The River Banyuwangi

The River Banyuwangi
(East Java Folktales)

Once upon a time there reined in eastern Java a king named Sindureja whose patih, Sidapaksa, had a most beautiful wife of fine and noble character. Patih Sidapaksa loved his wife deeply, and they would have lived in complete happiness had it not been for the jealousy and arrogance of Sidapaksa’s mother. To her, Sidapaksa's wife, for all her goodness and beauty, was not fit to be the life's partner of her son, because she happened to be of a lower caste. The love and devotion of her son to his wife, in fact the daughter-in-law's very goodness only increased the mother-in-law's hate for her, and each day she tried to think of a way to separate Patih Sidapaksa from

"The old woman contrived a most foul and evil plan By flattery and clever persuasion, she arranged with King Smdureja to have Patih Sidapaksa sent to Mount Ijen with instructions to search for the bud of a magic flower. Whoever wore the flower would remain forever young and beautiful, and Patih Sidapaksa was to find this flower and present it to the Queen.

Procuring it meant a long and dangerous journey that would take months, perhaps even years.

Patih Sidapaksa heard the royal command, and a great sadness filled his heart. This meant leaving his beloved wife for he knew not how long, all the harder at this very time because in a few months she would give birth to their first child. But Sidapaksa was the Patih and he had only to obey his King and to carry out his commands. He bade his wife a sad farewell and then, without any suspicion whatsoever that his own mother was responsible for this heavy task that had been commissioned to him, he took leave other respectfully and submissively, and entreated her to watch over his child until his return.

Not long after Sidapaksa's departure, a son was born to his wife. One day, while the young mother was bathing, having left her baby boy peacefully sleeping, and her evil mother-in-law softly entered the room, deftly removed the sleeping child from its cradle, and after stealthily leaving the house, threw her own tiny grandson into the river that flowed nearby.

The wife of Patih Sidapaksa returned to her room after her bath. Fresh and smiling, full of the love and eagerness of a young mother to see her little one again, she ran to his bed—to find it empty. Disbelieving, she searched and searched; looked for him in the most impossible places; rushed back to his cradle again. All in the neighborhoods were ordered to search, but the baby was never found.

The young mother could neither eat nor sleep, and day and night she grieved for her lost child. Finally she became very ill and in that condition she remained for months and months.

Two years passed and Patih Sidapaksa returned from his journey. In spite of great difficulties, he had succeeded in finding the magic flower that grew at the peak of Mount Ijen. He presented it to King Sindureja's queen, and his duty performed,
with a light heart he left the palace to return to his beloved wife and the child he had never seen. But just as he was about to enter his house, he saw his mother running toward
him. Before he could take another step she stopped him and told him that in his absence his wife had thrown her new-born child into the river.

"Such a woman you married," said the mother.

"Your child-your new-born son she threw into the foul muddy waters of the river, and there he disappeared. And now this wife of yours, as you will see, pretends to be ill. She does this to cover up her evil deed, which she can no longer deny." And many other things the mother told about her daughter-in-law-all evil things, told to make her son hate his wife, all untrue.

Patih Sidapaksa did not doubt that his mother spoke the truth, and to be confronted with this story of his wife's conduct while he was away on his long and difficult journey filled him with an uncontrollable rage. He entered his house and saw his wife lying weak and ill on her bed. He drew his kris and approaching her, said in a rough and angry voice, "Ah, wicked woman. Tell me; before I pierce your body with my kris tell me why you threw our new-born child into the river Tell me!"

His wife looked up at him, her pale face calm and without tear. Oh, my husband, Sidapaksa. Why do you wish to wound me? I am innocent of any sin and it would be a shame for you to stain your hands with my blood. And there is no need to kill me, for in a very short while 1 am going to leave this cruel sinful world. I love you, my husband, and I did not kill our child. Come, carry me to the river, and there I shall prove to you that it was not I who did this evil deed, but. . ."

The mother, listening in the doorway, swiftly interrupted:

"Oh, my son, do not carry out the wishes of this evil woman. Kill her now while you have the chance. Once outside she will escape from you and will bring more evil upon us”

But now Patih Sidapaksa no longer listened to his mother. He was strangely moved by the words and the conduct of this pale calm woman who was his wife. Gently, with the greatest care, he lifted her limp body and carried her to the edge of
the river. He laid her down softly and spoke, "Now prove to me, my wife, that you are not at fault that you had nothing to do with this terrible deed."

Hardly had he finished speaking when his wife leaped up and threw herself into the river; and like her baby before her she disappeared into the turbid and foul-smelling water.

"Aduhai!" moaned Sidapaksa. "How will I ever know now who is speaking the truth. How will I ever know who killed my child?" He looked down at the water, and suddenly, to his great astonishment, two pure white flower-buds appeared the one larger and taller than the other; and a sweet fragrance emanated from them both. They swayed gently before Patih Sidapaksa and then the taller one spoke:

"Sidapaksa, my beloved. Look here beside me! Here is our child. I found him at the bottom of the river and he himself will tell you who drowned him."

The smaller flower-bud spoke:

"My Father, Patih Sidapaksa! My mother is free of sin. She is pure and noble and innocent. It was your mother, my grandmother, who threw me into the river when I was only a few days old-and this she did because of her pride and jealousy. But now my beloved mother has come to be with me, and I am happy, and so is she. We shall never be separated again."

The large flower then enfolded the small one, like a mother embracing her child, and together they vanished into the water, never to appear again. But they left behind their fragrance, and from that time on the river was as sweet-scented as before it had been foul-smelling. And the city on its banks was henceforth called Banyuwangi (banyu meaning water and wangi meaning sweet-smelling.)

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Si Kabayan 4

SI KABAYAN BRINGS HOME THE CORN

Si Kabayan had been ordered by his father-in-law to collect the ripe corn from the garden and bring it in to the house. Too lazy to carry so many ears of corn himself, he tied them together and hung them on a bamboo pole which he slung across the back of his horse. Then he himself mounted the beast and held the pole on his shoulders. His father-in-law saw him approaching the house and called. "Kabayan, Kabayan, what in the name of heaven are you doing? Why are you carrying the corn that way, sitting on the horse with the pole over your shoulder?"

"Ah, Pa," replied Kabayan, "otherwise it would be too heavy for my horse."

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Si Kabayan 3

WHY SI KABAYAN NEVER BECAME RICH

Si Kabayan and his wife went to Mount Cede to spend some time as ascetics, praying and fasting and meditating, so that their wish to become rich might be granted them. One day, in the midst of their meditations, a god appeared to them.

"Kabayan," said the god. "I grant you two wishes. But only two. You had better talk it over with your wife before you make them."
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Kabayan and his wife had a lengthy discussion about what they should wish for. It was simply impossible for them to agree. Kabayan wanted to wish for a great amount of money, but his wife thought they should wish for an abundant supply of rice. Finally Kabayan became so annoyed with his wife that he said, "I wish the gods would turn you into a monkey!"

Immediately Kabayan's wish was granted, and he saw his wife transformed into a monkey before his very eyes. This he could not bear, and so he wished that his wife would become herself again. His wish was promptly granted.

But with these two wishes Kabayan's chance to ask for wealth was gone, and he and his wife remained poor as long as they lived.

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Si Kabayan 2

SI KABAYAN PAYS HIS DEBTS

Si Kabayan was so deeply in debt to an Arab usurer that it made him giddy even to think of it. How could he ever pay his debts when he no longer possessed a single thing that he could sell to obtain even a part of the amount he owed? He thought and thought and thought, and at long last he hit upon a plan.

"Finally!" he said to his wife. "Now I know what to do!"

His wife agreed to his proposal, in fact welcomed it with great enthusiasm, and proceeded to help him carry it out. First she filled a washtub with palm wine and spread kapok all over the floor next to the tub. Si Kabayan bathed in the wine, and rolled his wet body around and around in the kapok until he was white and furry all over. Then he crawled into a large chicken coop.

Shortly afterwards the Arab came to Si Kabayan's house to claim his due.

"Kabayan is not at home," said his wife to the Arab.

"Where is he?" asked the Arab.

"He's gone to appear before the King."

"The King?" asked the Arab in great astonishment. "What has happened?"

"He's gone to report to the King that he has found and caught a very rare bird."

"A rare bird? What kind of bird?" The Arab indicated his desire to see the strange bird, but Si Kabayan's wife refused'. Kabayan was going to present this rare and wonderful specimen to the King, and if she let the Arab see it, she said, Kabayan would be very angry, because Kabayan had said specifically that no one else was to see the bird before the Kin himself.

This explanation merely increased the Arab's desire to see Kabayan's bird, and he prevailed upon Si Kabayan's wife to show it to him.

Allowing herself to be persuaded, Kabayan's wife took the Arab to the back of the house, where she pointed to a chicken coop covered with a piece of cloth. Full of curiosity, the Arab lifted the edge of the cloth. As he raised it a little higher, Si Kabayan burst out of the cage, and crying "ba-ra-ka-tak-t'ak; ba-ra-ka-tak-tak," he ran out of sight.

Si Kabayan's wife began to weep. "Oh, oh," she sobbed. "Look what you've done! What will I tell Kabayan, and what will the King say? I'll have to tell him that it's your entire fault that his bird got away. And then Kabayan will have to tell the King. Oh, oh!"

The Arab was frightened.

"Please don't," he pleaded. "Please don't tell Kabayan and the King."

And in exchange for her promise not to tell Kabayan, he cancelled all Kabayan's debts.***

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Si Kabayan 1

SI KABAYAN TRAPS A DEER

For a long time Si Kabayan and his father-in-law had entertained the idea of making a deer trap, but nothing had ever come of their intention. One day Kabayan called his father in-law.

"Come, Pa," he said. "Let's dig a ditch. A deer is sure to fall into it, and then we'll slaughter it together."

"No," replied Kabayan's father-in-law. "You dig the ditch, Kabayan. I'd rather snare a bird."

"Good," said Kabayan. "But when I catch my deer, I won't give you any part of it."

"Never mind," replied the father-in-law. "When I catch my bird, you'll get no part of it either."

The next morning, very, very early, Kabayan's father-in-law went outside to have a look at the trap he had set up. It was just as-he had left it the night before. He walked over to Kabayan's trap and there he saw a fine, large deer. He looked about him stealthily and seeing no one, he tied a rope around the deer's neck, which he then fastened to his own trap. He quickly returned to the house and called his son-in-law.

"Kabayan, Kabayan, wake up!" he shouted. "Let's go out and see whether there's anything in our traps."

Kabayan yawned and stretched and joined his father-in-law.

"Alhamdullillah! The Lord be praised!" exclaimed Kabayan's father-in-law. "Look at that!" He pointed to the deen next to his trap.

Si Kabayan walked away without saying a word.

A little later, when Si Kabayan's wife called her father and husband for breakfast Kabayan did not appear. Kabayan's wife was worried. "Where is he?" she asked her father. They waited, but he did not come. Kabayan's wife began to cry.

"He's been eaten by a tiger," she sobbed, "Or choked by a devil in the forest - or kidnapped!"

Her father tried to console her and said he would go out immediately to search for Kabayan.

It was not long before he found him, sitting by the bank of a river in an attitude of meditation, watching the water flow by.

"Kabayan!" called his father-in-law. "What are you doing? Why didn't you come to breakfast?"

"Look, Pa!" said Kabayan, glancing up at his father-in-law, but leaving his questions unanswered. "Look at this water. If this isn't the strangest thing! ........"

"What's the matter?"

"Just look! The river is flowing upstream!"

"Ah, Kabayan, impossible, Kabayan! Water doesn't flow up stream. It has to flow downstream!"

"Why does it have to?" said Kabayan, if a deer can be caught in a trap for a bird?"

Kabayan's father-in-law looked very sheepish. He admitted that he had deceived Kabayan and he returned the deer to his son-in-law. But Kabayan took revenge, and when the deer was slaughtered his father-in-law got nothing but its bones.***

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The Story of Minangkabau West Sumatra

The Buffalo's Victory

For hundreds of years the roofs of the houses in West Sumatra have been built in the form of buffalo horns, and the people in that part of the country call their land Minangkabau, which means "the buffalo wins" or "the buffalo's victory." If you ask the people the reason for their houses being built in this way and their country being named as it is, they will tell you this story:

About six hundred years ago, the King of Java sent a messenger to the people in West Sumatra. He wanted to let them know that he was now ruler of all the green islands of Indonesia, and that he would soon take over their land; that it would be better for them to surrender, for if they opposed the King, they would all be killed.

Of course the people became greatly alarmed when they heard the message of the powerful King of Java, and their leaders quickly met to decide how they should meet this threat.

"We must do all we can to avoid war," one said. "If there is a battle, think of the death and destruction! We are sure to lose, and then we will be the slaves of this foreign king. We must think of a way not to fight. We must outwit those who wish to conquer us."

There were many proposals, and finally one was set forth that was accepted by all the people as being the best possible way to defeat the enemy. The messenger from Java was told to submit this proposal to his King: rather than face war, with the destruction it would bring to both sides, the people of West Sumatra proposed that each side, instead of fighting themselves, should bring a buffalo to the field of battle. The buffalo would then fight each other, and the outcome of their battle would determine the future course of affairs. If the buffalo of the Javanese King won, then the people of West Sumatra would surrender and become his subjects. If the buffalo of the people of West Sumatra won, then the Javanese King would make no further attempt to conquer them and they could continue to live as free men.

And so it was agreed.

The King of Java sent his men to search all over his island kingdom for the most powerful buffalo they could find. They found one, and brought him to their camp in West Sumatra, where they took care of him until the day of battle should arrive. All the people of West Sumatra had heard about the buffalo of the King of Java and they came to see it. Such a buffalo as this they had never seen in all their lives. It was so strong and so large and so fine that the sight of it made them more dismayed and more discouraged than ever.

Again they consulted together. "We are lost," they lamented. "Never will we be able to find a buffalo able to win over this mighty buffalo of the enemy."

Again they came up with ideas and plans, and then rejected them all as useless. Finally, when they were nearly desperate, one of the villagers had an idea which made them all rejoice.

One of the men had a new buffalo calf, which he took from its mother.

Another villager fastened sharp pieces of iron on the tips of the calf’s horns. They waited three days, and then went to the messenger of the King of Java, telling him that they had found a buffalo and were ready for battle.

The next morning the King's men brought their fine strong buffalo to the battlefield, and at the same time the villagers led their little calf to meet the enemy. The air was filled with the loud rough laughter of the King's soldiers when they saw the calf of the West Sumatrans standing so helplessly on the wide open field. . .

But the people of West Sumatra paid no attention to the laughter of the soldiers. They waited until everything was quiet, and then one of their leaders said, "Ready!"

They let the little calf loose and pushed him forward, and at the same time the King's soldiers untied their mighty buffalo.

For a moment nothing happened. It was as though the great buffalo of the King and the small helpless calf of the villagers were looking each other over before each decided what to do.

Then the calf began to run. He had been kept from his mother for three whole days, and he was very very hungry. To him, the big buffalo standing across from him looked just like his mother, and he ran straight to the large animal, pressing his nose against the underside of him, searching for milk. As he nuzzled, the sharp-pointed pieces of iron on his horn pierced the belly of the buffalo, and with a roar of pain the great beast began to run across the field. The little calf ran after him, and the enthralled spectators watched the scene: the big buffalo running with ever greater difficulty, blood flowing from his wounds, the little calf determinedly catching up with him. Then the King's buffalo fell, and as the little calf drew near him, a great shout went up from the people of West Sumatra gathered to watch the battle: "Minangkabau! Minangkabau! Minangkabau!" (The buffalo wins! The buffalo is victorious!).

The King and his soldiers said not a word. Then quietly, they left the battlefield, and were never seen again.

The villagers put a wreath of flowers around the neck of the little buffalo calf and led him to his mother.

The people of West Sumatra were still free. And that is why the houses and the headdresses of the people are made to look like buffalo horns, and why their land is called "Minangkabau" or "The Buffalo's Victory."***

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Temple of Loro Jonggrang

Loro Jonggrang

Loro Jonggrang was the daughter of King Prabu Baka, who reigned over the ancient Javanese kingdom of Prambanan. Prabu Baka was a cruel, powerful king who ruled by sheer terror and for a long time none dared challenge him-but finally, in a fierce battle, he was killed by the King of Pengging. This victory was due to the King's first minister Bandawasa, who fought with a weapon possessing supernatural powers. Bandawasa had named his magic weapon "Bandung," and for this reason he himself was known as "Bandung Bandawasa."

Upon the defeat of Prabu Baka, the King of Pengging established Bandung Bandawasa in the palace at Prambanan. Not long after his arrival, Bandung Bandawasa expressed his desire to take to wife the Princess Loro Jonggrang, the daughter of his victim.

Now Loro Jonggrang had no desire whatsoever to marry the murderer of her own father, but she had little choice in the matter. She and the Patih discussed the problem at great length. If the Princess rejected Bandung Bandawasa's proposal, there was no foreseeing what dire results might follow; if she accepted, it would break her heart. Finally, the Patih made a wise suggestion: the Princess should accept the proposal, but on conditions that Bandung Bandawasa could not possibly fulfill.

The conditions were these: Bandung was to build a thousand temples, and in addition, two deep, deep wells, and the work was to be completed in one night. When Bandung Bandawasa was told of the Princess' requirements, he objected strongly to himself, but to the Princess he stated his readiness to perform what she demanded of him. Fortunately for Bandung, there were two persons he could call upon for help, both of whom possessed magic powers. One was his father, Damarmaya, who had at his disposal a whole army of men capable of performing superhuman tasks. The other was the mighty King of Pengging whom once he himself had helped in the defeat of King Prabu Baka. Both expressed their willingness to help Bandung Bandawasa complete the temples and the wells in the stipulated time.

The date was fixed, and in the evening Damarmaya's army, with the followers of Bandung Bandawasa, began their giant construction job. Miraculously five hundred temples had already been completed by midnight. Loro Jonggrang had sent a representative to watch the progress of the work, and by four o'clock in the morning he saw nine hundred and ninety-five temples already built, and two deep wells nearly finished. He returned to the palace with news of this incredible progress, and the Princess and the Patih and the whole palace were filled with confusion, knowing that if the Princess' conditions were fulfilled, as it now appeared they would be, the Princess would have to marry the man who had murdered her father. What were they to do?

Again the Patih had an idea. Quickly he went to several nearby villages where he waked the young maidens and ordered them to fetch their rice pounders and begin pounding rice at once. Around each rice-pounder he carefully arranged fragrant flowers.

With all their magic, the workmen still had to work frantically to complete the temples and wells in time, and they were so deeply engrossed in their hammering and chiseling that they did not even hear the first sounds of the pounding of rice. Then one of the men caught it; then another, and another, each one of them stopping for a moment to listen—and then, as the sound became clearer, all of them stopped, for the pounding of the rice as well as the fragrance of the flowers permeating the air about them were signs that dawn had broken and their work was over.

At break of dawn Bandung Bandawasa was at the site to view the work of his men. With a joyful heart he gazed upon the tremendous assemblage of temples before him He counted them himself-and to his great consternation discovered that there were 999 temples! He soon learned the reason for his failure of his men to reach the goal, and in blazing anger he pronounced a curse on all young maidens in the neighborhood of Prambanan. From that day forward no girl was to be allowed to marry until she had reached an advanced age.

Loro Jonggrang herself he changed into a statue, and to his day she stands in the great inner hall of the largest of the temples, known as "The Temple of Lore Jonggrang." And even though Bandung Bandawasa's army fell short of the thousand he had demanded of them, the whole group near the “Temple of Loro Jonggrang" is still called "The Thousand Temples.”***

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Telaga Warna

Talaga Warna

retold by Renny Yaniar

Long long ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king. People called their king His Majesty Prabu. Prabu was a kind and wise king. No wonder if that country was prosperous. There's no hunger in this kingdom.

It was a very happy condition. But it was a pity that Prabu and his queen hadn't got any children. It made the royal couple very very sad. Some old men and women who was respected by Prabu suggested the king to adopt a child. But Prabu and the queen didn't agree. "No, thank you. But for us, our own daughter or son is better than adopted children."

The queen was very sad. She often cried. That was why Prabu decided to go. He went to the jungle. There he prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His dream come true. A few months later, the queen got fregnant. All people in the kingdom felt happy. They sent many presents to the palace to express their happiness.

Nine months later a princess was born. People sent their presents again as a gift to a little princess. This baby grew as a beautiful teenager then.

Prabu and Queen loved their daughter so much. They gave what ever she wanted. It made Princess a very spoiled girl. When her wish couldn't be realized, she became very angry. She even said bad things often. A true princess wouldn't do that. Eventhough the princess behaved badly, her parents loved her, so did the people in that kingdom.

Day by day, the princess grew more beautiful. No girls couldn't compare with her. In a few days, Princess would be 17 years old. So, people of that kingdom went to palace. They brought many presents for her. Their presents gift were very beautiful. Prabu collected the presents. There were really many presents. Then Prabu stored them in a building. Some times he could take them to give to his people.

Prabu only took some gold and jewels. Then she brought them to the goldsmith. "Please make a beautiful 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 in the world because he loved his princess.

The birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. When Prabu and queen appeared, people welcomed them happily. Prabu and his wife waved to their beloved people.

Cheers were louder and louder when the princess appeared with her fabulous pretty face. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu got up from his chair. A lady gave him a small and glamourous pillow. A wonderful necklace was on it. 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. Please, wear this necklace," said Prabu.

Princess accepted the necklace. She looked at the necklace in a glance. "I don't want to accepted it! It's ugly!" shouted the princess. Then she threw the necklace. The beautiful necklace was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor.

Everybody couldn't say anything. They never thought that their beloved princess would did that cruel thing. Nobody spoke. In their silence people heard the queen crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was crying.

Then there was a miracle. Earth was crying. Suddenly, from the under ground, a spring emerged. It made a pool of water. The palce was getting full. Soon the place became a big lake. The lake sank all of the kingdom.

Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a small lake now. People called the lake "Talaga Warna". It is mean "Lake of Colour". It's located in Puncak, West Java. On a bright day, the lake is full of colour. So beautiful and amazing. These colors come from shadows of forest, plants, flowers, and sky arround the lake. But some people said that the colours are from the princess's necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.

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Malin Kundang

Malin Kundang

Long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatera, lived a woman and her son, Malin Kundang. Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby, and he had to live hard with his mother.

Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong child. He usually went to the sea to catch fish, and brought it to his mother, or sold it in the town.

One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing as usual, he saw a merchant's ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. Malin Kundang agreed.

Many years later, Malin Kundang became a wealthty merchant, with a huge ship, loads of trading goods, many ship crews, and a beautiful wife. In his journey, his ship landed on a beach. The villagers reconigzed him, and the news ran fast in the town: Malin Kundang became a rich man and now he is here. His mother, in deepful sadnees after years of loneliness, ran to the beach to meet her beloved son again.

When the mother came, Malin Kundang, in front of his well dressed wife, his crews and his own gloriness, denied to meet that old, poor and dirty woman. For three times she begged Malin Kundang and for three times yelled at him. At last Malin Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly peasant!" Then he ordered his crews to set sail.

Enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn't apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and set sail.

In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologized. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship, fell on a small island, and suddenly turned into stone.


(Adapted from a Minangkabau Folk Tale from West Sumatera)

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