Putri Tangguk
Folklore from Jambi
THERE was a village in Jambi. The people were farmers. One of them was Putri Tangguk. She lived with her husband and her children.
Putri Tangguk and her husband had a very small rice field. Amazingly, the rice field was able to harvest a lot of rice. Their harvest was always abundant. They put their harvest in their big barn. They were very happy with their life.
Putri Tangguk always helped her husband in the rice field. One day, she said that she wanted to quit helping her husband. She wanted to take care of the children and mingle with the neighbours.
In the morning, Putri Tangguk wanted to cook some rice. However she could not find any rice in the kitchen. She was surprised and she felt that she just took some rice from the barn and put it in the kitchen. Then, she went to the barn. Surprisingly, there was no rice in the barn. She immediately told her husband about the missing rice.
"Look! The rice is gone. Our rice is stolen!" said Putri Tangguk.
Putri Tangguk and her husband immediately went to the rice field. And after they finished, they brought the rice. On the way home, rain fell down heavily. The rain made the road slippery. Putri Tangguk fell down several times.
She was really upset. Later, she asked her husband to put the rice on the road.
"What for?" asked the husband.
"The road is slippery. If we throw the rice on the field, we can step on it. Therefore the road is not going to be slippery. Don't worry, we have an amazing rice field right?" asked Putri Tangguk.
Although he did not completely agree with her idea, the husband still threw the rice in front of them. The idea worked. Every time they stepped on the rice, they did not fall down.
When they arrived home, their rice was only left a little. It was only enough for their dinner. However they were not worried. Tomorrow morning, they planned to go to their rice field and took a lot of rice. They planned to fill their barn.
Surprisingly when they arrived, their rice field was full of grass. There was no rice at all. They were really confused.
At night Putri Tangguk had a dream. An old man came to her and said, "You were really ungrateful. You treated us badly."
"I am one of the rice you threw away on the road. You stepped on us! The god of the rice was really angry. He decided not to give you a lot of rice anymore. You can only get a little rice," said the old man.
Putri Tangguk then woke up. She really regretted what she did. She knew it was wrong to throw away the rice but it was too late. She could only feel sorry.***
THERE was a village in Jambi. The people were farmers. One of them was Putri Tangguk. She lived with her husband and her children.
Putri Tangguk and her husband had a very small rice field. Amazingly, the rice field was able to harvest a lot of rice. Their harvest was always abundant. They put their harvest in their big barn. They were very happy with their life.
Putri Tangguk always helped her husband in the rice field. One day, she said that she wanted to quit helping her husband. She wanted to take care of the children and mingle with the neighbours.
In the morning, Putri Tangguk wanted to cook some rice. However she could not find any rice in the kitchen. She was surprised and she felt that she just took some rice from the barn and put it in the kitchen. Then, she went to the barn. Surprisingly, there was no rice in the barn. She immediately told her husband about the missing rice.
"Look! The rice is gone. Our rice is stolen!" said Putri Tangguk.
Putri Tangguk and her husband immediately went to the rice field. And after they finished, they brought the rice. On the way home, rain fell down heavily. The rain made the road slippery. Putri Tangguk fell down several times.
She was really upset. Later, she asked her husband to put the rice on the road.
"What for?" asked the husband.
"The road is slippery. If we throw the rice on the field, we can step on it. Therefore the road is not going to be slippery. Don't worry, we have an amazing rice field right?" asked Putri Tangguk.
Although he did not completely agree with her idea, the husband still threw the rice in front of them. The idea worked. Every time they stepped on the rice, they did not fall down.
When they arrived home, their rice was only left a little. It was only enough for their dinner. However they were not worried. Tomorrow morning, they planned to go to their rice field and took a lot of rice. They planned to fill their barn.
Surprisingly when they arrived, their rice field was full of grass. There was no rice at all. They were really confused.
At night Putri Tangguk had a dream. An old man came to her and said, "You were really ungrateful. You treated us badly."
"I am one of the rice you threw away on the road. You stepped on us! The god of the rice was really angry. He decided not to give you a lot of rice anymore. You can only get a little rice," said the old man.
Putri Tangguk then woke up. She really regretted what she did. She knew it was wrong to throw away the rice but it was too late. She could only feel sorry.***
The Legend of Jambi Kingdom
Once upon a time, there were five villages, Tujuh Koto, Sembilan Koto, Petajin, Muaro Sebo, and Batin Duo Belas. The villagers of those five villages lived peacefully. They helped each other.
Soon, the number of villagers grew highly. The villagers thought that they needed a leader to guide them. They wanted to have a king. So, the leaders from the five villages had a meeting.
They wanted to set the criteria who could be their king.
Our king should be physically strong, said the leader from Tujuh Koto.
I agree. The king should be able to protect us from the enemies, said one leader. Not only that. He should also be well respected by us. So, the king should be strong and have good manners, said the leader from Petajin.
Then, let’s set the criteria. I have a suggestion. The king should be strong from fire. He cannot feel the pain if we burn him, said leader from Muaro Sebo.
And he cannot feel the pain when we boil him in the hot water.
If we mill him in winding machine, he will survive, said another leader.
Alright then, now every village must send one representative.
Choose the best man in your village.
He must be the strongest and the most respected, said one leader.
Later, the best five men were gathered in the field. All the leaders had prepared fire, a hot water, and a winding machine. The first one to come was the villager of Tujuh Koto. First he had to walk through a ring of fire. He survived! Audiences were applauding. Next he had to be boiled inside a big water jug. The water was so hot but still he survived!
Finally, he had to do the last test. He had to enter the winding machine. The machine was made of steel. The man was a bit scared. He knew his bones could break. Then, he was lying on the surface. Right after his feet were milled, he screamed in pain. The machine was stopped. He failed.
Then another contestant came forward. Unfortunately he also failed in the last test. Then came another contestant but he also failed. All the best men from five villagers failed. The leaders of the five villagers then had a meeting.
If we cannot find a king from our place, let s find from other area.
They then sailed the sea. And every time they visited an island, they always looked for the best man.
However, no one dared to take the tests.
Finally, they arrived in India. There was a strong man there. They met him and talked about the tests. The man was interested and they went back to their hometown.
When they arrived, the man immediately took the tests. He passed the first test. Then, he was boiled in the hot water and amazingly he survived.
And then the final test. When he was lying on the surface, everybody screamed.
They were afraid the man’s bones would break just like other contestants bones.
But they were wrong. The man survived. He passed the test.
All the villagers were happy. They finally had a strong king that could protect them. And they named their kingdom as Jambi. **
