Kebo Iwa

Folklore from Bali

ONCE upon a time in Bali, a man and his wife were praying. They have been married for a long

time but did not have any children. They asked God to give them a child. They prayed and

prayed.

God finally answered their prayers. The wife, then, got pregnant and they had a baby boy. They

were very happy.

The baby was extraordinary. He was very much different from other babies. He ate and drank a

lot. Day after day he ate more and more. His body was getting bigger and bigger. And by the

time he was a teenager, his body was as big as a buffalo. People then started to call him Kebo

Iwa.

Because of his eating habit, Kebo Iwas parents spent a lot of money to buy his food in large

amount. They finally went bankrupt. They gave up and asked the villagers to help them provide

the food.

The villagers then worked together to cook and build a big house for Kebo Iwa. He was like a

giant. He could not stay in his parents house anymore because of his big body. Sadly, after a

few months, the villagers also could not afford to cook him the food. They then asked Kebo Iwa

to cook his own food. The villagers just prepared the raw materials.

Kebo Iwa agreed and as an expression of his gratitude to the villagers, he built a dam, dug wells,

and he also protected the villagers from animals and people who wanted to attack their village.

He did those things by himself.

Meanwhile, the troops of Majapahit were planning to attack Bali. They knew about Kebo Iwa.

And they also knew that they could not conquer Bali with Kebo Iwa there. Kebo Iwa was more

powerful than they were.

Gajah Mada, the Maha Patih (Chief Minister) of Majapahit then planned something. They were

pretending to invite Kebo Iwa to Majapahit to help them dig some wells. They said that

Majapahit was suffering from a long dry season and needed much water. Kebo Iwa did not know

the plan, so he went to Majapahit.

When Kebo Iwa was busy digging a very big well, the troops covered the well. Kebo Iwa had

difficulty in breathing and buried alive. He died in the well.

After the death of Kebo Iwa, Bali was conquered by Majapahit. Until now, people still remember

Kebo Iwa because he had done a lot for Majapahit and Bali. The stone head of legendary Kebo

Iwa can be found in Pura Gaduh temple in Blahbatuh. ***

Jayaprana and Layonsari

Folklore from Bali

Once upon a time, there was a poor kid. His name was Jayaprana, He was an orphan. He lived

alone in his house.

Jayaprana wanted to serve his life to the king. So one day,.he went to the palace and told the king

that he wanted to dedicate his life to the kingdom.

The king was so touched to see a young boy who had great motivation to serve his life to the

kingdom. He welcomed Jayaprana and let him work and stay and in the palace.

Time passed by and Iayaprana became a handsome young man. The king liked him very much.

Jayaprana was loyal, faithful, and obedient to the king.

One day the king asked Jayaprana to meet him.

"What can I do, Your Majesty?" asked ]ayaprana politely.

'You are adult now and I want you to get married. There are ladies-in-waiting in this palace.

Choose one to be your wife," said the king.

"Please pardon me, Your Majesty. If you want me to get married, please let me find a girl from

outside this palace. I would rather marry a girl from a village who is just like me, your Majesty."

The king smiled. "If that's what you want, I let you do it. Iust let me know when you find that

girl. I will write a letter to her parents asking them to let you marry her."

Jayaprana was so happy. He immediately left the palace and looked for the girl he would marry.

]ayaprana arrived in a village. He saw a very beautifirl girl. He loved her at the first sight.

]ayaprana followed her and asked her name. She said that her name was Layonsari.

Jayaprana rushed to the palace and told the king about Layonsari. As promised, the king wrote a

letter to Layonsari's parents.

Jayaprana gave the letter and Layonsari's parents accepted the marriage proposal. They

immediately set the plan for the party.

The party was held at the palace. And when the king saw Layonsari, he fell in love with her! The

king had a bad plan. He wanted to kill Jayaprana and later married Layonsari.

The king made a plan. He asked Jayaprana to go to the jungle for hunting a deer. The king asked

his soldier to secretly followed Jayaprana and then killed him.

Jayaprana told his wife that the king asked him to go hunting. Layonsari asked him not to go.

She had a bad feeling. However Jayaprana convinced her that he would go home safely.

Jayaprana arrived in the jungle. He did not know that a soldier silently followed him. Suddenly,

the soldier stabbed him. Jayaprana died.

The king told Layonsari that Iayaprana was attacked by a tiger. He pretended to be sad when he

told her the bad news.

Layonsari was crying terribly. She could not imagine that she would lose her beloved husband.

The king said "I know you are sad but life goes on. You have to continue your life. Why don't

you stay in the palace and marry me. You can become a queen."

Layonsari could not believe what she just heard. "No, Your Majesty! I don't want to marry you. I

love my husband."

The king was angry! "If you don't marry me, you will die!"

"I'd rather die, Your Majesty!" said Layonsari. She grabbed a knife and killed herself.

Layonsari lost too much blood. She died.

The king was angry. He lost his control. He attacked and killed people around him.

That made people became restless. They worked together to stop the king. And flnally they

cornered the king. They caught the king and put him in a prison. ***

The Hidden Treasure

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago, there lived a farmer with his five sons. The farmer's wife died when

the youngest child was a baby. The farmer was rich. He had a spacious rice field. He had a

big house and lots of money. The five sons were teenagers. Sadly, they did not like to help their

father. They only played and wasted their time having fun with their friends. They always asked

money to their parent and wasted it by gambling.

The father had repeatedly advie always told them to work hard and not to wasted the money.

Unfortunately they never listened to their father. They always ignored him. The father was sad.

He always thought about his children's bad behavior. It made his health get worse. He suffered

an illness.

What did the children do when they knew their father was sick? They did not care at all! They

kept on wasting their father's money.

The father was not able to work. He did not have any income. He spent all the money to buy the

medicine. Slowly, the farmer was getting poor.

The father was in the critical condition. He thought that he would not be able to live any longer.

He asked all his children to meet him.

"My health is getting worse and I think I cannot live any longer. Before I die, I want to tell you a

secret. Promise that you will never share this secret to any other people," said the father.

"What secret, Father?" asked the oldest son.

"I have a great treasure. The value is so expensive. Ifyou sell it, you will have Iots of money,"

said the father.

"Really? Wis the treasure, Father?" asked the second son.

"I buried it in my rice fleld. I forget which side of the field. You haVe to hoe and dig all areas,"

explained the father. Not long after he. told them the secret, the father died.

Later, those flve sons went to the rice fields. It was not in a good condition. It was dried.and

there was no rice plant at all. They brought some hoes and crowbars.They started to dig the rice

field.

The rice fleld was so spacious. It was almost dark and they had not got any signs of the treasure.

"I think it's enough for today. Let's go home and we will continue tomorrow" suggested

the oldest chi-ld. The others agreed.

They all went home. The next morning, they went back to the rice fleld. They hoed and dug the

land. Again, until it was almost dark, they could not find the treasure.

On the third day, they had completed hoed and dug the land..They were confused.

"Do you think our father lied to us? He said that he buried the treasure in this fleld. We have dug

all areas but we cannot flnd it," said the oldest son.

'Yes, you are right! I think our father lied to us," said the third son.

The youngest son interrupted. He said, "No! You are wrong! Our father did not lie to us. He was

right when he said the treasure is inside this field. In fact we are now looking at the treasure."

"What do you mean?" asked the fourth son.

"This rice field is our treasure. You see... this field is so spacious. When it is time to harvest, the

field

will give us lots of money. Where do you think our father had tots of money? The money is from

this field! Come on, let's work hard and cultivate this field. I'm sure we will have lots of money

during the harvest," explained the youngest child.

All the other sons understood. They also realized their mistakes. They knew they had been

wrong and they had to stop their bad habits. Since then, the five sons worked hard. Slowly they

became rich again. ***

I Ceker Cipak

Folklore from Bali

ONCE upon a time, there lived a young man with his mother. His name was I Ceker Cipak. He

was a good son. He was obedient and helpful to his mother. His father died. when he was a baby.

I Ceker Cipak wanted to have a better life. He told his mother that he wanted to buy some corns.

He planned to cook the corns and later sold them. His mother agreed. She then gave him some

money.

I Ceker Cipak went to the market. It was far from his house. On the way to the market, he saw

some people were beating a cat. The cat stole their food. I Ceker Cipak did not have the heart to

see the cat in such a great pain. He told them,

"May I buy the cat?"

Those people were laughing. They taught he was crazy. However, they let him buy the cat. Then

he continued the journey. Later he saw some people were hurting a dog. They said that the dog

stole their eggs. The dog was in pain and I Ceker Cipak was sad to see that. He then asked if he

could buy the dog. The people were laughing, however they agreed. He gave them some

moneyandbrought the dog withhim.

Later, he saw some people were hurting a snake. They said that the snake ate their chiclten.

Again, he bought the snake. He continued the journey. Then, he saw some people were hurting a

mouse. They said that the mouse had destroyed their rice field. ]ust like before, he bought the

mouse.

He continued his journey with the dog, the cat, the snake, and the mouse. Suddenly he realized

that he did not have any money. All his money was spent to buy those animals. I Ceker Cipak

was sad. He was thinking of his mother. He stopped and cried.

The animals were sad to see him crying. The snake said,

"Don't be sad. I have something that can make you happy. Here, please take this ring. If you rub

it to a thing, it will change into gold!"

I Ceker Cipak was surprised. He did not know that the snake was a-ble to speak! He accepted the

ring. He rubbed it to his bag. Amazingly, it changed into gold! I Ceker Cipak was extremely

happy.

He immediately went home. I Ceker Cipak and his mother became very rich. He let the animals

live inside his new big hbuse.

One day, I Ceker Cipak accidentally dropped the ring. It had some cracks. He went to a

goldsmith. He planned to ask him to flx the ring.

Sadly, the goldsmith accidentally found our that it was a magic ring. He had a bad idea. He made

a new a ring that exactly looked Iike the magic ring. He then gave the false ring to I Ceker Cipak

and kept the real ring.

At home, I Ceker Cipak tried to rub the magic ring to a stone. However the stone did not change

into gold.

"Hey, this is not our ring," said the mother.

"The goldsmith must have replaced our ring!"

I Ceker Cipak was confused. He did not know what to do. He knew that they did not any proof

that the goldsmith had replaced their ring.

"We must help our master," said the snake to the cat, the dog, and the mouse. Later, they went to

the goldsmith's house.

They slowly walked inside the house. The dog used his nose to sniff the ring. When they saw the

ring, they carefully took it. Later they ran very fast!

At home, the animals gave the rqagic ring to I Ceker Cipak. He was so happy.He put the ring

carefully. Since then I Ceker Cipak and his mother lived happily ever after. ***

Dewi Ratih and Kala Rau

Folklore from Bali

WISNULOKA was a kingdom in heaven. Only the Gods or Dewa and the Goddesses or Dewi

lived in the Wisnuloka kingdom. Humans did not live there. They lived on earth.

The Gods and the Goddesses were restless. They were really worried. There was a kingdom on

earth named Balidwipa Kingdom. There were no humans in Balidwipa Kingdom. They were

giants!

And the king of Balidwipa kingdom was Kala Rau. He was the biggest, the strongest and the

meanest giant! Giants and especially humans were afraid of him!

Kala Rau fell in love with Dewi Ratih. She was the most beautiful Goddess. She was also named

as the Goddess of Moon. Dewi Ratih did not love Kala Rau. She rejected his proposal. Kala Rau

was angry! He wanted to attack Wisnuloka Kingdom. The king of Wisnuloka was Dewa Wisnu.

He was trying to calm all the gods and the goddesses.

"Don't worry. I know how to handle Kala Rau. I have prepNed tirta amerta.It\s water o{ life.

Anyone drinks the water will live forever. So you don't have to worry that Kala Rau will kill

you. After you drink the water, you will not die," said pewa Wisnu. Howeve4, one of those

giants heard about tirta amerta. He reported to Kala Rau. "Ha..ha.. ha... Now Iknow how to

marry Dewi Ratih. I will use their secret!" said Kala Rau.

Dewa Wisnu gathered all the gods and the goddesses in the palace. He put the water in the jug.

He asked all the gods and the goddesses to take turn drinking the water. One by one they drank

the water. They fett very fresh. It was time for Dewa Kuwera to drink the water. Dewa Wisnu

felt there was something strange withDewa Kuwera. He was bigger and talle4 and he was also

smelly. Dewa Wisnu did not know that it was not the real Dewa Kuwera. He was Kala Rau

disguising as Dewa Kuwera.

When the false Dewa Kuwera was about to drink the water, the real Dewa Kuwera showed up.

Dewa Wisnu immediately knew the problem. He took his arrow and shot him at the neck! The

shot was so powerful. It cut and separated the head and the body. Dewa Wisnu threw the body

back to earth. It became a lexmg. It is a mortar that people use to pound the rice. What about the

head? Unfortunately, Kala Rau had a chance to drink the rvater. His head could live forever

althou gh it was already separated from the body. Dewa Wisnu immediately threw the head to

the sky.

The head of Kala Rau n'as still in the sky Iooking for Dervi Ratih. And when he saw Dewi Ratih,

he tried to grab her. But he did not have hands, so he used his mouth to catch Dewi Ratih. He

succeeded! He sn allowed Dewi Ratih!

And because he did not have any parts of body, Dewi Ratih could escape.

And when Dewi Ratih was being swallowed by Kala Rau, the moon was dark.

After all, she was the goddess of moon right?

People on earth hated to see the dark moon. So thev pounded Kala Rau's body which already

changed into lesung. When people pounded the lesung, Kala Rau felt the pain. So he escaped.

Until now, when there is a moon eclipse some people still pound lesung. They believe that Kala

Rau is still chasing Dewi Ratih. ***

A Loyal Farmer

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago, there was a small village in Bali. The villagers were farmers. They were very

happy. The gods gave them fertile land. They always had a great harvest. There were no poor

family in that village.

One day, a young man came to the village. He came from a very far place.

He went to the richest farmer in the village. The richest farmer's name was Jero Pasek.

"My name is I Tundung. I came here to work, Sir. I promise I will work hard."

"Hmm... Okay, I will let you work in my rice field. But remember, I will ask you to leave if you

are lazy." said Jero Pasek.

I Tudung was very happy. He did not want to disappoint Jero Pasek, his master. He worked

diligently and patiently. Jero Pasek was very grateful. The harvest was a good deal better.

Besides cultivating, I Tundung also look care of the animals, such as chickens, ducks, goats and

cattle. The number of the animals also increased. Jero Pasek become richer.

Jero pasek planned to ask I Tundung to cultivate his field in Kangin Hill. Unlike the land in the

village, the land in Kangin Hill was not fertile.

However, I Tundung accepted it very happy. He felt that Jero Pasek had already trusted him. He

wanted to repay his trust by giving him great harvest.

The land on the hill was arid. It was very dry. However, I Tundung was never given up. There

was a small spring. I Tundung made irrigation. He used the water in the spring and flew it

through the irrigation.

It worked! The ground was not dry anymore. The plants grew very well. And again they

delivered an outstanding harvest. Now the whole hills are green, thanks to I Tundung.

Unfortunately, their happiness did not last long. A thief stole the harvest and the animals.

Sadly, I Tundung was never able to catch the thief. The harvest and the animals kept on missing,

Jero Pasek was angry.

"I'm very disappointed in you. I have lost a lot of harvest and animals!"

I Tundung was sad. He went to a temple to pray. While he was meditating, he heard a voice.

"I recognize your problem and I can help you."

"Thank you. I'm willing to do anything as long as I can protect my master's harvest and animals."

said I Tundung.

"I will change you into a big black snake. You will live on the hill and you can protect the

harvest and the animals."

I Tundung agreed. He did not want to take his master disappointed and angry at him. Slowly, he

changed into a big black snake.

Meanwhile, Joko Pasek was looking for I Tundung. And when he arrived at his field, he saw a

big black snake. He was so surprised when the snake was able to speak!

"Don't be afraid, Sir. It's me, I Tundung. From now on, I will always protect your harvest and

your animals."

Jero Pasek was very distressing. He never meant to ask I Tundung to do anything. But it was too

late. ***

--------------------------------------@@@------------------------------------

Did you know?

wikipedia.org

Subak is the name of water management (irrigation) system for paddy fields on Bali island,

Indonesia which was developed more than 1,000 years ago. For Balinese, irrigation is not simply

providing water for the plant's roots, but water is used to construct a complex, pulsed artificial

ecosystem. Paddy fields in Bali were built around water temples and the allocation of water is

made by a priest. (wikipedia.org)

I Teruna Tua

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago there was an old man. His name was I Teruna Tua. He was single. He only

wanted to marry a girl whose birthday was the same as his birthday.

It was I Teruna Tua's birthday. He heard that his friend's wife just give birth a baby girl. I Teruna

visited his friend. His name was Pan Kayan. I Teruna Tua brought his wooden stick.

"I want to put my stick under the baby's bed. I will take it back late1," said I Teruna Tua.

"Sure, no problem," said Pan Kayan.

Several years latex, I Teruna Tua came to Pan Kayan's house. He wanted to take his stick back.

He was so surprised to see termites had eaten his stick.

"Pan Kayan, the termites have eaten my stick.

Now the termites are mine. However, I will put the termites here. I will get them back later," said

l Teruna Tua.

"That's OK. You can take the termites back later" said Pan Kayan.

Several years later, I Teruna Tua came to Pan Kayan'shouse. He saw Pan Kayan's hen was eating

the termites.

Several years late{, the hen was fighting with Pan Kayan's dog. The hen lost the fight. She died.

I Teruna Tua saw the incident.

He said, "Pan Kayan, your dog killed my hen. Now the dog is mine. I want to put the dog here. I

will get him back later."

Several years later, the dog was attacking Pan Kayan's buffalo. The buffalo was angry. He killed

the dog. And again I Teruna Tua saw the incident.

He said "Your buffalo killed my dog. Now the buffalo is mine. I want to put the buffalo here. I

will get him back later."

The buffalo was sleeping under the mango tree. Unfortunately, a big branch fell down and hit the

buffalo's head. The buffalo

was dead. And I Teruna Tira then again told Pan Kayan that the mango tree belonged to I Teruna

Tua.

Years passed by, Pan Kayan's daughter was a teenager. There were some mangoes in the

branches of the tree. She liked to eat mangoes, so she picked all the mangoes.

I Teruna Tua was surprised when there were no mangoes left. He knew that all the mangoes were

eaten by Pan Kayan's daughter.

"Pan Kayan, your daughter ate my mangoes. She is mine now. I want to marry her."

Later I Teruna Tua and the girl got married. Later they had a baby. And when the baby was

crying, I Teruna Tua tried to cheer her up. He was singing a song about his wife.

Your mother was first a stick, then changed into termites, then changed into a hen, then changed

into a dog, then changed into a buffalo, then changed into a mango tree, then finally changed into

your mother."

His wife heard the song. She was angry. She brought the baby and went back to her parents'

house.

I Teruna Tua was sad. He tried to persuade his wife to come back to him but she refused it.

Pan Kayan held a ceremony under the mango tree. He gave some offering to the gods

I Teruna Tua was hiding behind the tree. He talked to Pan Kayan as if he was one of the gods.

"l will not accept your offering here. I want you to ask your daughter to give the offerings to her

husband."

Pan Kayan heard the voice. He immediately asked his daughter to bring the offering to I Teruna

Tua. And when she met her husband I Teruna Tua apologized and promised not to hurt her heart

again. Since then, they have lived happily. ***

I Cikampeng

Folklore from Bali

THERE was a rich but stupid man. His name was I Cikampeng. He had a lot of money because

he never wasted it. He was very careful in spending his money.

For example, he never took a bath in the bathroom and never bought any soap. If he wanted to

take a bath, he only went to the river. He thought taking a bath with water and soap in the

bathroom only wasted his money. He also did not have any utensils.

If he wanted to eat, he just bought a little rice and he divided the rice into three very small parts.

They were for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That was why his body was so skinny. He also only

had one clothes. He kept on wearing it even though it was already worn-out.

One day I Cikampeng went to a wedding party. People asked why he did not get married yet. He

said that actually he wanted to get married soon. He was still looking for the perfect girl. He

wanted to marry a girl who did not like to waste money.

Someone said that there was a girl I Cikampeng was looking for. Her name was I Mayang Sari.

And she was as skinny as I Cikampeng.

Soon I Cikampeng went to visit I Mayang Sari. He fell in love with her and asked her to marry

him. I Mayang Sari agreed. She had been waiting for a man to marry her. Later I Cikampeng and

I Mayang Sari got married.

I Cikampeng did not know that I Mayang Sari was suffering a terrible disease. Because she did

not get enough food from I Cikampeng, her disease was getting terrible. She was dying. And

finally she was dead.

It was in the morning. I Cikampeng wanted to go to the rice field. He woke his wife up. He

thought that she was still sleeping. In the afternoon, I Cikampeng saw his wife was still in the

bed. I Cikampeng was happy. He could save the food for tomorrow because his wife was still

sleeping.

It happened on the following days. He always thought that his wife was still sleeping. In the

mean time, his wife's body started to decay and produced a very bad smell.

The neighbors asked I Cikampeng where his wife was. And they also asked why there was a bad

smell coming from his house. I Cikampeng said that his wife was sleeping. The neighbors were

suspicious. They wanted to see his wife. And when they saw her, they were very surprised.

"I Cikampeng, your wife is dead! Don't you smell it?"

"Really?" asked I Cikampeng. He was very stupid.

Since then he thought that when someone smelled very bad as it meant that the person was dead.

I Cikampeng and the neighbors buried I Mayang Sari. And when they have finished, they all

went home. In the evening, I Cikampeng was farting. The smell was very bad. I Cikampeng then

remembered what the people said about the bad smell.

He thought he was dead. He did not want to tell his neighbors that he was dead. He had to spend

some money when he asked the neighbors to bury his wife. He did not want to waste his money,

therefore he wanted to bury his body by himself.

He dug the ground and when it was deep enough, he slowly covered his body with the soil. And

finally almost all parts of his body were covered by soil. Except for his head, it was not covered

yet.

When people saw I Cikampeng, they asked what happened. He told them everything. The people

were laughing. They all said that I Cikampeng was very stupid! ***

Nang Butuh Mosel and His Magic Ring

Folklore from Bali

THERE was a poor family. The father's name was Nang Butuh Mosel. He and his wife had three

children. Although they were poor, they were happy. Nang Butuh Mosel was a good father. He

loved his children very much. He always taught his children to be kind to others.

Nan Butuh Mosel did not have a permanent job. He got some money by helping others. And he

always worked at the market.

One day he went to the market. On the way there, a man was trying to kill a snake. The man said

that the snake ate his chicken.

Nang Butuh Mosel felt sorry for the snake. He wanted to save the snake by buying it from him.

The man agreed. Nang Butuh Mosel gave him some money and later he put the snake inside his

bag. Later he continued his trip to the market. Suddenly he saw a man was trying to kill a mouse.

The man said the mouse always ate his rice. Nang Butuh Mosel felt sorry, he bought the mouse

and put him inside his bag.

And when he continued his trip to the market, he saw a man was trying to kill a cat and a dog. He

said the cat and the dog always ate his fish. Again Nang Butuh

Mosel saved their lives by buying them. He put the cat and the dog in his bag. He did not have

any money. He already spent all his money buying the animals.

Nang Butuh Mosel was tired. He rested under a big tree. He fell asleep. And when he woke up,

there was a very big snake in front of him. The snake was able to talk!

"Don't be afraid, Sir. I'm the mother of the snake you saved. I want to thank you, here please

accept my ring. It is a magic ring. Whatever the thing you insert through the ring, it will change

into gold," said the big snake.

Nang Butuh Mosel opened his bag. The snake went out and followed his mother. He was very

curious. He took a small twig and inserted it through the ring. Amazingly the twig changed into

gold!

He was so happy and later he went home. He also brought the mouse, the cat and the dog with

him. He wanted to give those animals to his children as their pets.

At home Nang Butuh Mosel and his wife started to change everything into gold. Later they

became very rich. They did not tell anyone about the ring, including their children.

Unfortunately his children played with the ring. It fell and broke into two pieces. Nang Butuh

Mosel was not angry. He just advised them to be careful when playing. Nang Butuh Mosel

brought the broken ring to a goldsmith. And after the ring was fixed, a piece of string

accidentally was inserted through the ring. The string charged into gold.

The goldsmith was surprised. He had a bad plan. He exchanged the magic ring into an ordinary

ring. And when Nang Butuh Mosel came to take his ring, he received the ordinary ring. His

magic ring was kept by the goldsmith. Nang Butuh Mosel finally found out that his magic ring

was exchanged. He was sad. The pets felt so sorry to see their master sad. They knew about the

magic ring. They wanted to help and got the magic ring back.

They went to the goldsmith's house. The dog used his nose to trace the ring. They found the

magic ring was inside a box. The mouse used his teeth to open the box. It made a noise. The

goldsmith woke up from his sleep. The cat then made a sound of miaow. The goldsmith thought

it was just a cat, he went back to sleep.

After they got the magic ring, they went back home. They gave the ring to Nang Butuh Mosel.

He was so happy and thanked them. This time he kept it very carefully.***

Ni Timun Mas and I Lantang Hidung

Folklore from Bali

NI Timun Mas was a beautiful girl. She lived with her mother in a house near a jungle.

Ni Timun Mas always helped her mother. When her mother worked in a rice field,

Ni Timun Mas always stayed at home to clean up and cook. she was not allowed to go to the rice

field. Her mother was afraid that a giant would kidnap her. Yes, there was a giant lived in the

jungle. His name was I Latang Hidung. He loved to eat young people!

Her mother always went home in the afternoon. She always asked Ni Timun Mas not to open the

door while she worked. Her mother would sing a song, "Ni Timun Mas, I'm home. Please open

the door" Then NiTimun Mas opened the door.

Sadly, it happened. I Lantang Hidung came to see the house. The giant was hungry. He banged

the door. Ni Timun Mas was so scared. Because the door was not opened, the giant left. He was

sure there was somebody in the house. He was hiding behind the trees.

And when her mother went home, the giant knew that the door would be opened when a song

was sung. He planned to come back and he would sing the song. Ni Timun Mas told her mother

about the giant. She was very happy that the door was not opened. Unfortunately, they did not

know that the giant already knew their secret.

On the following afternoon, I Lantang Hidung came. The giant sing the song, "Ni Timun Mas,

I'm home. Please open the door." He imitated Timun Mas mother's voice.

Of course Timun Mas thought it was her mother who came home. She opened the door and

suddenly ILantang Hidung grabbed her. The giant kidnapped her and brought her to his house in

the jungle.

When her mother arrived, she was so shocked. The door was opened and her daughter was not

home. She ran and cried. While she was looking for her daughter, she met a man. He was beating

a cat. She felt sorry. She bought the cat from the man and kept the cat. Then she continued her

journey, this time she saw a mouse was beaten by a man. She saved and bought the mouse. Later,

she met a man who was beating a dog. Again, she saved and bought the dog. And finally she met

a man who was trying to kill a snake. She also saved and bought the snake.

It was already dark. The mother decided to go home. She would look for her daughter later in the

morning. At night, she remembered she remembered her daughter. She cried. The animals she

saved were looking at her. They were carious. The cat asked her.

"Why are you crying?"

The mother was surprised. The animals could talk like humans. She explained that a giant

kidnapped her daughter. The animals were so sorry. They wanted to reply her kindness. They

would free Ni Timun Mas from the giant.

The animals went to the jungle. They saw the giant was sleeping and Ni Timun Mas was tied

with a rope. They set a plan. The mouse would bit the rope. The cat would observe and told them

when the giant woke up. The dog and the snake were ready to attack the giant.

They started to do their plan. The mouse slowly bit the rope. It started to loosen up. Finally she

was free. Unfortunately, the giant woke up. The cat immediately told his friends. The mouse

asked Ni Timun Mas to follow him. The dog and the snake immediately attacked the giant. The

dog bit and the snake squeezed the giant, The giant was loosing so much blood. He finally died.

The animals and Ni Timun Mas arrived home. Her mother was very happy. She did not

worry animorebecause the giant was dead, Since then, Ni Timun Mas, her mother and the

animals lived peacefully. ***

The Legend of Singaraja

Folklore from Bali

SRI Sagening was the king of Klungkung Kingdom, Bali. He had a lot of wives. His last wife

was Ni Luh Pasek. She was the most beautiful wife and that made the other wives were jealous.

They often told bad things to the king. Sadly, the king was influenced and he finally asked

Ni Luh Pasek to leave the palace. Ni LuhPasek was very sad, but she had no other choice. She

became very sad when she knew that she was pregnant! Ni Luh Pasekarrived at a village. An old

man felt very sorry with her condition. His name was Jelantik Bogol. He was a holy man and had

supernatural power. He married Ni Luh Pasek. And when the baby was

born, Jelantik Bogol named him I Gusti Gede. He loved Igusti Gede just like his own son.

I Gusti Gede grew as a strong man. He also mastered a lot of skills such as martial arts and

supernatural power. His step father taught him the skills. One day his step father asked him to go

to a jungle in Den Hill. It was the place Ni Luh Pasek was born.Jelantik Bogol asked him to go

there to get more supernatural power. Before he left, his step father gave him two weapons, a

spear and a keris, it's a traditional wavy double-bladed dagger. I Gusti Gede did it. He went to

the Den Hill and meditated. While he was meditating, a spirit of the jungle came to him. The

spirit spoke to him.

"You will be a great king. Go to Panumbang beach, help the people there."

I Gusti Gede continued his journey. When he arrived at Panombangan Beach, there was an

incident. There was a ship from Bugis sinking at the beach. The people had tried to help, but they

did not succeed.

I Gusti Gede wanted to help. He asked the people to stay away from the ship. He prayed and

took out hos weapons. Suddenly, two big spirits came out of the spear and the keris.

I Gusti Gede asked the spirits to pull the sinking ships back to sea. The people could not see the

spirits. They only saw I Gusti Gede moving his hands. The spirits slowly pulled the ship. In just

a minute, a ship just back in the sea. The owner was very happy. He gave some of his wealth to I

Gusti Gede. People were amazed with his power. they named him as I Gusti Panji Sakti.

I Gusti Panji Sakti went back to Den Hill. He started to build a village. People came one by one.

I Gusti panjiSakti protected them from bad people. Slowly the village became a kingdom. I

Gusti Panji Sakti became the king and he named the kingdom as Sukasada.

sukasada became a big kigdom, I Gusti Panji Sakti planned to make another kingdom. He

opened up a new area. It was full of buleleng trees. Therefore he named the kingdom

as Buleleng Kingdom.

He also build a great palace. People named it Singaraja. Singa means lion and Raja means king.

With his power I Gusti Panji Sakti was like a lion. He always protected his people from bad

people. While he became a king, Buleleng Kingdom was safe and prosperous. ***

The Legend of Catu Island

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago there was a village in Bali. The people worked as farmers. One of the was Jurna.

He was a diligent farmer. He always had a great harvest. However he was never satisfied. He

wanted to have better and better harvest.

"I will promise to gods. If they give me better harvest than I have now, I will give them offerings

and I will share the harvest to the neighbors," said Jurna to his wife.

"I agree, But remember, you have to keep your promise," said his wife.

Soon, Jurna had better harvest. He had more rice than he had before. He was happy. And as

promised, he prepared offerings to the gods and he also shared to his neighbors. They were very

happy.

Jurna was not satisfied. He wanted to have better and better and more harvest. Therefore he

promised to gods that he would double his offerings and his sharing to the neighbors.

His wish came true. His harvest was much better than before. The other farmers were amazed.

They were also very thankful because he shared his harvest to them.

One day, Jurna went to his rice field. When he arrived, he saw a pile of soil on the ground. It

looked like acatu. Catu was made of coconut shell. People used catu to measure the amount of

rice. At home, Jurnatalked about a soil which looked like a catu to his wife. She had an idea.

"Let's make catu from rice," she said. Jurna agreed. Later they formed the rice just like catu. On

the following day, Jurna went to his rice field. He saw the soil catu was getting bigger.

"Hmm...I will make rice catu bigger than this," said Jurna himself. He asked his wife to make

bigger ricecatu. He felt very satisfied. He wanted to show his rise catu to his neighbors. He

hoped that his neighbors would prise him as a rich man. And they did! All the neighbors praised

him. Jurna became arrogant. On the next day, Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the

soil catu were not getting bigger and bigger. But he was wrong. Strangely, the soil catu was

bigger.

"Don't worry, I have much rice. I can make rice catu bigger," said Jurna arrogantly. While he

was making the rice catu, he was thinking how the neighbors would prise him.

And his wish came true. All the neighbors were so amazed by the size of the rice catu. They all

said thatJurna was very rich. Jurna became more arrogant.

Then Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu would stop growing. But he was wrong.

Again, it became much bigger than before. Jurna was really upset. He made rice catu bigger than

before.

It always repeated. Every time he went to his rice field he always found the soil catu became

bigger and bigger.

His wife always reminded him to stop making rice catu. She said that their stock was getting

lesser and lesser. She asked him to stop wasting the rice.

But Jurna ignored her. He was only thinking how he could make his rice catu bigger than the

soil catu. Soon he lost all of his rice. He became poor. He regretted his bad behaviour.

Meanwhile the soil catubecame very big. It was like a hill. People then named it as Catu Hill

or Bukit Catu. ***

Putri Luh Cendrasari

Folklore from Bali

PRABU Maha Sila was a king. He had a beautiful daughter. Her name wasPutri Luh Cendrasari.

Many young men fell in love with her. They wanted to propose her to be their wife.

The king asked his daughter to choose carefully. Some of the men were princes from other

kingdom. The king did not want to make the men disappointed and it would start a war.

Putri Luh Cendrasariunderstood. She held a competition. She would marry a man who could

bring her the eyes and the scales of a white dragon. All the participants agreed. They started to

look for a white dragon.

It was not easy to find a white dragon. Some of them climbed the mountains and some of them

swam in the sea. However they still could not find the white dragon. One by one the participants

gave up.

One of the participants was Manik Angkeran. He was not a prince. He was just a

villager. Manik Angkeranreally wanted to marry Putri Luh Cendrasari. Actually the princess also

fell in love with Manik Angkeran.

She really hoped he could win the copetition. Manik Angkeran went to his teacher in his cave.

The teacher was meditating. Manik Angkeran told his teacher about Putri Luh Cendrasari and the

competition.

"What will you do to win the competition?" asked the teacher.

"I will do anything, Master. If I have to sacrifice my soul, yes... I will do it,

said Manik Angkeran.

"I really admire your persistence. I can see that you really love her. And I also really love

you, ManikAngkeran. And I will do anything to make you happy."

The teacher continued, "Actually I am a white dragon. Gods allowed me to be human," said the

teacher.

Later an amazing things happened. The teacher slowly turned into a white

dragon. Manik Angkeran was very surprised. He did not know that his teacher actually a white

dragon.

The white dragon took out his eyes and shook his body. The scales fell off. He gave his eyes and

his scales to Manik Angkeran. Then the white dragon disappeared. He went back to heaven.

Manik Angkeran was very sad. He lost his beloved teacher. He immediately went to the palace.

The princess was happy. The winner was Manik Angkeran. They soon got married.

Not long after that the princess was pregnant. Everybody was happy except Manik Angkeran. He

knew hehad to fulfill his promise. He would die soon.

Manik Angkeran was talking to Putri Luh Cendrasari. Suddenly he fell

down. Putri Luh Cendrasari saw the gods took manik Angkeran's spirit.

She cried. She asked gods not to take her husband. She told gods that she wanted to follow her

husband. She also wanted to die.

The Gods answered, "It's not your time to die. You are pregnant."

"But I really want to be with my husband," said the princess.

Actually the gods did not want to take Manik Angkeran's spirit. They just want to test the

princess if she really loved him, knowing that he was just a villager, The gods answered her

request. Slowly ManikAngkeran came back to life.

He lived again. Since then Manik angkeran and Putri Luh Cendrasari lived happily ever after.***

Manik Angkeran

Folklore from Bali

A long time ago, lived a very rich family in Bali. The father was Sidi Mantra. He was very

famous for his supernatural power. He lived happily with his wife and his only child Manik

Angkeran. Manik Angkeran was a spoiled son. He also had a bad habit. He liked to gamble.

Because of his bad habit, his parents soon became poor. They always advised Manik Angkeran

to stop his bad habit, but he never listened to them. Instead he kept on begging for his parents to

give him a lot of money.

The parents then did not have the heart to see him begging. Sidi Mantra then went to Agung

Mountain. There lived a mighty dragon with his great supernatural power. He could provide

jewelries to those who could say the right prayers and ring the bell. Sidi Mantra had the bell and

he also knew the prayers.

"My name is Sidi Mantra. I have a problem. My son likes to gamble. He made me poor. And

now he asks a lot of money. I want to give him some, but now I want him to promise to stop his

bad behavior," explained Sidi Mantra after he met the dragon.

Sidi Mantra then said the prayers and rang the bell. Suddenly, jewelries came out from the

dragon's body. He was very happy and immediately brought the jewelries home. This time Sidi

Mantra wanted Manik Angkeran really to stop gambling.

The son then promised. But soon he broke the promise and he did not have any money again. He

heard that his father got the jewelries from the dragon living in Agung Mountain. So he stole his

father's bell then went there.

After arriving at Agung Mountain, Manik Angkeran rang the bell. The dragon knew him.

"I will give you anything you want but you have to promise to stop gambling. Remember the

karma!" then the dragon gave him the jewelries.

Manik Angkeran was very happy. Suddenly he had a bad idea. He wanted to kill the dragon and

stole all his jewelries. The dragon knew his plan and with his great power he killed Manik

Angkeran. Sidi Mantra was very sad. He asked the dragon to bring his son back to life. The

dragon agreed but they had to live in different places.

After a few moments, Manik Angkeran lived again. Then Sidi Mantra used a stick to make a big

line between them on the ground.

From the line, water flowed. Soon it became a river. Finally it became a strait. It separated Java

and Bali. People then named the strait as Bali Strait. ***