CITA HATI ENGLISH MONTH COMPETITION 2024

“Promoting Local Cultures through English Language”

Reader’s Theatre Stories

The Legend of Pesut Mahakam

Mahakam is one of the large rivers located on the island of Kalimantan. This long and wide river is home to various
living creatures, from plants to various types of animals. One of its inhabitants is the Irrawaddy dolphin, a mammal
that resembles a dolphin and breathes through its lungs. According to the beliefs of the local residents, the dolphin is
not just any animal, but a transformation of a human. How did this come to be? Here is the legend.

In ancient times in the land of Mahakam, there was a hamlet inhabited by several families. Most of them made a
living as farmers or fishermen. Every year, after the harvest season, the residents of the hamlet usually held a
traditional festival filled with various displays of skill and art.

Among the people living in the hamlet, there was a family that lived harmoniously and peacefully in a simple hut.
They consisted of a husband and wife and two sons and daughters. Their livelihood was not too difficult to sustain as
they had a garden planted with various fruits and vegetables. Similarly, all kinds of difficulties could be overcome in a
wise manner, so they lived happily for many years.

At one point, the mother was afflicted by an illness. Despite being treated by several traditional healers, her illness
did not improve, and she eventually passed away. After the mother's passing, the family's life began to unravel. They
were engulfed in deep sorrow due to the loss of someone they dearly loved. The father became silent and
withdrawn, while the two children were constantly filled with confusion, unsure of what to do. Their home and garden
were now left untended. Several village elders tried to advise the father not to drown in sorrow, but their advice did
not bring about any change in him. This situation continued for quite some time.

One day, the hamlet held a traditional harvest festival again. Various performances and entertainment were
presented. In one of the displays of skill, there was a beautiful and captivating young woman who always received a
warm reception from the young men of the hamlet when she performed. Upon hearing this news, the father was also
moved to witness the greatness of the performance that had garnered so much admiration from the hamlet's
residents.

That night marked the seventh night of the festive event. Slowly, the father walked towards the performance area
where the girl would be performing. He purposely stood at the front to clearly watch the performance and the girl's
face. Finally, the performance began. Unlike the other audience members, the father did not laugh much or praise
the girl's performance. Nonetheless, he occasionally smiled. The girl flashed her sweet smile at the audience who
praised her and those who teased her. At one point, the girl and the father's eyes met. This happened several times,
and it was completely unexpected that a love would develop between the girl and the father of the two children.

As a result, with the approval of both parties and the blessing of the village elders, their marriage took place after the
traditional festival in the hamlet ended. Thus, the sorrow of the family came to an end, and they began to build a new
life. They started engaging in activities that they had previously neglected. The father returned to farming with the
help of his two children, while the stepmother stayed at home preparing meals for the family. This continued for
months until their lives brightened once again.

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Unexpectedly, the new stepmother gradually developed unfavorable behavior towards her stepchildren. The children
were only given food when there were leftovers from their father. The father could only accept his wife's actions,
unable to do anything because he loved her deeply. Eventually, the entire household was under the control of the
greedy new wife. The two step children were forced to work hard every day without respite, and they were even
made to do things beyond their capabilities.

At one point, the stepmother devised an evil plan. She instructed her stepchildren to gather firewood in the forest.
"Both of you must gather firewood again today!" commanded the stepmother, "You must collect three times more
than what you obtained yesterday. And remember! Do not return until you have gathered a large amount of firewood.
Understand?!" "But, Mother…" replied her stepson, "Why do we need so much firewood…? There is still plenty of
wood available. We can look for more when it's almost running out…" "What?! How dare you defy me?! I will report
to your father that you are lazy! Come on, leave right now!" the stepmother said angrily.

An unlucky boy then told his old grandfather about everything that happened, including the treatment of his
stepmother and their hunger because they haven't eaten since yesterday. "If that's the case…, go in that direction,"
said the old man as he pointed towards the thick forest, "There are many fruit trees there. Eat as much as you want
until you're full. But remember, don't look for them again tomorrow because it will be in vain. Go now!"

With gratitude, the two siblings hurried to the indicated place. It turns out that the old man's words were true, there
were various fruit trees there. Ripe durian, jackfruit, mango, and papaya were scattered on the ground. Other fruits
such as bananas, rambutans, and coconuts were hanging from the trees. They ate the fruits until they were full and
their bodies felt refreshed. After resting for a moment, they continued their work of collecting wood to fulfill their
stepmother's request.

When evening came, they successfully transported all the wood to the house. They then piled up the wood without
paying attention to the condition of the house. After they finished, they went up to the house to inform their
stepmother, but were surprised to see an empty house. Apparently, their stepfather and stepmother had left, taking
all their belongings, indicating that they had left and would not return. The two siblings cried with sadness. Hearing
their cries, the neighbors came to find out what had happened. They were shocked to hear that their stepfather and
stepmother had left secretly.

The next day, the two children insisted on searching for their parents. They informed their nearest neighbors of their
plan. Some sympathetic neighbors then exchanged firewood for food supplies for the two children's journey. By
midday, the two set off to look for their father and stepmother.

After two days of walking without finding their parents and with their food supplies running out, they arrived in a hilly
area where they saw smoke rising in the distance. They hurried towards the source, hoping to find someone who
might have seen or know about their parents. They eventually found a dilapidated hut with an old man sitting in front
of it. The siblings respectfully greeted the old man and asked if he had seen a young man and woman passing by.
The old man fell silent for a moment, seemingly trying hard to remember something. "Hmm… a few days ago,
indeed, there was a married couple who came here," the old man said, "They were carrying a lot of belongings. Are
they the ones you are looking for?" "Absolutely, Sir," said the boy joyfully, "They must be our parents! Which way did
they go, Sir?" The old man replied, "They borrowed my boat to cross the river. They said they wanted to settle on the
other side and start a new hut and plantation. You should try looking across the river."

The siblings asked if the old man could take them across the river, but he declined, stating that he was too old to row
the boat. He then urged them to use his boat, promising to return it once they had found their parents. After thanking
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the old man, the siblings boarded the boat and rowed across the river. Overcome with joy upon learning about their
parents' whereabouts, they forgot about their hunger. Finally, after two days of walking with empty stomachs, they
reached the edge of a sparsely populated hamlet.

They saw a hut that seemed to have just been built. Slowly they approached the hut. With anxious and hesitant
feelings, the older sibling climbed the stairs and called out to the occupant, while the younger sibling walked around
the hut until he found the clothesline behind the hut. He remembered his father's clothes that he had sewn because
they were torn by thorns, and upon approaching, he was sure that it was indeed his father's clothes. He immediately
ran to his older sibling while showing the father's clothes he had found at the back. Without further thought, they
entered the hut and found that it indeed contained their father's belongings.

Apparently, their parents had left in a hurry, so there was still a pot placed on the still burning fire in the kitchen. In the
pot was rice that had turned into porridge. Hungry, the older sibling finally devoured the still hot porridge. His younger
sibling, who had just followed to the kitchen, was surprised to see what his older sibling was doing, and immediately
grabbed the nearly empty pot. Fearing that he would not get any, he immediately devoured the porridge along with
the pot.

Because the porridge they ate was still hot, their body temperature rose tremendously. In such a chaotic condition,
they ran here and there trying to find a river. Every banana tree they encountered on the left and right side of the
road to the river, they alternately hugged, causing the banana trees to wither. When they reached the riverbank, they
immediately jumped into it. Almost simultaneously, the occupants of the hut, who were indeed the unfortunate
parents of the two children, were astonished to see many banana trees around their hut withering and burning.

But they were very surprised when they entered the hut and found a package and two machetes belonging to their
two children. The wife continued to check the contents of the hut, including the kitchen, and she did not find the pot
she had left earlier. She then reported it to her husband. They then hurried down from the hut and followed the path
to the river, where on their right side, there were many wilted and burnt banana trees.

When they reached the riverbank, they saw two creatures moving back and forth in the water while spouting water
from their heads. The husband's mind was reminded of a series of events that might have something to do with the
family. He was startled because suddenly his wife was no longer by his side. Apparently, she disappeared magically.
The husband now realized that his wife was not descended from ordinary humans. Since their marriage, his wife had
never been willing to talk about her origins.

Not long after, the villagers came in droves to the riverbank to witness the recent strangeness that had occurred. Two
fish whose heads resembled human heads were moving back and forth in the middle of the river, occasionally
surfacing and spouting water from their heads. The people at the scene estimated that the spouted water from these
two creatures was hot and could cause small fish to die if exposed to it.

According to the people of Kutai, the fish that spouted water is called Pasut or Pesut. Meanwhile, the people in the
interior of Mahakam call it Bawoi fish.

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SAMARINDA CAMPUS
Jl. Aminah Syukur No.32
Ph. 0541 (7777 691)/ 0811 555 7337
SAMARINDA
info@bchati.sch.id www.bchati.sch.id