of Medang Kamulan, there
was a village called Medang Kawit. A young man named Aji Saka lived there. Aji
Saka was a brave young man. He loved to help people who needed help. One day,
Aji Saka saw an old man lying unconscious on the ground. The old man was
wounded. Some thieves just hit him and stole his money. Aji Saka then carried
the old man to his hut. Soon after, the old man started to regain consciousness.
“Where…am I?” he asked. “You’re in my house. You’re safe now,” said Aji Saka.
It turned out that the old man was from the kingdom of Medang Kamulan.
“Everybody was leaving Medang Kamulan,” the old man told Aji Saka. He also told
him about Prabu Dewata Cengkar’s bad habit. “We were terrified, that’s why we
left,” The old man said.
After he heard the explanation from the old man, Aji Saka
decided to go meet Prabu Dewata Cengkar and make him stop the menace. With his
magical white turban on his head, Aji Saka went to the kingdom. The turban was
a gift from his Guru that could be used to fight evil. On his journey to Medang
Kamulan, Aji Saka passed through a very dark forest where he met an evil genie.
The genie blocked his path. “If you want to get through this forest, you must
be my slave for ten years,” the genie demanded. Aji Saka refused to be the
genie’s slave. The two of them then fight for seven days and seven nights,
until at last Aji Saka came out as winner. The genie finally allowed Aji Saka to
pass through the forest.
When Aji Saka arrived in the kingdom
of Medang Kamulan,
the king was angry to Patih Jugul Muda. He was not able to find the king some
humans. “If you can’t find me any humans, I’ll eat you instead,” Prabu Dewata
Cengkar said to Patih Jugul Muda. After Patih Jugul Muda left, Aji Saka
revealed himself. Prabu Dewata Cengkar’s eyes suddenly widened upon seeing Aji
Saka. He could already imagine how delicious his meat would taste. “Who are
you?” asked Prabu Dewata Cengkar. “I am Aji Saka from the village
of Medang Kawit,”
Aji Saka answered. “Ha...ha...ha.... I’m glad you came here. You would be my
meal. I'm starving,” said the king.
“I would gladly let you eat me, but I want something in
return.” Aji Saka said. “What is it that you want?” asked Prabu Dewata Cengkar.
“I want a land as large as my turban,” said Aji Saka. He then took off his
turban and threw it on the ground. Prabu Dewata Cengkar agreed. He himself
would measure the land with Aji Saka’s turban. Suddenly the turban grew bigger
and bigger. It just kept on stretching until it finally covered the whole
kingdom. Prabu Dewata Cengkar was angry. He then attacked Aji Saka. But, then
the turban wrapped itself around him and began to strangle him. The turban then
threw the king’s body to the South
Sea. The waves carried
Prabu dewata Cengkar away until he finally drowned and died.
Aji Saka then asked the people of Medang Kamulan to come back
to the kingdom. They all thanked the brave Aji Saka. They also agreed to make
Aji Saka to be their king. Aji Saka then ruled the kingdom wisely. Under the
leadership of Aji Saka, Medang Kamulan become a peaceful and prosperous
kingdom.***
Pak Lebai
Malang
Cerita rakyat
from West Sumatra
Pak Lebai was an old man living in a village by the river.
Everyday, he used his sampan for travelling at the river. Pak Lebai had a bad
habit. He always changed his mind before he did something. He was an
inconsistent man. One day, Pak Lebai was invited to a party by his neighbor.
Pak lebai was happy. He loved party because he could eat delicious food. He
also could get a buffalo's head from the party. Still on the same day, he got another
invitation. Those two party invitations made him confused. The two parties were
held at the same time, but at different places. The two neighbors who invited
him lived in different sides of the river. One neighbor lived on the east side
and the other one lived in the west side. "If I go to the west side, I
will only get one buffalo’s head. If I go to the east side, I can have two
heads of buffalo. But the host at the west side is friendlier,” he said to
himself. He was confused.
On the following day, Pak Lebai paddled his sampan to the
party at the west side of the river. But then he changed his mind and went to
the east side. On the way there, he met with some friends. "The party is
awful. There are not many buffalo's heads," said one of them. So, Pak
Lebai turned back his sampan again and went to the west side. Unfortunately,
the party was already over when he arrived there. Pak Lebai immediately paddled
his sampan to the east side again. But he also missed the party.
Pak Lebai was upset and blaming himself for being so
inconsistent. He was so hungry and tired because he was padding back and forth
in the river. He then fell asleep in his sampan. He did not realize that his
sampan was drifting away at the river. When he woke up, he was already in the
different village. That’s why all his neighbors started to call him Pak Lebai
Malang (poor mister Lebai).***
Lake Toba
Cerita rakyat
from North Sumatra
In the northern area of Sumatra
Island, lived a young
man. Everyday, he work hard as a farmer. One day in the morning, the young man
went fishing in a river. Not so long after he threw the bait, it was bitten by
a fish. He pulled the fishing rod and was amazed by the fish he caught. It was
a golden fish. “Wait, please don’t eat me,” the fish suddenly spoke to the
young man. Startled, the young man dropped the golden fish and it suddenly
turned into a beautiful girl.
“I must have been dreaming,” the young man said to himself. “Don’t
afraid,
Sir. I was a princess cursed by the gods because a mistake I did. You’ve save
me,” said the girl. “As my gratitude, I’m willing to be your wife.” The young
man was so amazed to see the beauty of the girl, so he accepted her as his
wife. They became man and wife but with one condition, the young man promised
not to mention about the fish form of the girl. Terrible disaster will happen
if the promise is broken.
A year passed, the young man and his wife already had a son. They were so
happy. Their son grew up as a healthy boy. But he was a little naughty. He also
had a habit, he was always hungry. One day, the wife asked their son to deliver
lunch to his father. But, the son ate the food on his way to the fields. The
father had been working since morning. He was so hungry. Finding that there’s
no food left for him, he said angrily, “Stupid boy! You little fish boy!” He
didn’t realize that he broke the promise.
After he said those words, his son and wife mysteriously disappeared. From
their footstep on the ground, there’s water bursting out. The water kept coming
out and started to flood the area. The whole village and the surrounding area
became a lake. There’s a small island in the middle of the lake, known as Samosir
Island. And the lake is known as Lake Toba.
***
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