Folklore from East Java

Folklore from East Java

PANJI SEMIRANG

Folklore from East Java

KURIPAN was a big kingdom. The king had a son. His name was Raden Inu Kertapati. The prince was engaged with a princess from Daha kingdom. Her name was Dewi Candra Kirana. One day, Raden Inu Kertapati planned to visit Daha kingdom. He wanted to meet his fiance.
Raden Inu Kertapati went to Daha kingdom with his guards. While they were riding the horses,suddenly a group of people from Asmarantaka stopped them. The leader was Panji Semirang. Upon hearing their place of origin, Raden Inu Kertapati and his guards were alert. They heard that Asmarantaka was a place of thieves.
Panji Semarang would like to meet him. Raden Inu Kertapati agreed. However, Panji Semirang greeted him nicely. Raden Inu Kertapati almost not believe it.
"Don't believe what you heard, Raden. We are not thieves," said Panji Semirang.
Raden Inu Kertapati felt so strange. He felt he already met and knew Panji Semirang for a long time. He was really familliar with Panji Semirang.
Raden Inu Kertapati then continued his trip to Daha kingdom. When he arrived, the king welcomed him nicely. The king was accompanied by his concubine. Dewi Liku, and their daughter. Her name Dewi Ajeng. However, his fiance was not there. He asked Dewi Liku, "Where is Dewi Candra Kirana?"
"Your fience is going crazy. She left the kingdom and went to the jungle."
While talking to Raden Inu, Dewi Liku put a spell on him. She was doing black magic to him. She would make Raden Inu Kertapati forget his fience. She wanted him to marry her daughter, Dewi Ajeng.
Her planned worked. The king set a wedding party. Dewi Ajeng and Dewi Liku were extremely happy. Suddenly people were screaming.
"Fire! Fire!"
Yes, the palace was on fire. Everybody ran for help. The soldiers were trying to extinguish the fire. And some of them were rescuing the king and his family.
While Raden Inu Kertapati was leaving the palace, his memory of Dewi Candra Kirana came back. He and his guards were looking for his fience. He then remembered something. He knew why he was so familiar with Panji Semirang. He really looked like Dewi Candra Kirana. He was so sure that Panji Semirang was Dewi Candra Kirana!
Raden Inu could not find Panji Semirang anywhere. He finally arrived in Galenggang kingdom. The people there were restless. A group of thieves were stealing their property. Raden Inu and his guards helped the people. They were fighting with the tieves.
Raden Inu and his guards won the fight. The thieves ran away.
The king of Gelanggang kingdom was happy. To honour his great help, he held a party. He asked a poet to perform. His name was Jaka Asmara. His poetry was titled A very Sad Love Story. Raden Inu was touched. He felt that the poetry was about his life.
He was looking at Raden Asmara carefully. He felt so familiar with him. Suddenly he realized that Raden Asmara was Dewi Candra Kirana. She was also under the spell. The spell broke when she met Raden Inu. They were happy. Raden Inu asked her to go to his home in Kuripan kingdom. Later, they got married and lived happily ever after.***

LEMBUSURA

Folklore from East Java

BRAWIJAYA was the king of Majapahit Kingdom. He had a daughter, her name was Dyah Ayu Pusparani. She was very beautiful. Many young men fell in love with her. However, she always refused their marriage proposals. King Brawijaya was sad. He really wanted to see his daughter to get married.
“You have to get married soon, my daughter,” said King Brawijaya. He continued, “I’m getting older, I know you are looking for a great husband. I have an idea, I’m going to hold a competition.
If a man can stretch Kyai Garudayaksa’s bow and lift Kyai Sekardelima’s gong, he
will be your husband.
Princess Dyah Ayu Pusparani was speechless. She knew her father really wanted her to get married. She just hoped that she would marry a great man. She knew the bow and the gong had supernatural power. So the winner must had supernatural power too.
One by one men tried to stretch the bow and lifted the gong. No one succeeded.
They were injured, their hands and backs were broken.
King Brawijaya planned to stop the competition. He thought no one could win the competition. However, before he stopped it, a man came to him.
“Don’t stop the competition now. I haven’t tried it yet.”
Everybody was looking at him. He was very strange. His head was unlike human’s head. He had a bull’s head.
“What’s your name?” asked the king.
“My name is Lembusura.”
Then he tried to stretch the bow, he succeeded. The next test, he had to lift the gong. Again, he succeeded. Everybody applauded. They all were amazed by his power. However, Princess Dyah
Ayu Pusparani was sad.
She never thought that she would marry a man who had a bull’s head.
King Brawijaya was also sad. But he had no choice. He had to keep his promise.
Later, he asked his men to prepare a wedding ceremony.
The ceremony was getting closer and Princess Dyah Ayu Pusparini was really sad. She really wanted to cancel the wedding. She was thinking very hard. Finally she had an idea. She told
his father.
“Father, ask Lembusura to make a well on the top of Kelud Mountain. The well is for me to take a bath,” said Princess Dyah Ayu Pusparini.
King Brawijaya understood the plan.
He asked Lembusura to go to the top of Kelud Mountain. Lembusura agreed.
When he arrived, Lembusura dug the ground. He was digging until the hole was deep. Suddenly, some soldiers pushed him into the hole. They buried him alive. Lembusura was helpless. He could not do anything. Before he died, he cursed the King.
“King Brawijaya, wait for my revenge. I will destroy your kingdom!” cursed Lembusura.
Everybody was so scared. They really believed that Lembusura would revenge to the kingdom. Until now, every time Kelud Mountain erupts, people say that Lembusura is doing his revenge!***

JANTUR AND MENUR

Folklore from East Java

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 don't 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 first 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 floor. 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. ***

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. ***

JANTUR AND MENUR

Folklore from East Java

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 fi rst, 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 sonÖ 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. ***

THE TWIN MASKS

Folklore from East Java

A long time ago in East Java, there was a kingdom named Bintolo. The king had a very beautiful princess.
Many young men fell in love with her and proposed her to be their wife.
But the princess always refused the wedding proposal politely.
She always said that she did not want to get married yet.
In the small village, there was a young man who lived with his mother. His father died a long time ago.
The man’s job was a mask maker. He also fell in love with the princess but he did not have any courage to propose her. The man was ugly.
“How can I propose her? The princess even refused the proposal from handsome and rich men,” that’s what this ugly man always thought.
But he could not stop thinking about her. Days and nights the mask maker always thought the beautiful princess. He did not want to eat and he could not sleep either. Soon, the man was ill.
And that made his mother really worried about him.
“What's a matter with you? Is there something wrong? Please tell me.”
“I.. I... love the princess, Mother. But I’m not confident enough to express my feelings to her.
I’m ugly and I’m sure the princess doesn’t want to marry me.”
The mother replied. “You are a great mask maker. Make a mask of a handsome face and wear it when you propose the princess.”
The man thought it was a great idea. He immediately made the best mask. And when the mask was finished, he wore it. Amazingly the mask really looked like a real face. So he went to the palace confidently.
“Your majesty, I’m here to propose your daughter,” said the man to the king.
“Stay here. I will talk to my daughter,” said the king.
The king then told his daughter that there was a very handsome man wanted to propose her.
“It’s all up to you, Dear. If you love him, you can marry him,” said the king.
And when the princess met the man, she fell in love with him at the first sight. She thought that he was the most handsome man in the world.
Later the princess told the king that she accepted the man’s wedding proposal.
At first the man was very happy. His dream finally came true, he could marry the girl of his dream. However, he realized that the princess did not fall in love with him. But she fell in love with his mask. He then planned to tell the truth to the princess and the king. The man was ready with all the risks.
After the man told the truth about the mask, the princess was not angry.
“It is true I love you at the first time we met, because you are so handsome. But after I know you so well, I love you the way you are. Now, I want you to make the same mask you are wearing. I want to wear it in our wedding,” said the princess.
During the wedding, all the guests were surprised to see the bride and the groom were wearing the same masks. And that inspired some people to create a dance and named it Joged Topeng Kembar or Twin Masks Dance. Until now people in Lumajang, East Java, still do the dance. ***

THE LEGEND OF BANYUWANGI

Folklore from East Java

ONCE upon a time in SindurejaKingdom, King Sidareja was talking to his vice regent, his name was Patih Sidapaksa. The King asked Patih Sidapaksa to give him the flesh of a young deer.

Patih Sidapaksa took the mission.

When he arrived at the jungle, he saw a young deer. He pointed his arrow to the deer. Unfortunately, he missed the target. He ran after the deer. He was running and running until he arrived at a hut. Patih Sidapaksaknocked the door.

A young and beautiful girl opened the door. She was very beautiful. Patih Sidapaksa fell in love at the first sight.“How can I help you Sir?” asked the girl.
"I...I...am looking for a young deer", Patih Sidapaksa was speechless.

"You can find a lot of deer in the jungle. But it s already late and it will be dark soon. You can continue hunting tomorrow morning. You can come and spend the night here. Both my father and I are happy to welcome you", said the girl.

Patih Sidapaksa accepted the offer.

He introduced himself. The girl's name was Sri Tanjung and her father's name was Ki Buyut.

In the morning, Patih Sidapaksa continued his hunting and after he got a young deer he returned to the hut.

He came back because he wanted to marry Sri Tanjung.
Luckily, Sri Tanjung also loved him.

Later Patih Sidapaksa asked them to join him to the palace.

The King was very happy Patih Sidapaksa brought him a young deer.

However he was also amazed by the beauty of Sri Tanjung.

The King also fell in love with her. The King had a bad plan. He wanted to marry Sri Tanjung. So he gave Patih Sidapaksa a very difficult mission. The King asked Patih Sidapaksa to give him three golden rings from Indran Kingdom. Patih Sidapaksa knew the mission was more difficult than hunting a young deer. Indran Kingdom was not an ordinary kingdom. It was a kingdom of criminals! No one ever came back after going there. However he still accepted the mission. And before he left, he asked Sri Tanjung to wait for him.

After Patih Sidapaksa left, the King approached Sri Tanjung. He proposed Sri Tanjung to marry him. He promised Sri Tanjung to be a queen. She did not accept the proposal. She loved PatihSidapaksa and she already promised to wait for him. The King was angry and put her in the jail.
Luckily, Patih Sidapaksa could do the mission and came back to the palace. Sadly he could not meet Sri Tanjung. The King lied. He said Sri Tanjung was in jail because she asked the King to marry her. The King said Sri Tanjung wanted to be a queen.

At first Patih Sidapaksa believed the King. But Sri Tanjung then said.

"Throw me to the river. If the river smells good, it means I'm innocent. However if the river smells bad, then the King is lying", said Sri Tanjung.

Patih Sidapaksa then threw her into the river.

Amazingly, the river smelled good.
Patih Sidapaksa was very sorry. Sri Tanjung died. He regretted not to believe her.

When the river smelled good, people instantly said Banyuwangi. Banyu means water and Wangimeans good smell. Since then the place is named Banyuwangi. ***

UNGRATEFUL SON

A Folktale from East Java

JATUR and Menur are twins. Jantur is a boy and Menur is a girl. Jantur and Menur are very different. Jantur is lazy and gets angry easily. When Jantur is angry, he always says bad things. On the other hand, Menur is kind, diligent, and patient girl.
When their parents are working in a paddy field, Jantur as Menur to cook. He is hungry. Menur then cooks for her brother. After the food is served, Jantur eats. Suddenly he throws the food on the floor. “What food is this? Yuck! It’s not delicious!”
Menur cries. She is very sad. But she is not angry to her brother. Slowly she collects the food on the floor and put it in the trash bin.
When their parents return home, Menur tells about the food. The father advises Jantur, “Why did you do that to your sister? She already helped you.”
Jantur is angry, “I don’t care! Her food is not delicious! I hate her.”
“Lease don’t say that. She is your sister, “ father tries to calm him down.
“Why did you defend her? Why didn’t you support me? I f you don’t love me anymore, go away! I hate you all!”
Jantur is very angry. He cannot control himself. Menur and her parents then leave the house. They now stay in a mountain. Everyday they pray to God to make Jantur becomes a good person.
Not long after that, Jantur suffers a disease. His body is full of umors. It’s very bad. Nobody wants to see him. He looks very ugly. Jantur realizes that God punishes him. He regrets. Then he leaves his house to look for his parents and his sister.
Finally he finds them. He asks for their forgiveness. “I’m sorry, Mom and Dad. I’m sorry Menur. I have done bad things to you all. Now please forgive me,” Jantur says.
“We all already forgave you, Son. Everyday we pray for you. Now God hears our pray. Come here…” Mom then hugs Jantur.
Suddenly all the tumors in Jantur’s body are gone! Jantur is very happy. “Thank you, God! Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Menur. I promise I will be a good person.***

PUTRI KEMUNING

A folktale from East Java

Putri Kemuning and her mother live in a jungle. They are poor. Putri Kemuning always helps her mother collect woods in the jungle and sell them in the market.
In the jungle, Putri Kemuning has animal friends. One day, Putri Kemuning's mother is ill. Putri Kemuning is very sad because she does not have enough money to buy medicine. She then collects many woods and plans to sell them. She wants to spend the money to buy medicine.
While She collects the woods, Putri Kemuning meets her animal friend, the rabbit. He is worried because Putri Kemuning looks very sad.
Putri Kemuning tells the problem to the rabbit.
"I can help you. Take this ring and then sell it," says the rabbit.
"Is this your ring?" asks Putri Kemuning.
"No. This is the King Ngarancang Kencono's ring. I fell when he washunting here."
Putri Kemuning hesitates. She really needs the money but it is not her ring. Finally she says, "No, I have to return this ring to the king."
Putri Kemuning then goes to see the king at his palace.
"What is your name and what is your purpose here?" says the king.
"My name is Putri Kemuning. I want to return your ring," says Putri Kemuning.
"Thank you very much. Now, I want to give you something. What do you want?"
"I don't anything. I just want to go home. My mother is very ill," says Putri Kemuning.
"You are a very kind girl. Now, take this gift,"
Putri Kemuning goes home. When she arrives, Putri Kemuning tells her mother about the king's ring. Her mother is very proud of her. When they open the gift, they see a bag full of gold coins. They are very happy because they can buy medicine. ***

CINDELARAS

Folklore from East Java

RADEN Putra was the king of Jenggala kingdom. He had a beautiful queen. Besides that, the king also had a beautiful concubine. Unlike the queen, the concubine had bad personalities. She was jealous with the queen, so she planned to make the queen leave the palace. By doing so, she could be the new queen.

The concubine asked the palace healer to help her do the bad plan. They told the king that the queen wanted to poison him. The king was angry. He sent the queen to a jungle. It is the punishment for her. There was one condition that the king did not know, the queen waspregnant.

After several months lived in the jungle, the queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Cindelaras. He grew up as a nice, healthy, and handsome young man. One day, while Cindelaras helped her mother to collect some fire woods, an eagle dropped an egg. He took the egg and carefully took care of it.

The egg hatched into a chick and then it became a strong rooster. The rooster had a magical skill. It was very powerful and skilful in fighting with other roosters. Besides that, the rooster could also sing. The song was about Cindelaras and his father, Raden Putra. “My master is Cindelaras. He lives in the jungle. His father is a king. His name is Raden Putra.” The rooster often sang the song.

When Cindelaras first heard that song, he ignored it. However, he could not stand it anymore. He talked to his mother about it. His mother told him the whole story. Cindelaras was very surprised. He decided to go to the palace to meet the king, his father. Cindelaras also brought his rooster to go to the palace.

On the way to go there, he met some people. They asked him to fight his rooster with their roosters. Cindelaras’ rooster won the fight. He won again and again. Cindelaras great rooster was heard by King Raden Putra. So, he invited Cindelaras to the palace to fight his rooster with the king’s rooster.

The king made a bet. If Cindelaras’ rooster won the fight, he would get all king’s jewellery. However, if Cindelaras’s rooster lost, he would be punished in a jail. The two roosters fought bravely. In just few minutes, Cindelaras’ rooster won the fight! Then, the rooster sang the song.

The king was surprised, he asked who Cindelaras was. He then told the king about her mother living in the jungle. Later, the palace healer admitted his mistake. He said that the queen was innocent. She never tried to kill the king. The king was very angry. He ordered the concubine to be sent to jail. The king immediately went to the jungle to pick up his wife. He apologized for sending her to the jungle and made her the queen again. ***

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