Jantur and Menur

JANTUR and Menur were twins. Jantur was a boy and Menur was a girl and they had different personalities. Jantur was lazy, he got angry easily. He always said bad words when he was angry. However, Menur was a very kind, diligent, patient and always helped their parents. She always reminded her brother to behave well.
“Menur! Where are you? Iím hungry!
Give me some food!” said Jantur.
“Be patient Jantur Iím still cooking, the food is not ready yet. Why donít you help me mop the floor? Father and mother will be home soon,” said
Menur.
“Arrrgggh! What took you so long?
I’m hungry, you are so slow!” said Janur.
And he said bad words to Menur.
Menur was very sad. She cried. When their parents went home, Menur told them about Janturís bad behavior.
Her father then advised him. However,
Jantur did not want to listen to him. He ignored him, and it was getting worse.
Jantur asked his parents and his sister to leave the house. They were very sad. They never thought that Jantur would ask them to leave the house.
After his parents and his sister left he house, Jantur lived alone. At fi rst he felt very happy because no one disturbed him. He could do anything he wanted. He even spent his parents’ money for bad things. When all the money was gone, he sold his parents animals, cows, goats, cocks and hens.
Meanwhile, Menur and her parents lived in another place. When they left home, they did not bring anything.
Because they worked very hard, they could build a new home and they had new animals.
They were rich.
How about Jantur? Soon all his parents’ wealth was gone. Jantur was lazy, he did not want to work. He wanted to have much money in an easy way. So he sold the last wealth, it was the house.
After Jantur sold the house, again, he spent the money foolishly. It was not surprising that Jantur became poor again.
He did not have any money and he did not have a house. His body was very thin. He suffered skin disease, his skin was full of black dots.
Jantur did not have a way to go, he just walked and walked. Finally, he arrived at his parents’ house.
Menur was in front of the house sweeping the fl oor. At first, they did not recognize each other. Menur thought that Jantur was a beggar.
“Are you hungry? Here, I have some food,” said Menur.
Jantur was happy. He was so hungry that he did not recognize his sister. However Menur knew him.
“Jantur? Is that you brother? Father, mother, Jantur is here!!” screamed
Menur.
“Jantur my son, what happened to you?” said his mother.
Jantur was surprised. “Mother, is that really you? Father, mother, and Menur! Please forgive me. I was punished by God.
I suffer an illness, I’m poor, and I don’t have a house to live. I have done bad things to you all. I promise I will be good,” promised Jantur.
The family now reunited. They have already forgiven Jantur and amazingly Jantur was cured. And as he promised, Jantur became a very good man. ***

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The Legend of Panekan
Folklore from East Java

“Where are you going?”
“I need some water for my cattle. They are thirsty.”
“Where are you going to find it?”
“I don’t know.”
It was a very common conversation for people in Magetan, East Java, a long time ago. They did not have enough water.
They needed water for their daily needs, such as taking a bath and washing dishes and clothes. They also needed water for their cattle and trees.
Actually they were quite lucky because the land was fertile. However, since they did not have enough water, the villagers could not plant a lot of trees. Therefore, the villagers sometimes had to walk very far away to fi nd water.
In every morning, the head of the village always asked some young men to find water. In one afternoon, the young men came home with good news.
“There was a water spring far from here. However, it was very difficult to go there.”
“Wol, who dares to go there?” asked the head of the village.
Some young men raised their hands.
“We will go there, Sir.”
Then those young men went to the water spring. they were right. The place was not easy to reach. They had to be very careful.
And finally they arrived. However, they saw a girl was there first. They were surprised. They all thought that a girl could not go there.
“Maybe she is not really human, maybe she is an angel,” said one man.
“Come on, let’s approach her,” said another man.
Strangely, before the men came to her, the girl disappeared.
“Look! She is over there!” he pointed to one place.
They immediately ran to come to her. Again, the girl disappeared.
“Look! What is that? It is shining!”
Exactly on the ground where the girl was standing, they found a big diamond. The diamond was
next to the well.
Then they brought home the diamond and a lot of water. When they showed the diamond to the head of the village, he said, “Our great great grand parents named this kind of diamond as Manikan.”
Then he continued. “Since the diamond was found next to the water spring. So let’s name the water spring as Manikan.”
Everybody agreed. Since then the area was named Manikan.
The word Manikan had changed into Panekan. And now Panekan has become a great area in East Java. The people are happy because they have fertile land. ***
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The Legend of Pamboang
Folklore from West Sulawesi

A long time ago, three men came to Majene, West Sulawesi. They wanted to open a new place. Those three men were brothers. They were I Lauase, I Lauwella, and I Labuqang.
They arrived in the beach. It was empty. No humans lived there. So the three brothers divided jobs among them.
I Lauase worked in the land. He wanted to open new fi elds for plantation. I Lauwella and I Labuqang worked on the beach. I Lauwella cleaned the beach from the seaweeds and I Labuqang covered the hole made by the crabs.
They worked hard everyday. And finally they succeeded. I Lauase had fields with so many trees, fruits and vegetables. I Lauwella and I Labuqang already cleaned the beach from the seaweeds and the covered the holes.
One by one people came to their place.
And slowly it became a new village.
The three brothers were the leaders of the village. They thought they had to fi nd a name for their village.
“I have an idea. Let’s name it Pallayarang Tallu,” said I Lauase.
“What does it mean,” asked I Lauwella.
“Well, Pallayarang means ship pole and Tallu means three,” explained I Lauase.
They all agreed. Since then they named the village as Pallayarang Tallu.
More and more people came to Pallayarang Tallu. The village was growing into a small town.
The name Pallayarang Tallu was so famous. One man was interested to know more about the new town. His name was Puatta Di Karena. He was from Passokkorang kingdom. He went to Pallayarang Tallu with many people.
They were refugees. Their kingdom was attacked by their enemy. They came to Pallayarang Tallu to ask for help.
The leader, Puatta Di Karena came to I Lauase’s house.
“Our kingdom is attacked. Can you help us?” asked Puatta Di Karena.
“I’m not the only leader here. I have to discuss with my brothers,” answered I Lauase.
Later, the three brothers held a meeting.
After that they met Puatta Di Karena to tell him about their decision.
“We cannot help you. We don’t have enough soldiers yet. You can see that
Pallayarang Tallu is a new town. There
are not so many people live here,” explained I Lauase.
“But we really need your help. Pallayarang Tallu is the nearest town from our kingdom. Besides that, the three of
you are very strong men. You can build this town. It means you have great power. I’m sure we can win
if you help us,” said Puatta Di Karena.
He continued, “If you help us, I will give you tambo.” Tambo means fee or money.
The three brothers then discussed.
They needed more money.
And the tambo could be used to build Pallayarang Tallu.
“When will you give us the tambo?” asked I Lauase.
“Next week,” answered Puatta Di Karena.
Then the people of Pallayarang Tallu helped them. They won! However Puatta Di Karena did not show up yet. He disappeared.
Nobody knew where he was. The people of Pallayarang Tallu always talked abou the tambo. Slowly the word tambo changed into tamboang, then changed into pamboang. Since then the people changed the name Pallayarang Tallu into Pamboang. Pamboang is an area in Majene, West Sulawesi.***