The Legend of Catu Island
Folklore from Bali
A long time ago there was a village in Bali. The people worked as farmers. One of the was Jurna. He was a diligent farmer. He always had a great harvest. However he was never satisfied. He wanted to have better and better harvest.
"I will promise to gods. If they give me better harvest than I have now, I will give them offerings and I will share the harvest to the neighbors," said Jurna to his wife.
"I agree, But remember, you have to keep your promise," said his wife.
Soon, Jurna had better harvest. He had more rice than he had before. He was happy. And as promised, he prepared offerings to the gods and he also shared to his neighbors. They were very happy.
Jurna was not satisfied. He wanted to have better and better and more harvest. Therefore he promised to gods that he would double his offerings and his sharing to the neighbors.
His wish came true. His harvest was much better than before. The other farmers were amazed. They were also very thankful because he shared his harvest to them.
One day, Jurna went to his rice field. When he arrived, he saw a pile of soil on the ground. It looked like a catu. Catu was made of coconut shell. People used catu to measure the amount of rice. At home, Jurna talked about a soil which looked like a catu to his wife. She had an idea.
"Let's make catu from rice," she said. Jurna agreed. Later they formed the rice just like catu. On the following day, Jurna went to his rice field. He saw the soil catu was getting bigger.
"Hmm...I will make rice catu bigger than this," said Jurna himself. He asked his wife to make bigger rice catu. He felt very satisfied. He wanted to show his rise catu to his neighbors. He hoped that his neighbors would prise him as a rich man. And they did! All the neighbors praised him. Jurna became arrogant. On the next day, Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu were not getting bigger and bigger. But he was wrong. Strangely, the soil catu was bigger.
"Don't worry, I have much rice. I can make rice catu bigger," said Jurna arrogantly. While he was making the rice catu, he was thinking how the neighbors would prise him.
And his wish came true. All the neighbors were so amazed by the size of the rice catu. They all said that Jurna was very rich. Jurna became more arrogant.
Then Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu would stop growing. But he was wrong. Again, it became much bigger than before. Jurna was really upset. He made rice catu bigger than before.
It always repeated. Every time he went to his rice field he always found the soil catu became bigger and bigger.
His wife always reminded him to stop making rice catu. She said that their stock was getting lesser and lesser. She asked him to stop wasting the rice.
But Jurna ignored her. He was only thinking how he could make his rice catu bigger than the soil catu. Soon he lost all of his rice. He became poor. He regretted his bad behaviour. Meanwhile the soil catu became very big. It was like a hill. People then named it as Catu Hill or Bukit Catu. ***
A long time ago there was a village in Bali. The people worked as farmers. One of the was Jurna. He was a diligent farmer. He always had a great harvest. However he was never satisfied. He wanted to have better and better harvest.
"I will promise to gods. If they give me better harvest than I have now, I will give them offerings and I will share the harvest to the neighbors," said Jurna to his wife.
"I agree, But remember, you have to keep your promise," said his wife.
Soon, Jurna had better harvest. He had more rice than he had before. He was happy. And as promised, he prepared offerings to the gods and he also shared to his neighbors. They were very happy.
Jurna was not satisfied. He wanted to have better and better and more harvest. Therefore he promised to gods that he would double his offerings and his sharing to the neighbors.
His wish came true. His harvest was much better than before. The other farmers were amazed. They were also very thankful because he shared his harvest to them.
One day, Jurna went to his rice field. When he arrived, he saw a pile of soil on the ground. It looked like a catu. Catu was made of coconut shell. People used catu to measure the amount of rice. At home, Jurna talked about a soil which looked like a catu to his wife. She had an idea.
"Let's make catu from rice," she said. Jurna agreed. Later they formed the rice just like catu. On the following day, Jurna went to his rice field. He saw the soil catu was getting bigger.
"Hmm...I will make rice catu bigger than this," said Jurna himself. He asked his wife to make bigger rice catu. He felt very satisfied. He wanted to show his rise catu to his neighbors. He hoped that his neighbors would prise him as a rich man. And they did! All the neighbors praised him. Jurna became arrogant. On the next day, Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu were not getting bigger and bigger. But he was wrong. Strangely, the soil catu was bigger.
"Don't worry, I have much rice. I can make rice catu bigger," said Jurna arrogantly. While he was making the rice catu, he was thinking how the neighbors would prise him.
And his wish came true. All the neighbors were so amazed by the size of the rice catu. They all said that Jurna was very rich. Jurna became more arrogant.
Then Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu would stop growing. But he was wrong. Again, it became much bigger than before. Jurna was really upset. He made rice catu bigger than before.
It always repeated. Every time he went to his rice field he always found the soil catu became bigger and bigger.
His wife always reminded him to stop making rice catu. She said that their stock was getting lesser and lesser. She asked him to stop wasting the rice.
But Jurna ignored her. He was only thinking how he could make his rice catu bigger than the soil catu. Soon he lost all of his rice. He became poor. He regretted his bad behaviour. Meanwhile the soil catu became very big. It was like a hill. People then named it as Catu Hill or Bukit Catu. ***
Putri Luh Cendrasari
Folklore from BaliPRABU Maha Sila was a king. He had a beautiful daughter. Her name was Putri Luh Cendrasari. Many young men fell in love with her. They wanted to propose her to be their wife. The king asked his daughter to choose carefully. Some of the men were princes from other kingdom. The king did not want to make the men disappointed and it would start a war.
Putri Luh Cendrasari understood. She held a competition. She would marry a man who could bring her the eyes and the scales of a white dragon. All the participants agreed. They started to look for a white dragon.
It was not easy to find a white dragon. Some of them climbed the mountains and some of them swam in the sea. However they still could not find the white dragon. One by one the participants gave up.
One of the participants was Manik Angkeran. He was not a prince. He was just a villager. Manik Angkeran really wanted to marry Putri Luh Cendrasari. Actually the princess also fell in love with Manik Angkeran.
She really hoped he could win the copetition. Manik Angkeran went to his teacher in his cave. The teacher was meditating. Manik Angkeran told his teacher about Putri Luh Cendrasari and the competition.
"What will you do to win the competition?" asked the teacher.
"I will do anything, Master. If I have to sacrifice my soul, yes... I will do it, said Manik Angkeran.
"I really admire your persistence. I can see that you really love her. And I also really love you, Manik Angkeran. And I will do anything to make you happy."
The teacher continued, "Actually I am a white dragon. Gods allowed me to be human," said the teacher.
Later an amazing things happened. The teacher slowly turned into a white dragon. Manik Angkeran was very surprised. He did not know that his teacher actually a white dragon.
The white dragon took out his eyes and shook his body. The scales fell off. He gave his eyes and his scales to Manik Angkeran. Then the white dragon disappeared. He went back to heaven.
Manik Angkeran was very sad. He lost his beloved teacher. He immediately went to the palace. The princess was happy. The winner was Manik Angkeran. They soon got married.
Not long after that the princess was pregnant. Everybody was happy except Manik Angkeran. He knew he had to fulfill his promise. He would die soon.
Manik Angkeran was talking to Putri Luh Cendrasari. Suddenly he fell down. Putri Luh Cendrasari saw the gods took manik Angkeran's spirit.
She cried. She asked gods not to take her husband. She told gods that she wanted to follow her husband. She also wanted to die.
The Gods answered, "It's not your time to die. You are pregnant."
"But I really want to be with my husband," said the princess.
Actually the gods did not want to take Manik Angkeran's spirit. They just want to test the princess if she really loved him, knowing that he was just a villager, The gods answered her request. Slowly Manik Angkeran came back to life.
He lived again. Since then Manik angkeran and Putri Luh Cendrasari lived happily ever after.***
A Loyal Farmer
Folklore from BaliOne day, a young man came to the village. He came from a very far place.
He went to the richest farmer in the village. The richest farmer's name was Jero Pasek.
"My name is I Tundung. I came here to work, Sir. I promise I will work hard."
"Hmm...Okay, I will let you work in my rice field. But remember, I will ask you to leave if you are lazy." said Jero Pasek.
I Tudung was very happy. He did not want to disappoint Jero pasek, his master. He worked diligently. Jero Pasek was very grateful. The harvest was much better. Besides cultivating, I Tundung also look care of the animals, such as chickens, ducks, goats and cows. The number of the animals also increased. Jero Pasek become richer.
Jero pasek planned to ask I Tundung to cultivate his field in Kangin Hill.
Unlike the land in the village, the land in Kangin Hill was not fertile.
However, I Tundung accepted it very happy. He felt that Jero Pasek had already trusted him. He wanted to repay his trust by giving him great harvest.
The land in the hill was arid. It was very dry. However, I Tundung was never gave up. There was a small spring. I Tundung made irrigation. He used the water in the spring and flew it through the irrigation.
It worked! The land was not dry anymore. The plants grew very well. And again they had great harvest. Now the whole hills are green, thanks to I Tundung.
Unfortunately, their happiness did not last long. A thief stole the harvest and the animals.
Sadly, I Tundung was never able to catch the thief. The harvest and the animals kept on missing, Jero Pasek was angry.
"I'm very disappointed in you. I have lost a lot of harvest and animals!"
I Tundung was sad. He went to a temple to pray. While he was meditating, he heard a voice.
"I know your promlem and I can help you."
"Thank you. I'm willing to do anything as long as I can protect my master's harvest and animals." said I Tundung.
"I will change you into a big black snake. You will live in the hill and you can protect the harvest and the animals."
I Tundung agreed. he did not want to make his master disappointed and angry at him. Slowly, he changed into a big black snake.
Meanwhile, Joko Pasek was looking for I Tundung. And when he arrived at his field, he saw abig black snake. He was so surprised when the snake was able to talk!
"Don't be afraid, Sir. It's me, I Tundung. From now on, I will always protect your harvest and your animals."
Jero Pasek was very sad. He never meant to ask I Tundung to do anything.
But it was to late.***
Kebo Iwa
Folklore from BaliONCE 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. ***
Manik Angkeran
Manik Angkeran
Folklore from Bali
Folklore from Bali
A long time ago, lived a very rich family in Bali. The father was Sidi Mantra. He was very famous for his supernatural power. He lived happily with his wife and his only child Manik Angkeran. Manik Angkeran was a spoiled son. He also had a bad habit. He liked to gamble. Because of his bad habit, his parents soon became poor. They always advised Manik Angkeran to stop his bad habit, but he never listened to them. Instead he kept on begging to his parents to give him a lot of money. The parents then did not have the heart to see him begging. Sidi Mantra then went to Agung Mountain. There lived a mighty dragon with his great supernatural power. He could provide jewelries to those who could say the right prayers and ring the bell. Sidi Mantra had the bell and he also knew the prayers. "My name is Sidi Mantra. I have a problem. My son likes to gamble. He made me poor. And now he asks a lot of money. I want to give him some, but now I want him to promise to stop his bad behavior," explained Sidi Mantra after he met the dragon. Sidi Mantra then said the prayers and rang the bell. Suddenly, jewelries came out from the dragon's body. He was very happy and immediately brought the jewelries home. This time Sidi Mantra wanted Manik Angkeran really to stop gambling. The son then promised. But soon he broke the promise and he did not have some money again. He heard that his father got the jewelries from the dragon living in Agung Mountain. So he stole his father's bell then went there. After arrived in Agung Mountain, Manik Angkeran rang the bell. The dragon knew him. "I will give you anything you want but you have to promise to stop gambling. Remember the karma!" then the dragon gave him the jewelries. Manik Angkeran was very happy. Suddenly he had a bad idea. He wanted to kill the dragon and stole all his jewelries. The dragon knew his plan and with his great power he killed Manik Angkeran. Sidi Mantra was very sad. He asked the dragon to bring his son back to life. The dragon agreed but they had to live in different places. After few moments, Manik Angkeran lived again. Then Sidi Mantra used a stick to make a big line between them on the ground. From the line, water flowed. Soon it became a river. Finally it became a strait. It separated Java and Bali. People then named the
