Cerita bahasa inggris : Keris mpu gandring

Keris mpu Gandring 

The king of Kediri Kingdom in East Java, Kertajaya thought himself as a deity, and he was opposed by the Brahmana (priests) caste. When he threated the Brahmanas, they ran to Tumapel and asked the ruler, Ken Arok, for his protection. Ken Arok thought that Kediri army would attack his territory, and ordered his troops to fortify.

Kediri army came to Tumapel as Arok was expecting. The Battle of Ganter, in 1222, was the end of Kediri Kingdom, then Ken Arok formed his own empire, Singosari.

Ken Arok proclaimed himself as the son of Shiva.

Historians has been argued on Ken Arok's new dynasty because his origin wasn't clear . Who is he? Why he could forma kingdom? Does he have a dark past?

After Kertajaya lost, the Kediri Kingdom was ruled by Tunggul Ametung.  He had a very beautiful wife, Ken Dedes. A statue in Leiden Museum, Netherlands, shows Ken Dedes asPrajnaparamitha, Goddess of Wise.
One day Ken Arok accidentaly saw Ken Dedes, then a wind hiked her gown. Suddenly Ken Arok got a vision, that he had to have Ken Dedes as his wife, at any risk.

Ken Arok decided to kill Tunggul Ametung.

He ordered a "keris" (a sacred short sword) to a priest, Mpu Gandring. It took a long time to make a "keris" because only englighted priest could make it, and they had to do some rituals for that.
Ken Arok was impatient to wait the keris to be done. His lust to Ken Dedes is getting bigger and bigger. He came up to Mpu Gandring to ask if the keris was completed. When Mpu Gandrig said no, Ken Arok kill him with that incompleted keris.

Before he died, Mpu Gandring cursed the keris.

Later, Ken Arok lent the keris to Kebo Ijo, a petty criminal Kebo Ijo was so proud. that he showed the keris to everyone. At night, Ken Arok stole the keris again, and he succesfully kill Tunggul Ametung. Kebo Ijo was framed as the killer, but before he could talk, Ken Arok killed him with the keris.

In the 5th year of his reign, a man called Anusapati wanted the throne of Singosari from Ken Arok. Ken Arok had abandoned Mpu Gandring's keris but Anusapati killed him with that. 

Ken Arok had a concubine named Ken Umang, and their son, Tohjaya decided the revenge.

At the 21th year of Anusapati's rule, Tohjaya invited Anusapati for gambling, and when Anusapati was having fun, Tohjaya killed Anusapati, again with Mpu Gandring's keris.

After Anusapati's death, his son Ranggawuni wanted the throne. Tohjaya sent Lembu Ampal to attack Ranggawuni and his companion, Mahesa Cempaka. Lembu Ampal realized that Ranggawuni was the right person to be the king, and they fought against Tohjaya. Tohjaya was killed with Mpu Gandring's keris.

Ranggawuni and Mahesa Cempaka realized that Mpu Gandring's keris would only make chaos and death, so they threw the keris to the Java Sea. Legend said that the keris turned to be a dragon.

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Cerita Bahasa inggris : Roro Jonggrang

Roro Jonggrang

Inside the northern chamber Shiva temple in Prambanan temple in Central Java, Indonesia, there is a stone statue of a beautiful woman.  She stands on a bull.  She wears a crown and jewelry.  Her body is slim.  Who is she?  There is no doubt that she is Durga Mahisasuramardini, a Hindu goddess.  But the Javanese people have their own story about her. Here is the story.

A long long time ago in central Java lived a wise king.  His name was Prabu Boko.  He had a beautiful daughter whose name was Roro Jonggrang.  They lived in a palace on top of a hill.  At present we can visit the ruins of the palace that is located about two miles south of Prambanan temple.  The palace is called kraton Boko. His country was so prosperous that another king was jealous. 

There was a neighboring kingdom under king Bandung Bondowoso.  One day king Bandung attacked Prabu Boko.  In a fierce fight King Boko was killed and his kingdom was conquered.  The young Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with Roro Jonggrang when he saw her beauty.  He wanted to marry her so he proposed her.  But Roro Jonggrang definitely did not want to marry someone who had murdered her father.  So she gave a difficult condition.

She told Bandung that she would marry him if he could build one thousand temples in one night.  Bandung was surprised but he was optimistic he could meet the condition.  He was a powerful king and he had many friends among the genie and spirits.  So he asked them for help.  With the help of those invisible beings Bandung built the temples.

Meanwhile Roro Jonggrang and her people kept an eye on Bandung.  When it was almost dawn Bandung and the genie had built nine hundred ninety nine temples.  Roro Jonggrang was very worried.   If Bandung could meet her condition, she had to marry him.  Then she had a bright idea.  She ordered her people to make noise and lights.  Women were ordered to cook and make noise by hitting kitchen utensils.  Men were also ordered to make noise around the temples.  Then the genie thought that daylight had come.  They were afraid of the sunlight so they left immediately.  Without their help Bandung was unable to finish the temple.

Bandung was very angry.  He knew that it was a dirty trick from Roro Jonggrang.  Then he cursed Roro Jonggrang into a statue.  The statue of Roro Jonggrang is now inside the northern chamber of the main temple which was dedicated to Shiva in Prambanan temple.

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Cerita Bahasa inggris : Nyi Roro Kidul

Nyi Roro Kidul

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Kadita. Because of her beauty she was called Dewi Srengenge which mean The beautiful sun. Her father was King Munding Wangi. Although he had a beautiful daughter he always unhappy because he always expected to have a son. The King decided to merry Dewi Mutiara, and he had a son from her. He was very happy. Dewi Mutiara wanted her son to become a king in the future so she must make sure for it. Dewi mutiara came to the king and asked him to send away his daughter. Of course, the king did not agree. "It is ridiculous, I will not allow any body doing such cruel thing to my daughter", said King Munding Wangi. When she heard the answer, Dewi mutiara smiled and said a sweet thing until the king has not anger anymore. However, she kept her bad intention deep in her heart.

In the morning before the sun raised, Dewi Mutiara sent her maid to call a black magician. She wanted the black magician to curse Kadita, her step daughter. " I want her beautiful body full with scabies and itch. If you succeeded I will reward you with the present you never thought before". The black magician did the queen order, in the night Kadita body has been full with scabies and itch. When She waked up , she found her body was smell stinky and have a ulcer all over her body. The beautiful princess cried and did not know what to do. 

When The King heard he was very sad, he invited many physician to cure her daughter illness. Day by the day nobody could cure her daughter. He realized that her daughter illness it was not a ordinary illness someone must send a curse or magic spell. His problem became more difficult when the Queen Dewi Mutiara forced him to send away her daughter. "Your daughter will bring a bad luck to whole country, said Dewi Mutiara. The king did not want her daughter become a bad rumour in whole country. Finally he must agree to send her only daughter to leave the country.
 

The poor princess went alone, she didn't know to where she should go. She almost could not cry anymore. She had a nobble heart. She did not have any bad feeling with her step mother, instead she always asked the God to accompany her passed her suffer.
 

Almost seven day and seven night she has walked until she came to south ocean. She looked at the ocean. It was so clean and clear, unlike other ocean which have a blue or green colour. She jumped onto the water and swim. Suddenly when the south ocean water touched her skin there was a miracle happened. Her ulcer has gone and there was no sign that she has ever had a scabies or itch. Even more she became more beautiful than before. Not only that she has a power to command whole of the south ocean. Now she became a fairy called Nyi Roro Kidul or The Queen of South Ocean who lived forever.
 

This is the most spectacular legend until now in the modern life even when you read this story, many people from Indonesia or from other country has admitted that they have met the beautiful fairy queen wear a traditional dress of Java. One of the famous beach hotel has made a suit room specially for her.

Written In Indonesia  by : Soemanto, B. 1998. Cerita Rakyat Dari Yogyakara 2, Seri Pendidikan Budaya, PT Grasindo. Translated by Anonym.

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Cerita bahasa inggris : Keong Mas

Keong mas

Once upon a time, there was a couple living in a palace. They were Prince Raden Putra and Dewi Limaran. Prince Raden Putra's father was the king of the kingdom.

One day, Dewi Limaran was walking around in the palace garden. Suddenly she saw a snail. It was ugly and disgusting.

"Yuck!" said Dewi Limaran and then she threw it away into a river.

She did not know that the snail was actually an old and powerful witch. She could transform herself into anything. The witch was angry to Dewi Limaran. The witch put a spell on her and changed her into a golden snail. The witch then threw it away into the river.

The golden snail was drifting away in the river and got caught into a net. An old woman was fishing and used her net to catch some fish. She was surprised to see a golden snail in her net. She took it and brought it home. When the old woman woke up in the morning, she was surprised that the house was in the good condition. 

The floor was mopped. And she also had food on the table. She was thinking very hard.

"Who did this to me? The person is very kind." It happened again and again every morning.

The old woman was very curious. One night she decided to stay up late. She was peeping from her room to know who cooked for her. Then, she could not believe what she saw. The golden snail she caught in the river turned into a beautiful woman. The old woman approached her.

"Who are you, young girl?"

"I am Dewi Limaran, Ma'am. A witch cursed me. I can change back as a human only at night," explained Dewi Limaran.

"The spell can be broken if I hear the melody from the holy gamelan," continued Dewi Limaran.

The old woman then rushed to the palace. She talked to Prince Raden Putra about her wife.

Prince Raden Putra was so happy. He had been looking for his wife everywhere. 

He then prayed and meditated. He asked the gods to give him the holy gamelan. He wanted to break the witch's spell. After several days praying and meditating, finally gods granted his wish. He immediately brought the holy gamelan to the old woman's house. He played it beautifully. And then amazingly the golden snail turned into the beautiful Dewi Limaran.

The couple was so happy that they could be together again. They also thanked the old woman for her kindness. As a return, they asked her to stay in the palace.

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Cerita bahasa inggris : Telaga Warna

Telaga Warna 

Long, long ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king. People called their king His Majesty Prabu. Prabu was a kind and wise king. No wonder if that country was prosperous. There’s no hunger in this kingdom.

It was a very happy condition. But it was a pity that Prabu and his queen hadn’t got any children. It made the royal couple very, very sad. Some old men and women who was respected by Prabu suggested the king to adopt a child. But Prabu and the queen didn’t agree. “No, thank you. But for us, our own daughter or son is better than adopted children.”

The queen was very sad. She often cried. That was why Prabu decided to go. He went to the jungle. There he prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His dream came true. A few months later, the queen got pregnant. All people in the kingdom felt happy. They sent many presents to the palace to express their happiness.

Nine months later a princess was born. People sent their presents again as a gift to a little princess. This baby grew as a beautiful teenager then.

Prabu and Queen loved their daughter so much. They gave what ever she wanted. It made Princess a very spoiled girl. When her wish couldn’t be realized, she became very angry. She even said bad things often. A true princess wouldn’t do that. Even though the princess behaved badly, her parents loved her, so did the people in that kingdom.

Day by day, the princess grew more beautiful. No girls could compare with her. In a few days, Princess would be 17 years old. So, people of that kingdom went to palace. They brought many presents for her. Their presents gift were very beautiful. Prabu collected the presents. There were really many presents. Then Prabu stored them in a building. Some times he could take them to give to his people.

Prabu only took some gold and jewels. Then she brought them to the goldsmith. “Please make a beautiful necklace for my daughter,” said Prabu. “My pleasure, Your Majesty,” the goldsmith replied. The goldsmith worked with all his heart and his ability. He wanted to create the most beautiful necklace in the world because he loved his princess.
The birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. When Prabu and queen appeared, people welcomed them happily. Prabu and his wife waved to their beloved people.

Cheers were louder and louder when the princess appeared with her fabulous pretty face. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu got up from his chair. A lady gave him a small and glamorous pillow. A wonderful necklace was on it. Prabu took that necklace. “My beloved daughter, today I give this necklace to you. This necklace is a gift from people in this country. They love you so much. They presented it for you to express their happiness, because you have growing to a woman. Please, wear this necklace,” said Prabu.

Princess accepted the necklace. She looked at the necklace in a glance. “I don’t want to accept it! It’s ugly!” shouted the princess. Then she threw the necklace. The beautiful necklace was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor

Everybody couldn’t say anything. They never thought that their beloved princess would do that cruel thing. Nobody spoke. In their silence people heard the queen crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was crying.

Then there was a miracle. Earth was crying. Suddenly, from the under ground, a spring emerged. It made a pool of water. The palace was getting full. Soon the place became a big lake. The lake sank all of the kingdom.

Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a small lake now. People called the lake “Talaga Warna”. It is mean “Lake of Colour”. It’s located in Puncak, West Java. On a bright day, the lake is full of colour. So beautiful and amazing. These colors come from shadows of forest, plants, flowers, and sky around the lake. But some people said that the colours are from the princess’s necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.

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Cerita bahasa inggris : Lutung kasarung dan Seorang putri

Lutung kasarung dan seorang putri

A long time ago in west Java there was a kingdom.  The king was Prabu Tapak Agung.  He had two beautiful daughters and no son.  Purba Rarang was his first daughter, and Purba Sari was his second daughter.  When the king was about to pass away he gave the throne to his second daughter, Purba Sari. Purba Rarang was very disappointed.  She thought that she deserve to replace her father as the ruler.  She discussed the situation with her fiancé, Indrajaya.

Then she got an evil idea.  She asked a witch to cast a spell to Purba Sari.  Soon after that Purba Sari had a strange skin disease.  There were black dots on her skin.  She also had skin rash.  Consequently Purba Rarang had a reason to tell people that her sister had a great sin and she was cursed by god.  She told her people that such a person did not qualify to be a leader.

After that she ordered the army to send Purba Sari to a wood and had her exiled there.  The army then built a wooden house for Purba Sari in a wood.  So Purba Sari lived in the wood.  As there were many animals in the wood she got along with them well.

Her best friend was a black monkey.  She called the monkey Lutung Kasarung.  Lutung was very attentive and very kind to her.  He gave fruits and vegetables to Purba Sari.

Lutung Kasarung was not an ordinary monkey.  He often meditates like human being.  One night when there was a full moon he sat meditating.  He was praying to God. Suddenly a spring emerged beside Lutung. It became bigger and bigger and finally it became a lake.  The water was very clear and aromatic.

The next day Lutung came to see Purba Sari.  He asked her to follow him.  Lutung took her to the lake and asked her to take a bath.  When Purba Sari took bath in the lake something strange happened.  Her skin disease was gone and her smooth fair skin was back.  Purba Sari was very happy and thankful to God. 

Meanwhile Purba Rarang who lived in the palace wanted to see her sister.  So she went to the wood with her soldiers.  She was very surprised when she saw Purba Sari was in good condition and looked beautiful.  Her evil heart led her to find a way to beat her sister. Then she asked her sister to measure the length of their hair.  The one who had the longest hair would win.  Purba Sari’s hair proved to be longer than Purba Rarang’s.

Purba Rarang was very jealous to her sister.  She thought hard to find a way to beat Purba Sari.  Then she got another idea.  She asked her sister to compare their fiancé.  Purba Rarang was sure that she would win because Indra Jaya was very handsome.  She was sure that Purba Sari did not have any fiancé.  When Purba Rarang showed Indra Jaya, Purba Sari was confused.  So she just appointed Lutung Kasarung as her fiancé.

Purba Rarang laughed out loud.

‘So your fiancé is a monkey?’

Lutung Kasarung then sat on the ground.  He was meditating and praying to God. Then amazingly he changed into a very handsome man.  Initially Lutung Kasarung was a handsome man who was punished by God and became a monkey.  After some years that day he got clemency from God and he became human being again.

Purba Rarang was very surprised.  He had no choice but to accept that her sister was better than her.  She asked for apology.  Purba Sari gave her apology.  After that they went back to palace.  Purba Sari became the queen and married to Lutung Kasarung.

written by : Bbudoyono

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Cerita Bahasa inggris : Danau Maninjau

Danau maninjau

Long ago, in an area in west sumatra, there is a very active volcano named Mount Tinjau. In one village at the foot of Tinjau's brothers lived ten people consisting of nine men and one woman. Ordinary citizens about their call Bujang Sembilan. These ten brothers are Kukuban, Kudun, Bayua, Malintang, Galapuang, Balok, Batang,Bayang, and the youngest man named Kaciak. While their brother the youngest was a girl named Siti Rasani, nicknamed Sani. Both their parents died long ago, so Kukuban as the eldest son became the head of household. All decisions in his hand.

Tenth brothers lived in a house of their parents' heritage. To make ends meet, they worked on farms large enough legacy of their parents. They are very skilled at farming, because they diligently to help his father and mother when they were alive. In addition, they are also guided by their uncle named Datuk Limbatang, which they called Engku familiar.

Datuk Limbatang is a mamak in the village and has a son named Giran. As a mamak, Datuk Limbatang have great responsibility to educate and watched the life of its citizens, including the nephew's tenth man. For that, every other day, he visited the house Kukuban brothers to teach them farming skills and various customs procedures for the area. Not infrequently Datuk Limbatang also took his wife and son to participate with him.

On one day, when Datuk Limbatang with his wife and visited the house of Bujang Sembilan, Sani accidentally exchanged Giran. Apparently, both boys and girls are equally placed liver. Sani was invited to meet Giran in a field on the riverbank. With hearts pounding, Giran even express his feelings to Sani.

Datuk Limbatang wanted to marry his son with Sani. But the elder brother Sani, Kukuban, did not agree because Giran has been embarrass him in the martial arts arena. But eventually Datuk Limbatang not force.

One day, Giran found treat wounds in the thigh Sani. But people think they do custom distortion. Sani and Garin brought to court. They try to convince citizens that they did not do anything.

After that, of the second Giran lifted his hand to the sky and praying. "My God! Please hear and grant our prayers. If we were really guilty, destroy our bodies in the water hot crater of this mountain. However, if we are not guilty, this mountain letuskanlah and curses Bujang Sembilan to fish!"

It turned out that prayer was answered. Sani and Giran jump down and submerged in the water crater. Mountain erupted, Bujang Sembilan into fish. Over time the crater of Mount View expanded and formed a lake which we now know as Lake Maninjau

Sumber : the legend of maninjau lake

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