Telaga Warna

Long time ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled
by a king called Prabu. He was a kind and wise king. Under Prabu’s
leadership, the kingdom grew into a prosperous kingdom. There’s no
hunger in the kingdom. Everybody in the kingdom loved their king. But,
there’s one problem. The king and his queen hadn’t got any children. It
made the couple very sad. That was why Prabu decided to go to the
jungle. There, he meditated and prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a
child. His dream finally came true. A few months later, the queen got
pregnant. All people in the kingdom felt very happy. They sent many
presents to the palace to express their happiness. Nine months later a
baby girl was born. The baby grew as a beautiful teenager then.
Prabu and his queen loved their daughter so much. They gave what ever
she wanted. It made the princess grew into a spoiled girl. When her wish
couldn’t be fulfilled, she would be very angry. She even said bad things
often. Even though the princess behaved badly, her parents still loved
her, and so did the people in the kingdom.
Time passed and the princess grew more beautiful. In a few days, the
princess would be seventeen years old. That’s why people of that kingdom
brought many presents for her. They bring gold and beautiful jewelries.
Prabu collected the presents. Then Prabu stored them in a special room.
Some times he would take them to give to his people who needed it. Prabu
only took a few gold and jewels. Then he brought them to a goldsmith.
“Please make a 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 for the
princess.
The birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. Then Prabu and
the queen appeared. They waved to their beloved people. Cheers were
loud and louder when the princess appeared. Everybody admired her
beauty. Prabu got up from his chair and took a small pillow. A beautiful
necklace was on the pillow. 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,” said
Prabu. The princess accepted the necklace. She looked at the necklace in
a glance. “I don’t want this necklace! It’s ugly!” shouted the princess as
she threw the necklace away. The necklace hit the floor and was broken.
The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor.
No body dared to speak. They never thought that their beloved princess
would do such a cruel thing. In their silence, people heard the queen
crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was
crying. Suddenly, from the middle of the field, a spring emerged. It
quickly became a pool. The palace was getting flooded. Soon the place
became a big lake.
Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a
small lake now. People called the lake Telaga Warna (it means lake of
colour). On a bright day, the lake is full of colour. These colors come
from the reflections of forest, plants, flowers, and sky around the lake.
But some people said that the colours are from the princess’ necklace,
which spreads at the bottom of the lake.***
 Lake Toba

In the northern area of Sumatra Island, lived a young man. Everyday, he work
hard as a farmer. One day in the morning, the young man went fishing in a
river. Not so long after he threw the bait, it was bitten by a fish. He pulled
the fishing rod and was amazed by the fish he caught. It was a golden fish.
“Wait, please don’t eat me,” the fish suddenly spoke to the young man.
Startled, the young man dropped the golden fish and it suddenly turned into a
beautiful girl.
“I must have been dreaming,” the young man said to himself. “Don’t afraid, Sir.
I was a princess cursed by the gods because a mistake I did. You’ve save me,”
said the girl. “As my gratitude, I’m willing to be your wife.” The young man was
so amazed to see the beauty of the girl, so he accepted her as his wife. They
became man and wife but with one condition, the young man promised not to
mention about the fish form of the girl. Terrible disaster will happen if the
promise is broken.
A year passed, the young man and his wife already had a son. They were so
happy. Their son grew up as a healthy boy. But he was a little naughty. He also
had a habit, he was always hungry. One day, the wife asked their son to deliver
lunch to his father. But, the son ate the food on his way to the fields. The
father had been working since morning. He was so hungry. Finding that there’s
no food left for him, he said angrily, “Stupid boy! You little fish boy!” He didn’t
realize that he broke the promise.
After he said those words, his son and wife mysteriously disappeared. From
their footstep on the ground, there’s water bursting out. The water kept
coming out and started to flood the area. The whole village and the surrounding
area became a lake. There’s a small island in the middle of the lake, known as
Samosir Island. And the lake is known as Lake Toba. ***
 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.”
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.***
 Loro Jonggrang

Long time ago, there was a kingdom named Prambanan. All the people of
Prambanan lived peacefully. But then, Prambanan kingdom was attacked
and occupied by the Pengging kingdom. Prambanan then was ruled by
Bandung Bondowoso of Pengging kingdom. He was a mean king. He also had
great supernatural power. His soldiers were not only humans, but also
genies.
The king of Prambanan had a beautiful daughter named Loro Jonggrang.
Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. “You’re
very beautiful. Would you be my queen?” asked Bandung Bondowoso. Loro
Jonggrang was shocked. She didn’t like Bandung Bondowoso because he
was a mean person. She wanted to refuse, but she afraid that Bandung
Bondowoso would be angry and endangered the people of Prambanan.
Then, she came up with a plan. “If you want to marry me, you have to
build a thousand temples for me in just one night," said Loro Jonggrang.
“What? That’s impossible!” said Bandung Bondowoso. But he did not give
up. He consulted with his advisor. “Your Majesty can asked the genies to
help built the temples,” said the advisor.
So, Bandung Bondowoso summoned his entire genies soldier and
commanded them to help him built a thousand temples. The genies worked
in unbelievable speed. Meanwhile, Loro Jonggrang heard from her servant
that the building of a thousand temples was almost finished. She was so
worried. But again, she came up with a great idea. She asked all of her
servants to help her. "Please prepare a lot of straw and mortar. Please
hurry up!" said Loro Jonggrang. “Burn the straw and make some noise
pounding the mortar, quickly.” All those servants did what Loro
Jonggrang ordered them; burning straw and pounding the mortar, making
the genies think that the sun is going to rise.
“It’s already dawn. We have to go,” said the leader of the genies to
Bandung Bondowoso. All the genies immediately stopped their work and
ran for cover from the sun, which they afraid of. They didn’t know that
the light was from the fire that burning the straw, not from the sun.
Bandung Bondowoso can’t stop the genies from leaving. He was angry. He
knew Loro Jonggrang had just tricked him. "You cannot fool me, Loro
Jonggrang. I already have 999 temples. I just need one more temple.
Now, I will make you the one-thousandth temple." He pointed his finger
to Loro Jonggrang and said some mantras. Magically, Loro Jonggrang’s
body turned into stone. Until now, the temple is still standing in
Prambanan area, Central Java. And the temple is called Loro Jonggrang
temple.***
 Jaka Tarub and Nawang Wulan

Jaka Tarub was a handsome and diligent young man. He lived in a village
near a lake. One day, when Jaka Tarub passed the lake, he heard some
giggles and laughs of some girls who were bathing in the lake. He was
curious, so he peeped through the bushes. There were seven beautiful
girls in the lake. They’re fairies from the heavenly kingdom of kahyangan.
Jaka Tarub saw a scarf near the bushes. It belonged to one of the
fairies. Jaka Tarub then took it and hid it.
Crack!!! Accidentally, Jaka Tarub stepped on a twig. “There’s someone!”
said one of the fairies. “Let’s get back. Hurry!” she said. They pulled over
and wear their scarf. “Where is my scarf?” one of the fairies couldn’t
find her scarf. She was the youngest fairy called Nawang Wulan. They
tried to search for it, but it was no where to be found. “We’re sorry,
Wulan. We have to go back to kahyangan,” said the eldest fairy. “You’ll
have to find it by yourself. We’ll wait for you in kahyangan,” she said in
empathy. The other fairies then flew to the sky leaving Nawang Wulan
behind. Nawang Wulan saw them leaving in tears. She was so sad.
“Excuse me …,” said Jaka Tarub, startling Nawang Wulan. “Are you okay?”
he asked. Nawang Wulan moved backward, “Who are you?” she asked. “My
name is Jaka Tarub. I was passing by and I heard you crying, so I came to
see what happen,” Jaka Tarub lied. Nawang Wulan then told him about
her problem. “I can’t fly without my scarf,” she said. Jaka Tarub then
asked Nawang Wulan to come home with him. At first, Nawang Wulan
refused the offer. But since she didn’t have anywhere else to go, Nawang
Wulan then decided to follow Jaka Tarub.
Nawang Wulan stayed with Jaka Tarub in the village. A month passed, and
they decided to get married. Nawang Wulan was willing to marry a human
because she fell in love with Jaka Tarub. After a year, they had a
beautiful daughter. They named her Kumalasari. They lived happily.
Jaka Tarub was also happy to live with Nawang Wulan and Kumalasari.
Especially because he always got a lot of harvest since he married
Nawang Wulan. He couldn’t even keep all of his harvest in the barn
because it was always full. “It’s so weird. Nawang Wulan cooked everyday,
but why is my barn always full,” Jaka Tarub mumbled to himself. He was
so curious. One day, Jaka Tarub stayed at home. “I want to stay home
today. I’d like to play with Kumalasari,” he said to his wife. “Well, I’ll go
to the river to wash the clothes. Please keep an eye on Kumalasari,” asked
Nawang Wulan. “I’m cooking rice now. Please do not open the pan cover
before it’s done,” she said just before she left. “Could this be the
secret?” Jaka Tarub thought. After Nawang Wulan left, he curiously
opened the pan cover. He found only one single paddy. “How come?” he
wondered.
Before lunch, Nawang Wulan came home. She headed to the kitchen to
see the rice she had cooked. She found that the rice turned into only a
few grains. “Did you open the pan cover?” she asked her husband. “I… I’m
sorry. I was curious,” Jaka Tarub said as he realized his fault.
Ever since, Nawang Wulan had lost her power. She couldn’t cook rice with
only a single paddy. Their paddy supply was slowly lessened. Their barn
was almost empty. One day, Nawang Wulan went to the barn to get some
paddy. When she took one of them, she found a scarf. “What’s this? This
is my scarf,” said Nawang Wulan startled.
That night, Nawang Wulan asked her husband about the scarf. Jaka
Tarub’s eyes widened, “You found it?” he asked. Jaka Tarub looked down
and asked for her forgiveness. “Because I’ve found my scarf, it’s time for
me to go back to where I belong,” Nawang Wulan said. Jaka Tarub tried
to stop her, but Nawang Wulan had made up her mind. “Please take good
care of Kumalasari,” she said. “If she wanted to see me, take seven grains
of candlenut and put it into a basket. Shake it as you play the bamboo
flute. I’ll come to see her,” she explained.
Jaka Tarub promised to take good care of their daughter. He once again
asked for forgiveness for all of his mistakes. “I’ve forgiven you, so you
don’t have to feel guilty. I must go now. Take care,” said Nawang Wulan
as she flew to the bright full moon.***
 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.
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).***