INDONESIAN FOLK TALES AND STORIES
A famous folk story in Sumatra goes: The Javanese came to Sumatra and tried to counquer them so they could take control of their rich fertile farming land. The West Sumatrans proposed that they settle the land dispute with a bull fight. The Javan King, knowing he had many fine bulls accepted the proposal. The Javans went back to select their finest bull and took it to West Sumatra to fight with their prize bull. Realizing their people could never find a bull as large as the Javanese, one clever West Sumatran fielded a baby bull with V-shaped knives attached to its horns. The Javan bull was put into the bull ring and was very surprised to see a small baby calf come into the ring to fight. When the fight started the baby bull perceived its opponent as its mother and rushed to suckle the Javanese bull, in the process ripping out the bull’s belly. The Javanese quickly retreated back to Java allowing the West Sumatrans to feast on the dead Javanese bull and to keep their land. [Source: sumatra-indonesia.com]
Explaining why tigers and cats bury their pooh, another Sumatran story goes: Thousands of years ago, before man had entered the jungles of Sumatra and the animals rule the land the Sumatran Tiger and cat (before it was domesticated) were proud cousins, always helping each other out in the big bad jungle. One day a very hungry Sumatran Tiger had been hunting for food for days. It was loosing energy and not sure if it could catch anything substantial to eat. As he was loosing all hope he look up into a banana tree and saw one of his cousins high in the tree, where he couldn't reach, feasting on bananas. Although the Sumatran Tiger didn't eat bananas he thought that if he had a few it many give him enough energy to catch a tasty deer. He called to his cousin for him to throw down some bananas to give him more energy so he could hunt something to eat.
The cat became scared and thought that if the Tiger only had a bit of energy he may become his second course before he went hunting for some deer. The cat yelled to the Tiger that he would help him to gain some energy but he wanted the Tiger to open his mouth and close his eyes, so the cat could feed him but have some time to flee before becoming lunch. The Tiger agreed, closing his eyes and opening his eyes. The mischievous cat decided to play a trick on the Tiger, not feeding him bananas to strengthen him but to weaken him to ensure his own escape.
The cat turned around and pooped off the tree into the Tigers hungry mouth. As the Tiger started to chew he realised he was not chewing on sweet bananas. He quickly spat his mouth load out and yelled up into the trees as the cat bolted through the canopy, ' CAT! You may have fooled me, but now that I have tasted your poo, and know what you poo smells like, I can track you anywhere in the jungle and will catch you!'. Since that day the cat, and his ancestors, the domestic cat bury their poo!
Malin Kundang
Once upon a time, on the north coast of Sumatra lived a poor woman and his son. The boy was called Malin Kundang. They didn’t earn much as fishing was their only source of income. Malin Kundang grew up as a skillful young boy. He always helps his mother to earn some money. However, as they were only fisherman’s helper, they still lived in poverty. “Mother, what if I sail overseas?” asked Malin Kundang one day to his mother. Her mother didn’t agree but Malin Kundang had made up his mind. “Mother, if I stay here, I’ll always be a poor man. I want to be a successful person,” urged Malin kundang. His mother wiped her tears, “If you really want to go, I can’t stop you. I could only pray to God for you to gain success in life,” said his mother wisely. “But, promise me, you’ll come home.” [Source: aditya indonesianfolktale.blogspot, August 28, 2010 \=/]
In the next morning, Malin Kundang was ready to go. Three days ago, he met one of the successful ship’s crew. Malin was offered to join him. “Take a good care of yourself, son,” said Malin Kundang’s mother as she gave him some food supplies. “Yes, Mother,” Malin Kundang said. “You too have to take a good care of yourself. I’ll keep in touch with you,” he continued before kissing his mother’s hand. Before Malin stepped onto the ship, Malin’s mother hugged him tight as if she didn’t want to let him go. It had been three months since Malin Kundang left his mother. As his mother had predicted before, he hadn’t contacted her yet. Every morning, she stood on the pier. She wished to see the ship that brought Malin kundang home. Every day and night, she prayed to the God for her son’s safety. There was so much prayer that had been said due to her deep love for Malin Kundang. Even though it’s been a year she had not heard any news from Malin Kundang, she kept waiting and praying for him. \=/
After several years waiting without any news, Malin Kundang’s mother was suddenly surprised by the arrival of a big ship in the pier where she usually stood to wait for her son. When the ship finally pulled over, Malin Kundang’s mother saw a man who looked wealthy stepping down a ladder along with a beautiful woman. She could not be wrong. Her blurry eyes still easily recognized him. The man was Malin Kundang, her son. Malin Kundang’s mother quickly went to see her beloved son. “Malin, you’re back, son!” said Malin Kundang’s mother and without hesitation, she came running to hug Malin Kundang,“I miss you so much.” But, Malin Kundang didn’t show any respond. He was ashamed to admit his own mother in front of his beautiful wife.“You’re not my Mother. I don’t know you. My mother would never wear such ragged and ugly clothes,” said Malin Kundang as he release his mother embrace. \=/
Malin Kundang’s mother take a step back, “Malin…You don’t recognize me? I’m your mother!” she said sadly. Malin Kundang’s face was as cold as ice. “Guard, take this old women out of here,” Malin Kundang ordered his bodyguard. “Give her some money so she won’t disturb me again!” Malin Kundang’s mother cried as she was dragged by the bodyguard,”Malin… my son. Why do you treat your own mother like this?” Malin Kundang ignored his mother and ordered the ship crews to set sail. Malin Kundang’s mother sat alone in the pier. Her heart was so hurt, she cried and cried. “Dear God, if he isn’t my son, please let him have a save journey. But if he is, I cursed him to become a stone,” she prayed to the God. In the quiet sea, suddenly the wind blew so hard and a thunderstorm came. Malin Kundang’s huge ship was wrecked. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship, and fell on a small island. Suddenly, his whole body turned into stone. He was punished for not admitting his own mother.” \=/
Sangkuriang
Long time ago in West Java, lived a beautiful girl named Dayang Sumbi. She was also smart and clever. Her beauty and intelligence made a prince from the heavenly kingdom of Kahyangan desire her as his wife. The prince asked permission from his father to marry Dayang Sumbi. People from Kahyangan could never live side by side with humans, but his father approved on one condition, when they had a child, the prince would transform into a dog. The prince accepted the condition. They get married and lived happily in the woods until Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a baby boy. The prince then changed into a dog named Tumang. [Source: aditya indonesianfolktale.blogspot, June 21, 2010 ^~^]
Their son is named Sangkuriang. He was very smart and handsome like his father. Everyday, he hunted animals and looked for fruits to eat. One day, when he was hunting, Sangkuriang accidentally killed Tumang. His arrow missed the deer he was targeting and hit Tumang instead. He went home and tells her mother about the dog.“What?” Dayang Sumbi was appalled. Driven by sadness and anger, she grabbed a weaving tool and hit Sangkuriang’s head with it. Dayang Sumbi was so sad; she didn’t pay any attention to Sangkuriang and started to cry. Sangkuriang feel sad and also confused. How can his mother love a dog more than him? ^~^
Sangkuriang then decided to go away from their home and went on a journey. In the morning, Dayang Sumbi finally stopped crying. She started to feel better, so she went to find Sangkuriang. But her son was no where to be found. She looked everywhere but still couldn’t find him. Finally, she went home with nothing. She was exhausted. She fell asleep, and in her dream, she meets her husband.“Dayang Sumbi, don’t be sad. Go look for my body in the woods and get the heart. Soak it with water, and use the water to bathe, and you will look young forever,” said the prince in her dream. After bathing with the water used to soak the dog’s heart, Dayang Sumbi looked more beautiful and even younger.
And time passed by. Sangkuriang on his journey stopped at a village and met and fell in love with a beautiful girl.He didn’t realize that the village was his homeland and the beautiful girl was his own mother, Dayang Sumbi. Their love grew naturally and he asked the girl to marry him. One day, Sangkuriang was going on a hunt. He asked Dayang Sumbi to fix the turban on his head. Dayang Sumbi was startled when she saw a scar on his head at the same place where she, years ago, hit Sangkuriang on the head. After the young man left, Dayang Sumbi prayed for guidance. After praying, she became convinced that the young man was indeed her missing son. She realized that she had to do something to prevent Sangkuriang from marrying her. But she did not wish to disappoint him by cancelling the wedding. So, although she agreed to marry Sangkuriang, she would do so only on the condition that he provides her with a lake and built a beautiful boat, all in one night. Sangkuriang accepted this condition without a doubt. He had spent his youth studying magical arts. After the sun went down, Sangkuriang went to the hill. Then he called a group of genie to build a dam around Citarum River. Then, he commands the genies to cut down trees and build a boat. A few moments before dawn, Sangkuriang and his genie servants almost finished the boat. ^~^
Dayang Sumbi, who had been spying on him, realised that Sangkuriang would fulfill the condition she had set. Dayang Sumbi immediately woke all the women in the village and asked them to wave a long red scarf. All the women in the village were waving red scarf, making it look as if dawn was breaking. Deceived by false dawn, the cock crowed and farmers rose for the new day. Sangkuriang’s genie servants immediately dropped their work and ran for cover from the sun, which they feared. Sangkuriang grew furious. With all his anger, he kicked the unfinished boat. The boat flew and landed on a valley. The boat then became a mountain, called Mount Tangkuban Perahu (Tangkuban means upturned or upside down, and Perahu means boat). With his power, he destroyed the dam. The water drained from the lake becoming a wide plain and nowadays became a city called Bandung (from the word Bendung, which means Dam). ^~^
Mouse Deer and Tiger
One 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 who 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. Tiger slowly ducked, crawled, approaching 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. [Source: aditya indonesianfolktale.blogspot, April 21, 2010 ^]
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. ^
Cindelaras
Raden Putra was the king of Jenggala kingdom. He had a beautiful queen and concubine. Unlike the queen, the concubine had bad personalities. She was envious and jealous with the queen, so she planned to make the queen leave the palace. The concubine then asked the royal healer to help her in her plan. One day, the concubine pretended to be ill. Raden Putra called the royal healer to give the concubine treatments.“What is her disease?” Raden Putra asked the royal healer. “I’m very sorry, My Majesty. She is sick because the queen put poison in her meal,” the royal healer lied. Raden Putra was shock and angry to hear the explanation. He called the queen and asked her if the story was true. Of course the queen denied, but Raden Putra won’t listen. “Please Your Majesty, have mercy. I really didn’t do anything,” cried the queen in her tears. [Source: aditya indonesianfolktale.blogspot, March 28, 2010 |::|]
Raden Putra’s anger ended in a decision. The queen should be banished to the woods and terminated. He did not know that the queen was already pregnant. Raden Putra commanded one of his general to do the punishment. The queen was banished to the woods, but the wise general didn’t have the heart to kill her. He built a simple house in the woods for her. On his way back to the palace, he smeared his sword with rabbit blood, so Raden Putra would believe that he had killed the queen. After the general left, the queen lived by herself in the woods. Several months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The baby was named Cindelaras. He grew up as a nice, healthy, and handsome boy. One day, while Cindelaras helped her mother to collect some fire woods, an eagle dropped an egg. Cindelaras brought the egg to be brooded by a chicken behind their house. The egg hatched into a chick and then it slowly became a strong rooster. The rooster is no ordinary rooster. |::|
The rooster could sing. Every morning, the rooster woke Cindelaras up with its beautiful song, “My master is Cindelaras. His house is in the woods. He’s the son of Raden Putra.” The rooster often sang that song. Cindelaras always woke up early in the morning and listen happily to his rooster’s song. He didn’t realize the meaning of the song until one day, he started to think.“Who is Raden Putra?” he asked his mother. The queen then told him the whole story. She also told him why they were banned from the kingdom and lived in the woods. Cindelaras was very surprised. He decided to go to the palace to meet the king, his father. Cindelaras asked her mother’s permission to go to the kingdom and to tell the king what really happened. He also brought his rooster that grew bigger and stronger each day. On his way, Cindelaras stopped at a village. There, he met some people who were involved in cockfighting. They challenge him to see how strong his rooster was.“If your rooster wins, you’ll get a reward,” said the man who challenged him. Cindelaras accepted the challenge. In a few minutes, his rooster defeated the opponent’s rooster. He was challenged again by other man, and one more time, his rooster won. He won again and again. |::|
The news about Cindelaras’ rooster quickly spread to the whole Jenggala kingdom and made Raden Putra curious. So, he invited Cindelaras to the palace.“What is your name, boy?” Raden Putra asked as Cindelaras arrived in the palace.“My name is Cindelaras, Your Majesty,” Cindelaras answered. He felt both thrilled and happy to see Raden Putra. Raden Putra challenged Cindelaras with one condition. If Raden Putra’s rooster won, Cindelaras’ head would be cut off. But if Cindelaras’ rooster won, Raden Putra would share half of his wealth. Cindelaras accepted the condition. The competition was held in the front yard of the palace. The two roosters fought bravely. But in just a few minutes, Cindelaras’ rooster won the fight! Raden Putra shook his head and stared at Cindelaras from his seat,“That rooster is no ordinary rooster, and the boy is not an ordinary boy either. Who is he exactly?” he thought. Raden Putra was about to asked when suddenly Cindelaras’ rooster sang the song, “My master is Cindelaras. His house is in the woods. He’s the son of Raden Putra.” Raden Putra was surprised. “Is it true?” he asked. “Yes, My Majesty. My name is Cindelaras and my mother was the queen,” said Cindelaras. Raden putra called the general who had banished the queen. The general then confessed that he never killed the queen. Later, the royal healer also admitted his mistake. Raden Putra was so shocked. He immediately went to the woods to pick up the queen. Ever since, Cindelaras and his parents lived happily together. As for the concubine, she was sent to the jail as punishment. |::|
Origin of the Landak River
Long time ago, lived a farmer and his wife in a village by the side of a forest. They lived simply and they like to help other people, especially one who in afflictions. One night, the farmer and his wife were resting in their house. The farmer was sitting beside his sleeping wife. Suddenly, a white centipede came out from the wife’s head. The farmer was amazed. He then followed the centipede until they reach a small pond not far from their house. Then the centipede suddenly disappeared. The farmer went home and found his wife still soundly asleep. In the morning, the wife told his husband about the dream she had last night.“I was walking through a vast field, and I came to a lake. I saw a giant hedgehog in the lake. It was glaring at me, so I ran away.” After he heard his wife’s dream, the farmer went back to the small pond. In the pond, he saw something very shiny. He came to the shiny object and took it. It was a golden hedgehog statue. It was very beautiful. Its eyes were made of diamond. The farmer then brought the statue home. [Source: aditya indonesianfolktale.blogspot, March 28, 2010 |~|]
At night, the farmer had a dream. A giant hedgehog came to him,“Please let me stay in your home. As return, I will give you everything you want. Just caress the statue’s head and say the prayer. There are two kinds of prayers, one is to start your wish and the second is to stop your wish. Now memorize the prayers.” In the next day, the farmer told his wife about his dream. They really wanted to prove it. The farmer slowly caressed the statue’s head. He said the prayer and asked for rice. Suddenly, rice came out of the mouth of the statue. The rice kept on coming out from the statue’s mouth. The farmer immediately said the prayer to stop it. The rice then stopped coming out from the statue. The farmer and his wife then asked for other things, jewelry and other stuff they needed. They became very rich. But they still like to help other people. A lot of poor came to them for help. |~|
Unfortunately, a thief found out about the secret of the golden hedgehog statue. Pretending to be a poor asking for help, he stole the statue from the farmer’s house. The thief blurred to the district area of Ngabang. There was a drought in the area. The thief wanted sympathy from the people, so he said to them that he would provide them with water. The thief then caressed the hedgehog statue and said the prayer. Water came out of the statue’s mouth. All the people were so happy. But the water kept on coming out. The thief didn’t know the prayer to stop the wish. People who saw the incident were really scared. They ran away to avoid the water as it was started to flood the area. The thief also wanted to run away, but he cannot move his legs. In his vision, there was a giant hedgehog holding both his legs. Water kept coming from the statue and slowly it became a river. The thief was drowned in the river. People then named the river as Hedgehog River or Sungai Landak. |~|
Origin of Lake Toba
History shows that Lake Toba was produced from a huge volcanic eruption, creating a crater which filled with water over thousands of years but the Batak people have a different story to tell: Thousands of years ago before Lake Toba was a lake, this regions was lush farm land. One solitary farmer discovered the Toba valley and decided to make it his home. He found a nice stretch of land he could farm for his own existence, along side a small lake. As well as the fine produce his farm produced, the lake provided him with ample fish to eat. [Source: sumatra-indonesia.com ]
One day, while farming his land he noticed a fish poking it's head out of the water watching him. Thinking this could be lunchtime he moved closer to the lake to see if he could catch the fish. As he came close to the fish ready to pounce, the fish spoke to him. He froze, amazed that the fish could speak. The fish said that she could take human form and be with him as his wife and bear him a son.
Although he was happy on his land, with all the food he could eat he had been lonely so he quickly agreed. Before she took human form she said to him that he could tell no-one that she was really a fish from the lake, otherwise she would return to the lake as a fish and could never be with him again. He was not bothered by this as he had not seen anyone else in the valley since he discovered it, so knew he would not tell anyone. They became man and wife, and she bore him 2 sons. He enjoyed many happy years with his beautiful wife and 2 sons. After several years the boys were strong enough to help their father farming their food.
Each day the father and 2 sons would set off across the farm attending to all it's needs. It was hard work in the hot conditions of Sumatra but each day his faithful wife would bring him and her sons lunch and cool water to drink, spending time talking and laughing with her family. Late one morning, while she was preparing the lunch for her boys and husband, she had an accident in the kitchen and had to attend to her wounds before heading off to take the food and water to her family.
The husband noticed that his wife has not appeared at the usual time of day when they most needed food and water. They worked on knowing she would not be far. As the time passed, the husband become more tired from the work, hungry and dehydrated from the sun. Soon the husband erupted into a rage, believing his wife had betrayed her family. He quickly yelled to his sons that he was stupid for marrying a fish. As soon as he said that she transformed back to a fish, returning to the lake. She realised why she had returned and was stricken with grief as she would never see her children or husband again. For the rest of her life tears fell down her face which eventually filled the Toba valley creating the huge Lake Toba of today.
Kesuma and the Volcano
Once upon a time there was a husband and a wife named Joko Seger and Roro Anteng. They had been married for years but they did not have any children yet. They dearly wanted to have children and prayed to gods everyday. One day Joko Seger had a vision: his wife would be pregnant if he meditated in a cave. However, a lion lived in the cave. Joko Seger fought with the lion. He won! [Source: by Maman Soleman, folktaleszone.blogspot May 5, 2012 ~~]
Later, when Joko Seger was meditating he heard a voice:“Joko Seger, all the Gods agreed to give you children, lots of children.” “Really? Thank you very much,” said Joko Seger happily. “But there is one condition you have to do.” “Say it. I will do anything as long as you give me lots of children,” said Joko Seger. “You will have 25 children. But you have to sacrifice one of them when they are adult.” “I agree,” said Joko Seger without any doubts. He was so happy that Gods would give them 25 children. He thought sacrificing one of them would not to be a problem. He would still have 24 children. ~~
At home, Joko Seger told his wife about his conversation with the god. And Roro Anteng could not say anything. After all, her husband had promised to Gods. She just hoped that they would never have to sacrifice one child. Later, Roro Anteng was pregnant. They had a baby! Joko Seger and Roro Anteng were very happy. The first baby was followed by others babies. Sometimes, the babies were born twins and other times the babies were born triplets. And the couple finally had 25 children! They were extremely happy. ~~
And when the children were grown up, Joko Seger had a dream. He talked to the God. “Joko Seger, remember your promise. I want you to bring one of your children to the crater of Bromo Mountain. Sacrifice your child there. If you don”t keep you promise, the mountain will erupt and destroy everything.” Joko Seger wake up from his sleep. He was restless. He then talked to all his children about his promise. “No, father. I don’t want to die,” said the oldest. “I don’t either, Father,” said another child. All the children refused to be sacrificed. Joko Seger did not have the heart to force them. He loved all his children. Suddenly, the youngest child talked. His name was Kesuma. “Please let me do it, Father. I love our family and the people of Tengger. But please, commemorate my sacrifice. Every year, please hold a ceremony and provide some offerings to the creator of Bromo Mountain,” said Kesuma. ~~
Kesuma was a very good son. He was obedient to his parents and very kind to the other people. All the villagers loved him. He was kind and always helped other people. Kesuma went to the crater. He jumped and he was swallowed by fire. Everybody was sad. And they all were very thankful to Kesuma. Because of him, their place was safe from the eruption of Bromo Mountain. Even today, once a year the people of Tengger always hold a ceremony to commemorate Kesuma. They bring offerings to the crater of Bromo Mountain. ~~
Simalungun
Once upon a time in North Sumatra, there were three small kingdoms: the Silou Kingdom, Tanah Djawo Kingdom, and Raya Kingdom. Those three kingdoms lived happily and peacefully. They got along very well and harmoniously. They knew by sticking together they would be very strong. Those three kingdoms lived in very fertile land. The people were prosperous. They never lacked any food. Other kingdoms were jealous with those three kingdoms. They planned to attack them. However they knew that those three kingdoms were very strong. They wanted just to attack the kingdoms one by one. [Source: by Maman Soleman, folktaleszone.blogspot May 5, 2012]
The first kingdom that wanted to attack was Majapahit Kingdom. The kingdom tried to attack Tanah Djawo Kingdom. One soldier reported to the King of Tanah Djawo Kingdom. “Your Majesty, I have a bad news. Majapahit Kingdom is going to attack us.” “I know Majapahit is such a great kingdom. We cannot fight them alone, we need to ask our best friends to help us,” said the king of Tanah Djawo Kingdom. Then he sent message to the kings of Silou Kingdom and Raya Kingdom. The two kings responded the request. They sent their best soldiers to help the Tanah Djawo’s Kingdom. They did it! The three kingdoms were able to unite to fight the Majapahits. They made the Majapahit to leave their land.
Sadly, their problems did not stop. It seemed that other kingdom was ready to attack. Nobody knew who they were. One thing for sure lots of soldiers were ready to attack the three kingdoms. They did it simultaneously. They attacked the three kingdoms at one time, and that made the three kingdoms could not help each other. They were saving their own lives! Slowly the three kingdoms lost the fight. They had to leave their places. They had to flee to find a safe place. They found a good place. The people built houses for them to stay. They did not know when they would go back home.
Time passed by, their hiding place slowly became a small village. They have built houses, and they also had rice fields. One of them said that he missed his hometown. He asked some people to go back home. “I miss our hometown. Who wants to go back home with me?” “I don’t. I love this place, this is already my home. Besides that, I’m afraid our enemies were still there.” Well, some people also wanted to go back home. “I will join you. I miss my hometown.” Some people went back home. They brought some weapons, just in case the enemies were still there. After spending months on the journey, they finally arrived. Some of them were crying. Their hometown looked completely different. There were no any one there. The enemies already left the place. It was full of bushes. They said,”Sima-sima nalungun.” They all kept on saying that. It means the quiet place. Slowly the place was named Simalungun, which is from the words sima-sima nalungun.
Image Sources:
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Global Viewpoint (Christian Science Monitor), Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated June 2015