The Story of Toba Lake

Once upon a time lived a poor farmer named Toba in one village of North Sumatera. One day,
he went fishing. Luckily, he got a beautiful goldfish. He carried it home then planned to cook
it. When he got home, the fish turned into a beautiful woman.
The woman told him that she was cursed and asked Toba to keep it as a secret. Toba agreed
only with one condition that she would marry him. Then they got married had one child named
Samosir. This boy liked to eat much food.
One day, the mother asked Samosir to bring lunch to his father who worked in the rice field.
On the way to rice field, he stopped and ate most of his father’s lunch.
Toba was very angry and shouted at Samosir “You, a child of a fish! You are so greedy!”
Samosir cried and ran toward his mother. He asked mother why father called him a child of a
fish.
The woman was really upset that Toba broke his promise. The mother’s anger causing springs
appeared and soon made a vast lake. The lake is called Toba Lake. A island In the middle of
Toba Lake is called Samosir Island.
 The Legend of Situ Bagendit

Long time ago in an isolated village, there was a young rich woman. She had a big house. Her
wealth was plentiful. The young woman lived by herself. She didn’t have any friend at all.
The woman was a miser. The villagers called her, Bagenda Endit. Bagenda Endit means the
miserly rich person.
One day, an old woman begged for food to Bagenda Endit. Bagenda Endit threw the old woman
away. Because the old woman didn’t want to go, Bagenda Endit splashed her with water. She
didn’t even have a little bit mercy to the old woman and her baby. She even got angrier. After
that, she asked the old woman to get out of her house yard.
Although she was a miser, people still came to her place. That’s because she had the only water
wheel. But, Bagenda Endit forbade people from touching her water wheel.
One day, an old man came to Bagenda Endit’s place to take a water from her water wheel.
Seeing that, Bagenda Endit hit the old man’s hand. She kept beating the old man. However, the
old man didn’t feel any pain. He pointed his stick to Bagenda Endit and cursed her. Suddenly,
the big amount of water dropped at the village. Everybody disappeared, including Bagenda
Endit. That village turned into a lake. From that day, people called that lake Situ Bagendit.
 The Legend of Rawa Pening

Once upon a time, there was a little poor boy came into a little village. He was very hungry and
weak. He knocked at every door and asked for some foods, but nobody cared about him.
Nobody wanted to help the little boy.
Finally, a generous woman helped him. She gave him shelter and a meal. When the boy wanted
to leave, he gave the woman a lesung. Lesung is a big wooden mortar for pounding rice. He
reminded her to save herself when there was a flood.
The boy continued his journey. While he was passing through the village, he saw many people
gathering on the field. The boy came closer and saw a stick stuck in the ground. People
challenged each other to pull out that stick. Everybody tried, but nobody succeeded. “Can I
try?” asked the little boy. The crowd laughed mockingly. The boy wanted to try his luck so he
stepped forward and pulled out the stick. He could do it very easily. Everybody was
dumbfounded.
Suddenly, from the hole left by stick, water spouted out. It did not stop until it flooded the
village. No one was not safe from the water except the little boy and the generous old woman
who gave him shelter and meal. The whole village became a huge lake. It is now known as
Rawa Pening Lake in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia
 The Origin of Salatiga

Long time ago, there was a man who was very honest. He taught about religion and the meaning
of life. His name was Sunan Kalijaga. He wandered to spread his knowledge. one day, he
arrived in a village. He went to the village chief's house. Sunan Kalijaga didn’t say his real
name and he asked for a job. The chief’s wife said that he could help to cut grass for houses.
Sunan Kalijaga liked to live a simple life. Soon after that, the chief realized that the man was
Sunan Kalijaga. The chief was very surprised. The, he decided to follow the Sunan’s lesson.
To follow the Sunan lesson, he had to leave all his properties, but his wife didn't agree. So, his
wife brought jewelry in a bamboo.
When they were taking a rest in a village, there was a robber. He took all the things from the
chief’s wife. Sunan said that this place would be busy and full of people. He gave the place a
name. The name was Salahtiga, because in this place there were three wrong people: There
were the chief, his wife and the robber who like to collect properties. Now, the place is called
Salatiga.