The Legend of Gunung Bangkai
Folklore from South Kalimantan
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, hec 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.***
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, hec 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.***
The Dandaung Snake
Folklore from South Kalimantan
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 fi rst, 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. ***
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 fi rst, 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. ***
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 was Datu Beritu Taun.
He asked all the villagers to have a meeting. He wanted to discuss how to fi nd 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 fi nd. 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 fi nd 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 fi nd 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 fi nd 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 Beritu Taun 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 sacrifi ced. 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 fi nd a girl who was willing to be sacrifi ced.
The villagers waited and waited… Sadly, no girl wanted to be sacrifi ced.
Dewi Luing Indung Bunga was a very kind girl.
She knew she had to be sacrifi ced. 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 sacrifi ced, let me sacrifice myself,” said Dewi Luing Indung Bunga.
Though they were very sad, but the family let Dewi to sacrifi ce herself. All the villagers gathered in a big fi eld. Dewi Luing Indung Bunga 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. ***
Ning Rangda
Folklore from South Kalimantan
A long time ago, there was an old woman named Ning Rangda. She was called Ning because she was old and had a hunchbacked body. Everybody knew her because she always makes a wedding dress. Every time people asked why she sewed a new wedding dress, she always said that it was for her prospective husband. Do you want to know the whole story why Ning Rangda always sewed a new wedding dress? Read on!
When Rangda was a young girl, she always helped her parents. Her father was a tailor and Rangda always helped him sewed people's dress. Rangda was also very beautiful. Many young men fell in love with her.
The king's son heard about Rangda. He was a prince of the kingdom and one day he would replace his father as the king. The prince was single and wanted to get married. So, he decided to go to Rangda's house. He wanted to order a dress from her.
When the prince arrived at Rangda's house, he fell in love with her. After got his dress, he immediately went back to the palace. He wanted to tell his father that he already found his prospective wife.
However, right after the prince arrived at the palace, he suffered a terrible illness. He got high fever. And every time the prince slept, he always whispered a name, "Rangda, Rangda, Rangda."
The king was really worried. He asked his advisor about the Rangda's name. The advisor then told the king about the beautiful Rangda. The king knew that his son fell in love with her. The king then asked his soldiers to take him and the prince to Rangda's house. A soldier went first to Rangda's house. He was asked to tell Rangda and her parents about the wedding proposal.
As he arrived at Rangda's house, he told Rangda and her parents that the king and the prince would come to propose her. Rangda was very happy because she also fell in love with the prince.
When the prince heard that she would meet the beautiful Rangda, he was very happy. He was then cured from his illness.
Then the prince, the king, and the soldiers went to Rangda's house. The trip was very tiring and that made the prince suffered his illness again. The illness was worse than the previous one. It was so bad that finally the prince died.
The king was sad. He thought it was useless to continue the trip. Then he went back to the palace. Meanwhile, Rangda did not know that the prince had died. She was sewing a wedding dress for the prince. She wanted to give him the best wedding dress.
Everyday, she waited and waited for the prince but he never came. She always waited for the prince. She kept on sewing the wedding dress until she was old and had a hunchbacked body.***
When Rangda was a young girl, she always helped her parents. Her father was a tailor and Rangda always helped him sewed people's dress. Rangda was also very beautiful. Many young men fell in love with her.
The king's son heard about Rangda. He was a prince of the kingdom and one day he would replace his father as the king. The prince was single and wanted to get married. So, he decided to go to Rangda's house. He wanted to order a dress from her.
When the prince arrived at Rangda's house, he fell in love with her. After got his dress, he immediately went back to the palace. He wanted to tell his father that he already found his prospective wife.
However, right after the prince arrived at the palace, he suffered a terrible illness. He got high fever. And every time the prince slept, he always whispered a name, "Rangda, Rangda, Rangda."
The king was really worried. He asked his advisor about the Rangda's name. The advisor then told the king about the beautiful Rangda. The king knew that his son fell in love with her. The king then asked his soldiers to take him and the prince to Rangda's house. A soldier went first to Rangda's house. He was asked to tell Rangda and her parents about the wedding proposal.
As he arrived at Rangda's house, he told Rangda and her parents that the king and the prince would come to propose her. Rangda was very happy because she also fell in love with the prince.
When the prince heard that she would meet the beautiful Rangda, he was very happy. He was then cured from his illness.
Then the prince, the king, and the soldiers went to Rangda's house. The trip was very tiring and that made the prince suffered his illness again. The illness was worse than the previous one. It was so bad that finally the prince died.
The king was sad. He thought it was useless to continue the trip. Then he went back to the palace. Meanwhile, Rangda did not know that the prince had died. She was sewing a wedding dress for the prince. She wanted to give him the best wedding dress.
Everyday, she waited and waited for the prince but he never came. She always waited for the prince. She kept on sewing the wedding dress until she was old and had a hunchbacked body.***
