Dream Kingdom

The Legend of Kantan Island

Folklore from North Sumatra

ONCE upon a time in Labuhan Batu, North Sumatra lived an old widow with her son named Kantan. Her husband passed away when Kantan was a baby. They lived in a village not far from a jungle. They were poor.

One night, Kantan’s mother had a dream. An old man came to her and asked her to go to the jungle. Under the big tree, the old man asked her to dig a hole. She would a find something very valuable.

Kantan’s mother knew it was not just a dream. So, she asked Kantan to go to the jungle with her. When they found a big tree, Kantan dug a hole. Later, they found a box. When they opened it, they saw a golden stick. It was very beautiful.

“Mother, we have to sell this. We will be very rich!” said Kantan.

“You are right. The golden stick is so beautiful. I’m sure someone is willing to pay with a lot of money. But who is going to buy this stick? All our neighbours are poor.”

“Don’t worry, mother. I will go to the other island to sell it. I will find a very rich man to buy this golden stick,” said Kantan.

Later, Kantan sailed the sea to go to Malaka Island. When he arrived there, Kantan offered the stick to merchants. But they could not pay him. Kantan asked them to pay with a lot of money.

The news spread very fast. Everybody in Malaka knew that Kantan had a beautiful golden stick. The king also heard that. He asked his soldiers to take Kantan to go his palace. The king wanted to see the stick.

“You are right. The stick is very beautiful,” said the king after Kantan showed him the stick.

The king then continued, “I want to have this stick. But I will not give you a lot of money. I will ask you to marry my daughter. You can stay here in the palace and later you can be the king to replace me,” said the king.

Kantan immediately agreed. Not long after that, they got married and stayed in the palace. Kantan was very happy and started to forget about his mother in the village.

In the meantime, Kantan’s wife always asked him about his mother. His wife really wanted to meet her mother-in-law. Kantan agreed. With a big ship, they sailed to Kantan’s hometown. When they arrived, all the villagers were surprised to see Kantan. He was a prince! They then told everyone about Kantan.

Finally, Kantan’s mother heard the news. She was very happy. When she arrived at the ship, she immediately called Kantan’s name.

“Kantan! Kantan! It’s me, I’m your mother.”

But Kantan ignored her. He was ashamed with his mother. She was an old woman and wore ragged clothes. When his wife asked, Kantan just said she was a crazy woman pretending to be his mother.

Kantan’s mother was very sad. She prayed to God. Suddenly, a big storm attacked! Big waves swallowed Kantan’s big ship. When the storm was gone, slowly an island appeared. Since then, people named the island as Kantan Island.***

Glutinous Rice

A Folktale from North Sumatra

Olih and her mother live in a village in North Sumatra. They are poor. Their neighbors love them because they are kind and always help other people.

In the evening, seven old women come to Olih’s house. Those women look dirty, and they are wearing ragged clothes. They are also very hungry.

“Good evening. We are hungry. Could you please give us some food?” ask one of the old women.

“Don’t worry, Ma’am. We have some food for you. Just wait for a moment.”

Olih then goes to his house. He opens the cupboard then takes some food. A moment later he gives the food to those old women.

“Thank you very much, Kid. It’s very kind of you. We are also very tired. Would you let us stay here to spend the night? Nobody wants to let us stay in their house. We are strangers here, we have no place to go.”

“Don’t worry. You all can stay here,”says Olih’s mother.

“Thank you very mich. You two are very kind to us.”

In the morning, those seven old women are still sleeping. Olih’s mother asks Olih to wake them up to have breakfast.

Suddenly Olih screams! “Mom! Come here!!!”

Olih’s mother then runs to the bedroom. She finds the room full of rice. The old women are gone. But there is one beautiful girl sitting on the bed.

“Don’t be afraid. I am one of the women. My father sent me here. He has a great super natural power. He changed me into an old woman and ask me to deliver this special rice to a family that helped me, “says the girl.

Olih and her mother are very happy. Now they have enough rice to eat. They also share the rice to the neighbors. The rice is so delicious. They call it beras pulut or glutinous rice, it means sticky and delicious rice. ***

The Story of Sugar Palm Tree

Folklore from North Sumatra

A husband and a wife lived happily in a village. They had two children a son and a daughter. The son’s name was Tare Iluh and the daughter’s name was Beru Sibou. Their happy life ended when their father died.

Since then their mother worked hard for them. She worked so hard that it made her suffer from a terrible illness. Their mother then died. Later, Tare Iluh and Beru Sibou stayed at their uncle’s house.

The days passed by and those kids have grown into adults. Tare Iluh decided to find a job in another village. He then left his sister and his uncle.

Tare Iluh wanted to make money in a short time. He thought gambling was the answer. He gambled using the money his uncle gave him. At first he won some money. He was so happy and used all the money. Sadly, he lost. All the money he had was gone. He was upset.

After that he borrowed money from the villagers, he lost again and he borrowed some money again. He kept on borrowing some money until he had a lot of debts.

When the villagers asked him to pay the debt, Tare Iluh could not pay them. He did not have any money. The villagers were angry. They put him in the jail!

In the mean time, Beru Sibou was waiting for his brother. She was worried because he had not given her any news. Finally she heard that his brother was in the jail. She rushed to go and wanted to meet her brother.

Beru Sibou did not know the way to the village. She was lost in a jungle.
She met an old man and asked about his brother. The old man knew that there was a man in the jail because of gambling. He then suggested Beru Sibou to climb a high tree and sang a song about his brother. His brother might hear her song.

Beru Sibou then climbed a high tree. She sang a song about his brother. She sang and screamed his brother’s name.

“My brother Tare Iluh? Where are you? The villagers, please release my brother.”

Nobody listened to the song and that made Beru Sibou frustrated. She then prayed to God.

“God, I’m willing to pay my brother’s debts. I will pay with my tears, my hair, and all parts of my body can be used by the villagers. But please free my brother.”

Right after she finished praying, heavy storm attacked. And slowly Beru Sibou changed into a tree. It was just not an ordinary tree. All parts of tree were useful. Her tears changed into sweet water. Her hair changed into very strong leaves. People can use them as roofs of their houses. The fruits of the tree named kolang kaling are very delicious.

People name it as a sugar palm tree or pohon enau. People in other villages name it as pohon aren. ***

The Story of Kelana Sakti

Folklore from North Sumatra

ONCE upon a time in North Sumatra, there was a kingdom named Purnama. The king was King Indra Sakti. He was a wise king. All of his people lived prosperous and happy. The king and the queen had a baby boy. He was the prince of the palace.

In Purnama kingdom, there was a small village. Kelana Sakti and his parents lived there. Kelana Sakti was a nice boy. He was diligent and always helped his parents.

One day, there was a bad news of the kingdom. King Indra Sakti was terribly ill. All the palace healers tried to heal him but did not succeed. The King was getting weaker and weaker everyday. So, he called all his family and the palace commander, Panglima Badau to meet him.

“My wife, please forgive all my mistakes. I cannot live any longer. Please take care of our son. Make him the king when he is an adult,” said the king to the queen.

Then he continued, “Panglima Badau, I trust this kingdom to you. You are the king until my son is an adult. Please train him and teach him how to be a good king.”

Not long after that, King Indra Sakti died. Panglima Badau then became the king. He really enjoyed his time as a king. He often had parties and neglected the people.

Soon, the kingdom was in a mess and the king only had fun at his parties. To pay all his parties, Panglima Badau asked his people to pay expensive taxes. Soldiers went to people’s house to collect the money, and that was including Kelana Sakti’s house.

“Give me your money! You have to pay the tax!” said a soldier.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have enough money. I have spent my money to buy some food,” said Kelana Sakti’s father.

“You are a liar!” The soldier then brought Kelana Sakti’s parents to the palace. Punishment for people who refused to pay the taxes was sent to jail!

“Please don’t take my parents away!” said Kelana Sakti. A soldier was angry at him and hit him. Kelana Sakti was unconscious.

When he was awake, he was inside an old man’s house.

“Where am I? Where are my parents?”

“Don’t worry. You are in my house. You are safe here. Your parents are in the palace. The king sent them to the jail,” said the old man.

Since then, Kelana Sakti lived with the old man. He learned many things from him, especially martial arts.

When Kelana Sakti was an adult, he completely changed. He was a man with great skills of martial arts. It was time for him to go to the palace and freed his parents. The old man gave him the blessings and asked him to be careful.

So, Kelana Sakti fought bravely against the soldiers. He won. Then the last one was fighting against Panglima Badau himself. Again he won the fight and freed everybody in jail.

Then he sent Panglima Badau to the jail. The prince was so thankful to Kelana Sakti. The prince then asked Kelana Sakti to be the palace commander. ***

Nai Manggale

Folklore from North Sumatra

Once upon a time, there lived a famous sculpture in Tapanuli, North Sumatra. His name was Datu Panggana. He could carve wood into many things. One day, he got an inspiration to carve a wood into a statue of a beautiful woman.

Then, he put the statue in front of his house. It was not finished yet. The statue still had any clothes yet. Later, a young merchant passed by in front of the Delta Panggana's house. His name was Bao Partigatiga. He sold jewelries and clothes. He was very impressed by the beauty of the statue.

"She would be more beautiful by wearing my clothes," said Bao Partigatiga.

He then put on the clothes he wanted to sell on the statue. Bao Partigatiga was very pleased now. The statue looked like a real human. Then he left Datu Panggana's house. After that, a priest and his wife passed by. They were also impressed by the beauty of the statue.

"I want to pray to God to make her live like a real human. I want to make her as our daughter," said the priest to his wife.

The couple had any children yet. Their dream came true. The statue had changed into a very beautiful girl. The priest and his wife then took the girl home. They named her Nai Manggale. The news about Nai Manggale spread very fast. All the villagers came to the priest's house to see Nai Manggale.

Among them were Datu Panggana and Bao Partigatiga.

Datu Panggana said, "She has to stay in my house. The statue was mine."

But, Bao Partigatiga also claimed the same thing.

"She is wearing my clothes. So, she has to stay in my house."

The priest did not want to lose Nai Manggale.

"Remember, I am the one who made her live like a human. So, she stays here."

Those three men then were busy arguing. They claimed to have the rights of Nai Manggale. To calm them, an elderly of the village gave a solution. His name was Aji Bahir.

"You all can have her and have a relationship with her. Datu Panggana, you are her uncle. Bao Partigatiga, you are her brother. And you the priest, you are her father."

The three men accepted Aji Bahir's advice. And now they were happy because they all could ask her to stay in their houses. Besides that, now those three men were related. ***

Napombalu

Folklore from North Sulawesi

ONCE upon a time there were a handsome hunter, his name was Lawongo. In the jungle he only hunted wild hogs. The animals often always destroyed the villagers' fields. The villagers were very grateful. With Lawongo's help, their field were safe from the wild hogs.

Lawongo was also very great in playing a flute, it was so melodious. Everybody always enjoyed listening his playing the flute. One of the people was a beautiful girl. She always listened attentively. Lawongo knew there was a beautiful girl who always paid attention to him. Lawongo fell in love with her. The girl also loved him, later they got married.

They were very happy. They loved each other and promised to be always together. They would be together until they died.

In one night, Lawongo had a strange dream. In his dream he was hunting a very big wild hog. The hog attacked him. He did very hard to kill the hog. He used his knife to stab the hog and it finally died.

On the next morning, Lawongo went hunting. It was still early in the morning and he did not want to wake his wife up.

In the jungle ha did not see any animals. He could not find any wild hog either. He felt very strange. He walk and he felt very thirsty. He picked a coconut. And when he wanted to open it using his knife, he saw his knife was full of dried blood. He was confused. Suddenly he remembered his wife. Somehow he had a bad feeling about his wife. He immediately went home.
When he arrived home, many people were in front of his house. One of the people said,"We're sorry for your wife, Lawongo. Please accept our condolences."

"What happened?" asked him. He rushed into his house. He saw his wife was dead. Her body was full of blood. Lawongo was very sad. He felt very guilty. He knew last night he stabbed hi wife. He then told the villagers to do something.

"I cannot live without my wife. Please prepare two coffins, one for me and the other one is for my wife."

"No, please don't do it. You are still young and we still need you here. Besides that we still want to hear you play the flute." said one of the villagers.

"Don't worry, I still play the flute for you. Male a hole on the coffin's cover. If you cannot longer hear my playing, it means I'm dead. You go to the beach. A strange thing will appear from the sea. Do not point at that thing and do not say anything. It is my reincarnation." said Lawongo.

Later, the villagers buried the two coffins. At the first night, they could still hear his playing. However the sound was getting weaker and weaker. And finally the villagers did not hear anything.

They did Lawongo's request. They went to the beach. They all set down on the beach. Suddenly, a strange thing appeared from the sea. It was very big. They all were surprised. However they did not say anything. The thing finally stooped growing.

The villagers used their sampan and came to the thing. It was a coral island. They named the island as Napombalu, which is from the words Napo and Nawalu. Napo means a coral island and Nawalu means a strange thing which turn into an island. ***

The Legend of Moopoo Bird

Folklore from North Sulawesi

A long time a go in Minahasa lived an old man with his grandson. The grandson’s name was Nondo. The old man loved Nondo very much.

He was a nice and diligent boy. When his grandfather went to the jungle to collect some ﬁre woods, Nondo stayed at home. He always did the household chores.

Nondo always wanted to join his grandfather to the jungle. However, his grandfather did not allow him. Nondo was limped. He could not walk well.

His grandfather always went to jungle in the morning and returned home in the afternoon. In the evening, just before bedtime, the grandfather always told Nondo anything that happened in
the jungle.

Nondo really enjoyed listening about the animals in the jungle. Nondo always dreamed of going to the jungle and seeing the animals.

On one morning, Nondo could not hold his feeling anymore. He begged to his grandfather.
He really wanted to go to the jungle and see the animals.

“Please, Grandpa. Let me join you. Just this time, please,” Nondo begged. The old man did not want to disappoint his beloved grandson.

After thinking deeply, he then said, “You can join me this time. But you have to be near me, okay? I will bring the woods, so I cannot see you all the time.”

Nondo was so happy. He promised to his grandfather that he would always be near him. Nondo could not wait to see the animals.

Then, they left the house. And finally they arrived at the jungle. At ﬁ rst, Nondo was able to walk near his grandfather.

However soon, the distance was getting farther. Every time Nondo saw an animal, he always stopped for a moment. He was really amazed. The grandfather always reminded Nondo not to stop walking. Sadly, Nondo was so happy looking at the animals. He ignored his grandfather’s warning.

Soon, Nondo was lost in the jungle. He was separated from his grandfather.

“Grandpa! Grandpa! Where are you? Grandpa, don’t leave me here,” Nondo screamed
.
Slowly, darkness covers the forest. Nondo was really scared. The sounds of the animals really frightened him. He kept on calling his grandfather.

Meanwhile, the grandfather just realized that his grandson was lost. He looked for Nondo and called out his name. But still he could not ﬁnd Nondo.

The grandfather was really sad. He regretted to let Nondo join him. The grandfather decided to go back home. He hoped Nondo would already arrive at home. Unfortunately, Nondo did not come home yet.

In the morning, the grandfather went to the jungle again. He wanted to ﬁ nd Nondo. And when he arrived in the jungle, he saw a bird.

The bird made a strange sound. It said, “Moo poo... Moo po...”

The grandfather was really curious. He never heard a bird make a sound like that. He looked at the bird carefully, and again the bird said, “Moo poo...”

Then he felt very strange. He felt that the bird said, “Opoku... Opoku...” It means “My grandpa... My grandpa...” Being really curious, he approached the bird. He was very surprised because the bird was limped.

The grandfather cried. He remembered his grandson. He was sure that his grandson had changed into a bird. Since then, people named the bird as Moopoo bird. It can be found in
Minahasa, North Sulawesi. ***

Abo and The Giant

Folklore from North Sulawesi

ABO Mamongkuroit and his wife, Monondeaga, lived in a jungle. Even though they were poor, they lived very happily. They loved each other. One day Abo had to go the village. He asked his wife's permission.

"Don't go too long. Please come back soon," said Monondeaga.

Abo then left their house. Actually, he did not want to leave his wife alone, he had heard the Tulap was hungry. Tulap was a giant. He ate humans!

Not long after Abo left, Monondeaga heard heavy footsteps. She then remembered Abo's message. She had to hide under the bed. But it was too late. Suddenly, Tulap was breaking the front door.

"Ha ha ha... Come here. I want to take you to my place," said Tulap.

Monondeaga was so scared. However, she finally had an idea.

"Don't take me now. I haven't taken a bath yet. Come back tomorrow."

On the following day, Tulap was impatient.

"I don't want to hear your excuses again!"

He then grabbed Monondeaga and took her to his place.

Later, Abo went home. He called out his wife's name. But he could not find her. He then had a bad feeling. He was afraid that Tulap had taken her. He immediately rushed to Tulap place.
After several days, he finally arrived at Tulap's place. It was a big cave.

"Tulap! Get out! Bring back my wife!" screamed Abo.

Tulap then got out of his cave. He was so happy because there was a human came to his cave. He did not have to hunt him.

Abo was ready with his weapons and he immediately attacked him. Tulap was not ready with the attack. He though Abo did not have any guts to fight him.

Abo did very hard to kill Tulap. Finally, he succeeded. Tulap was dead! Abo hurried entering Tulap's cave. He saw many people were inside the big cage. One of them was his beloved wife, Monondeaga.

Abo immediately opened the cage. Everybody inside the cage was so happy. They thanked Abo for his great courage. Abo and Monondeaga then went home. Now people could live peacefully. The giant was dead. ***

Prince Amat Mude

Folklore from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

THERE was a kingdom in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The people were sad. Their beloved king just died. He was a great king. He loved his people very much. And he was a wise king. The king had a son. His name was Prince Amat Mude.

Because he was still a baby, he could not become the next king. He had to wait until he was an adult. And for temporary, the king's younger brother became the king. He was Prince Amat Mude's uncle.

The uncle agreed Prince Amat Mude would become the king when he was an adult. At first everything went well, but soon the uncle changed his mind. He did not want Prince Amat Mude replaced him as the king.

The uncle wanted to be the king until he died. The uncle had a bad plan. He asked the soldiers to bring the prince and the queen to the jungle. The soldiers felt very sorry for them. So they build a house in the jungle.

The queen raised the prince by herself. She taught all good things for her son. Soon the prince became a young man, Prince Amat Mude loved fishing. And one day he caught a lot of fish. The queen and the prince sold all the fish in the nearest village.

When they arrived in the village they met a rich merchant. He was surprised to see them. He was the king's best friend. When the king was alive, he often helped the merchant. The merchant wanted to help them. He bought all the fish and asked them to stay in his house.

At home, the merchant asked his wife to cook the fish. But when the wife cut the fish she found gold inside the fish's body. She gave all the gold to the queen and the prince. They then sold the gold and built a home in the village.

The prince continued to go fishing and he always found gold inside the fish body he caught. In just a moment the prince and the queen became very rich. They were very generous. They often helped people with their money. And soon they became very famous.

The bad king heard that there were very rich people in his kingdom. He did not know that they were the queen and the prince. He wanted to know who they were so he invited them to the palace.

When the bad king met them, he was shocked. He thought the queen and the prince are already dead. He pretended to be sorry with their condition in the jungle. He said he would let the prince to be the new king. But before that he asked the prince to help him.

The bad king's wife was ill. And the cure was the coconut fruit in a remote island. The bad king had another bad plan. He asked the prince to get him the coconut fruit. He knew the prince could not get the fruit because a dragon lived in the island.

The prince went to the island. And when he arrived, he met the dragon! The prince tried to calm down. He introduced himself and asked the dragon's permission to pick the coconut fruit. The dragon was able to talk to humans. He was the best friend of the prince's father. He was willing to help the prince get his crown back.

Together the prince and the dragon went back to the palace. The bad king was so scared when he saw the dragon. He had no other choice. The people were very happy, they knew Prince Amet Mude would become a great king like his father. ***

One day, a young guy was walking on a dark street. Suddenly, out of an Acacia tree, an old man wrapped in a black robe appeared.
His eyes were fierce, his face pale, his beard unkempt. He pushed a black book towards the young man and ordered, �You need to read this book! Buy it for P700.�

The young man was shocked and mumbled, �I don�t have P700��

But the elderly man spoke with a louder voice, �You need to read this book!
Give me P700.� So with shaking hands, the lad fumbled with his wallet and handed P700 to him.

The mysterious man placed the black book in the chap�s hand and said, �Whatever you do, never look at the last page. Or you will regret it.� He then walked towards the field behind them and suddenly disappeared!

The young man went home, shaken to the core. In the evening, he started reading the book. It was all about ghosts and werewolves and vampires! After awhile, he grew tired, closed the book and went to bed.

But he couldn�t sleep. Tossing and turning, the young man could only think of one thing: What was on the last page of the book? What will I regret seeing there?

Finally, he couldn�t take the suspense any longer. With every ounce of courage he could muster, he grabbed the black book. With trembling fingers, he opened it to the last page�

And when he saw it, at once, waves of regret filled him!
The last page was empty.

Except for a small note that said, �P49.50, National Bookstore.�

Dream Kingdom

The Story of Sugar Palm Tree

The Story of Kelana Sakti

Nai Manggale

Napombalu

The Legend of Moopoo Bird

Abo and The Giant

Prince Amat Mude

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