Lutung Kasarung

Cerita rakyat from West Java

Prabu Tapa Agung had led a kingdom in West Java for a long time. He was getting old and
therefore wanted to choose a successor. But unfortunately, he had no son. He thought of
choosing one of his daughters, Purbararang and Purbasari. But it wasn’t an easy choice. They
were both very pretty and smart. The only difference was their temperament. Purbararang
was rude and dishonest, while Purbasari was kind and caring. With those considerations,
Prabu Tapa Agung finally chose Purbasari to be his successor.

Purbararang didn’t agree with her father’s decision. “It’s supposed to be me, Father. I’m the
eldest daughter!” Purbararang said. Prabu Tapa Agung smiled. “Purbararang, to be a queen
takes more than age. There are many other qualities that one must possess,” explained Prabu
Tapa Agung wisely. “What does Purbasari have that I don’t?” Purbararang pouted. “You’ll
find out when Purbasari has replaced me,” Prabu Tapa Agung answered.

After the discussion, Purbararang went back to her room. “Is there something wrong?” asked
Indrajaya. Indrajaya is Purbararang’s future husband. “I’m upset! Father chose Purbasari as
his successor and not me! I have to do something!” Purbararang said. Driven mad by her
anger, she came to a witch and asked her to send rash all over Purbasari’s body. Before going
to bed, Purbasari started to feel itch all over her body. She tried applying powder to her body,
but it’s no use. Instead, the itching grew even worse. She didn’t want to scratch it, but she just
couldn’t help it. In the next morning, there were scratch mark all over Purbasari’s body.
“What happened to you?” asked Purbararang, pretending to be concerned. “I don’t know, sis.
Last night, my body suddenly felt very itchy. I scratched and scratched, and this is what
happened,” Purbasari answered. Purbararang shook her head. “You must have done
something really awful. You’ve been punished by the gods!”

That day, the whole kingdom was scandalized. “What have you done, Purbasari?” demanded
Prabu Tapa Agung. Purbasari shook her head. “I didn’t do anything that would upset the
gods, Father,” she answered. “Then how can you explain what happened to your body?”
Prabu Tapa Agung asked again. “If you don’t confess, I’ll banish you to the woods.”
Purbasari took a deep breath. “Like I said before, I didn’t do anything wrong. And I’d rather
be thrown into the woods than to confess to a deed I didn’t commit.”

After a short discussion with his advisor, Prabu Tapa Agung ordered Purbasari to be moved
to the woods. Purbasari was very sad, but she couldn’t do anything to defy her father’s order.
She was accompanied to the woods by a messenger. He built a simple hut for Purbasari. After
the messenger left, suddenly a black monkey came to Purbasari’s hut. He carried a bunch of
bananas. From behind him, some animals looked on. “Are the bananas for me?’ Purbasari
asked. The black monkey nodded, as if he understood what Purbasari said. Purbasari took the
bananas with pleasure. She also said thanks. The other animals that were looking on also
seemed to smile. “Are you willing to be my friend?” Purbasari asked them. All the animals
nodded happily. Although she was living by herself in the woods, Purbasari never lacked of
supplies. Everyday, there were always animals bringing her fruits and fish to eat.

A long time had passed since Purbasari was banished to the woods, but her body still itched.
At some places, her skin was even ulcerating. What am I supposed to do?” Purbasari sighed.
The monkey who was sitting next to her stayed still, there were tears in his eyes. He hoped
Purbasari would remain patient and strong.

One night, on a full moon, the monkey took Purbasari to a valley. There is a pond with hot
spring water. The monkey suddenly spoke, “The water of this pond will heal your skin,” he
said. Purbasari was surprised, ”You can talk? Who are you?” she asked. “You’ll find out, in
time,” the monkey said. Purbasari didn’t want to force the monkey. She then walked to the
pond. She bathed there. After a few hours, Purbasari walked out of the pond. She was
shocked to see her face reflected on the clear pond water. Her face was beautiful again, with
smooth and clean skin. Purbasari observed her entire body. There were no traces of any skin
ailments. “I’m cured! I’m cured!” Purbasari shouted in joy. She quickly offered thanks to the
gods and also to the monkey.

The news of Purbasari’s condition quickly spread to the kingdom, irritating Purbararang. She
then accompanied by Indrajaya go to the woods to see Purbasari. Purbasari asked if she
would be allowed to go home. Purbararang said she would let Purbasari return to the palace if
Purbasari’s hair were longer than hers. Purbararang then let her hair down. It was so long, it
almost touched the ground. But it turned out that Purbasari’s hair was twice longer than
Purbararang’s hair.

“Fine, so your hair is longer than mine.” Purbararang admitted. “But there is one more
condition you must fulfill, do you have a future husband who is handsomer than mine?” said
Purbararang as she walked toward Indrajaya. Purbasari felt miserable. She didn’t have a
future husband yet. So, without much thought, she pulled the black monkey beside her.

Purbararang and Indrajaya burst out, but their laughter didn’t last long. The monkey
meditates and suddenly transformed into a very handsome young man, a lot more handsome
than Indrajaya. “I’m a prince from a kingdom far away. I was cursed to be a monkey because
of a mistake I committed. I could regain my true form only if there’s a girl who would be
willing to be my wife,” said the young man.

Finally, Purbararang gave up. She accepted Purbasari as the queen, and also confessed
everything she had done. “Please forgive me. Please don’t punish me,” Purbararang said,
asking for forgiveness. Instead of being angry, Purbasari smiled. “I forgive you, sis,” she
said. Soon after, Purbasari become queen. Beside her was the handsome prince, the former
monkey known as Lutung Kasarung.
 Malin Kundang

Cerita rakyat from West Sumatra

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.***

Onion and Garlic (Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih)

In the ancient time, lived a little family. The family consists of father, mother, and a beautiful
girl named Garlic. They are a harmonious and happy family despite his father worked as an
ordinary merchant. One day, the happiness in this family was lost because the mother died.
Garlic was very sad because she was very fond of her mother. Her father was also so sad
because he loved his wife so much.
 
After Garlic’s mother died, her house was visited frequently by a widow who had a daughter
named Onion. The widow often came with Onion to the Garlic’s home by bringing food,
helping to clean the house, and chatting with Garlic’s father. Finally, the father thinks that he
should marry the widow and made the widow as a new mother for Garlic.
 
He asked for consideration of the proposal to Garlic. After being allowed to get married by
Garlic, then her father immediately carried out the marriage. They become a new family and
lived in a house. At first, the mother and Onions behaved Garlic very well. However, the
good behavior did not to be last long. Soon, the Onion and her mother began to show their
bad attitude. Garlic was often scolded and given heavy works when the father went to trade.
She had to do a lot of housework while the Onions just sit and did not work at all. However,
the situation was never told by her to his father, so the Garlic continued to be treated badly by
Onions and her mother.
 
One day, his father was sick and passed away. Since then, Garlic was treated worse than
before. Garlic almost never had a break every day. In the morning, she had to get up in order
to prepare breakfast and the water for Onion and her mother. Later, she also gave eating to
the livestock, washing clothes, and even watering the entire garden. Although she should do
so many works, she always did it happily. She hoped, with such sincerity, her mother would
love her sincerely someday.
 
On the morning, Garlic went to the river to wash the clothes. She was so excited and washed
vigorously. Because of getting too excited, she was not aware that there was a shirt that
washed away. She realized that the shirt had been washed away when the flow carried it far
enough. Later, she pursued but did not get the shirt. She felt hopeless and immediately went
home.
 
The shirt was her mother’s favorite. Of course, the mother was angry and told her to look for
the shirt until she could found it. Garlic came back to the river and walked to the west to seek
her mother’s favorite shirt. She walked along the river up to tens of kilometers. After that,
Garlic suddenly saw someone who was bathing the buffalo in the river. She asked the man
about the clothes were washed away. Later, she was informed that the shirt drifting and it was
not far from where she was standing. At that moment, Garlic immediately ran down the river
to find the shirt.
 
It was getting dark and the Garlic found a home. Because of completely exhausted, she
decided to take a break in the house. Apparently, it housed an old lady who had previously
found the shirt. The old lady wanted to return the shirt to her, but she should accompany the
old lady during a week. She agreed to stay with the lady for a week. Within a week, she made
the old lady to be so happy because she was diligent and never complained even though felt
so tired.
 
After accompanying for a week, she was given a pumpkin as the gift. When opening it, she
was very surprised because there were so much gold and gems. She immediately went home
and told the happening to her mother and also Onion. However, the gold and jewels that she
got immediately seized and she was forced to tell where the jewelry could be obtained. Garlic
immediately said that she got it from an old lady who lived near the river.
 
In the next day, Onion came to that house and stayed for a week like what Garlic did.
However, because Onion was a lazy girl, the old lady gave a different pumpkin from Garlic.
Onion did not care and Onion immediately went home to open the pumpkin with her mother.
Apparently, the content was not gems or gold, but the venomous snake that bit of Onion and
the mother. Both of them died because of their greed.
 
After the happening, Garlic was living alone, but she was more calm and lived happily with
its gold and gems.
 
Arti :

Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih

 
Pada zaman dahulu, ada sebuah keluarga kecil yang hidup bahagia. Keluarga tersebut terdiri
dari ayah, ibu, dan seorang gadis cantik bernama bawang putih. Mereka adalah keluarga yang
harmonis dan bahagia meskipun sang ayah hanya bekerja sebagai seorang pedagang biasa.
Suatu hari, kebahagiaan yang ada di dalam keluarga tersebut hilang karena sang ibu
meninggal. Bawang putih sangat sedih karena ia sangat menyayangi ibunya, begitu juga sang
ayah yang sangat sedih karena sang istri telah meninggal.
 
Setelah ibu bawang putih meninggal, rumahnya sering dikunjungi oleh seorang janda yang
mempunyai anak bernama bawang merah. Ibu bawang merah sering datang ke rumah bawang
putih dan membawakan makanan, membantu membersihkan rumah, dan mengobrol dengan
ayah bawang putih. Akhirnya, ayah bawang putih berpikir bahwa sebaiknya ia menikah
dengan janda tersebut dan menjadikannya sebagai ibu baru untuk bawang putih.
 
Ia meminta usul dan pertimbangan dari bawang putih. Setelah diizinkan untuk menikah oleh
bawang putih, maka sang ayah segera melaksanakan pernikahan dengan ibu bawang merah.
Mereka menjadi sebuah keluarga baru dan tinggal di rumah tersebut. Pada awalnya, ibu
bawang merah dan bawang merah sangat baik terhadap bawang putih. Namun, perilaku baik
tersebut tidak bertahan lama. Lama-kelamaan bawang merah dan ibunya mulai menunjukkan
sikap buruk mereka. bawang putih sering dimarah dan diberikan pekerjaan berat ketika sang
ayah pergi berdagang. Ia harus mengerjakan banyak pekerjaan rumah sementara bawang
merah hanya duduk dan tidak bekerja sama sekali. Namun, keadaan tersebut tidak pernah
diceritakan olehnya kepada sang ayah, sehingga bawang putih terus diperlakukan secara
buruk oleh bawang merah dan ibunya.
 
Pada suatu hari sang ayah sakit dan meninggal dunia. Sejak saat itu, bawang merah dan
ibunya  memperlakukan bawang putih semakin buruk. Bawang putih hampir tidak pernah
istirahat setiap hari. di pagi hari, ia harus bangun untuk mempersiapkan air dan sarapan bagi
bawang merah dan ibunya. Kemudian, ia juga harus member makan ternak, mencuci baju,
dan bahkan menyirami seluruh kebun. Meskipun pekerjaan yang harus ia kerjakan begitu
banyak, namun bawan putih melakukan semua itu dengan gembira. Ia berharap, dengan
keikhlasan tersebut, sang ibu mau menyayanginya dengan tulus dan menganggapnya sebagai
anak kandung.
 
Pada suatu pagi, bawang putih pergi ke sungai untuk mencuci baju. Dia begitu gembira dan
mencuci dengan penuh semangat. Karena terlalu semangat, ia tidak sadar bahwa ada sebuah
baju yang hanyut. Ia menyadari bahwa baju tersebut hanyut ketika telah terbawa aliran yang
cukup jauh. Kemudian, ia mengejarnya dan tidak mendapatkan baju tersebut. Ia merasa putus
asa dan segera pulang ke rumah.
 
Baju tersebut merupakan baju kesayangan ibu bawang merah. Tentu saja, sang ibu marah dan
menyuruhnya untuk mencari baju tersebut hingga ditemukan. Bawang putih kembali lagi ke
sungai dan berjalan ke arah barat untuk mencari baju kesayangan ibunya. Ia berjalan
menyusuri aliran sungai hingga puluhan kilometer. Setelah itu, bawang putih tiba-tiba
melihat seseorang yang sedang memandikan kerbau di sungai. Ia bertanya kepada orang itu
mengenai baju yang hanyut. Kemudian, ia mendapat informasi bahwa baju ibu bawang merah
hanyut namun baju tersebut tidaklah jauh dari tempatnya berdiri. Saat itu juga, bawang putih
segera berlari menyusuri sungai untuk menemukan baju tersebut.
 
Hari semakin gelap dan bawang putih menemukan sebuah rumah. Karena sangat lelah, ia
memutuskan untuk beristirahat sejenak di rumah tersebut. Ternyata, di dalamnya tinggal
seorang nenek yang sebelumnya sudah menemukan baju milik ibu bawang putih. Sang nenek
ingin mengembalikan baju tersebut kepada bawang putih, dengan syarat bawang putih harus
menemaninya selama seminggu. Bawang putih begitu iba dengan nenek tersebut, dan ia
setuju untuk tinggal bersama sang nenek selama seminggu. Dalam waktu satu minggu, ia
membuat nenek tersebut amat gembira karena bekerja dengan rajin dan tidak pernah
mengeluh.
 
Setelah bawang putih menemani sang nenek selama seminggu, ia diberikan satu buah labu
sebagai hadiah. Ketika membuka labu tersebut, ia sangat terkejut karena didalamnya terdapat
emas dan permata yang begitu banyak. Ia segera pulang dan memberitahukan kejadian
tersebut kepada sang ibu dan juga bawang merah. Namun, emas dan permata yang ia
dapatkan segera direbut dan ia dipaksa untuk memberitahukan dimana perhiasan tersebut
dapat diperoleh. Bawang putih segera mengatakan bahwa ia mendapatkannya dari seorang
nenek yang tinggal di dekat sungai.
 
Esok hari, bawang merah datang ke rumah nenek tersebut dan tinggal selama satu minggu.
Namun, karena bawang merah adalah gadis yang malas, maka sang nenek memberikannya
labu yang berbeda dari bawang putih. Bawang merah tidak peduli dan ia segera pulang dan
membuka labu tersebut bersama ibunya. Ternyata, isi labu tersebut bukanlah permata atau
emas, namun ular berbisa yang menggigit bawang merah dan ibunya. Kedua orang tersebut
meninggal karena keserakahannya.
Bawang putih kini hidup sendiri namun ia lebih tenang karena tidak ada lagi orang yang
menganggunya. Ia hidup bahagia dengan emas dan permata yang dimilikinya.