Cerita rakyat from West Kalimantan The Origin of Landak River Long time ago, lived a farmer and

his wife in a village by the side of a forest. They lived simply and they like to help other people, especially one who in afflictions. One night, the farmer and his wife were resting in their house. The farmer was sitting beside his sleeping wife. Suddenly, a white centipede came out from the wifes head. The farmer was amazed. He then followed the centipede until they reach a small pond not far from their house. Then the centipede suddenly disappeared. The farmer went home and found his wife still soundly asleep. In the morning, the wife told his husband about the dream she had last night. I was walking through a vast field, and I came to a lake. I saw a giant hedgehog in the lake. It was glaring at me, so I ran away. After he heard his wifes dream, the farmer went back to the small pond. In the pond, he saw something very shiny. He came to the shiny object and took it. It was a golden hedgehog statue. It was very beautiful. Its eyes were made of diamond. The farmer then brought the statue home. At night, the farmer had a dream. A giant hedgehog came to him, Please let me stay in your home. As return, I will give you everything you want. Just caress the statues head and say the prayer. There are two kinds of prayers, one is to start your wish and the second is to stop your wish. Now memorize the prayers. In the next day, the farmer told his wife about his dream. They really wanted to prove it. The farmer slowly caressed the statue's head. He said the prayer and asked for rice. Suddenly, rice came out of the mouth of the statue. The rice kept on coming out from the statue's mouth. The farmer immediately said the prayer to stop it. The rice then stopped coming out from the statue. The farmer and his wife then asked for other things, jewelry and other stuff they needed. They became very rich. But they still like to help other people. A lot of poor came to them for help. Unfortunately, a thief found out about the secret of the golden hedgehog statue. Pretending to be a poor asking for help, he stole the statue from the farmers house. The thief blurred to the district area of Ngabang. There was a drought in the area. The thief wanted sympathy from the people, so he said to them that he would provide them with water. The thief then caressed the hedgehog statue and said the prayer. Water came out of the statues mouth. All the people were so happy. But the water kept on coming out. The thief didnt know the prayer to stop the wish. People who saw the incident were really scared. They ran away to avoid the water as it was started to flood the area. The thief also wanted to run away, but he cannot move his legs. In his vision, there was a giant hedgehog holding both his legs. Water kept coming from the statue and slowly it became a river. The thief was drowned in the river. People then named the river as Hedgehog River or Sungai Landak.***

The Crying Stone

One upon a time, lived a poor old widow in a small village. She lived with her daughter. Her daughter was very beautiful but also very lazy and arrogant. She never helped her mother and didnt want to know what problem her mother had. Everyday, she put make up and wears her best clothes. She always wanted to look rich and beautiful. One day, the mother and her daughter went to the market to buy some food. At first, the daughter refused to accompany her mother, but finally she agreed. Ill go with you, but you must walk behind me, said the daughter. She didn't want to walk side by side with her mother. Although her mother was very sad, she agreed to walk behind her daughter.

On the way to the market, everybody admired the girl's beauty. But they were also curious. Behind the beautiful girl, there was an old woman with a simple dress. The girl and her mother looked very different. Hello, beautiful girl. Who is the old woman behind you? Is she your mother?" they asked. No, she is not my mother. She is my servant, the girl answered. Her mother was very sad to hear that, but she didn't say anything. She could understand that her daughter was ashamed. The girl and the mother met other people. Again they asked who the woman behind the beautiful girl. And again the girl answered that her mother is her servant. She always said that her mother is her servant every time people asked. At last, the mother cannot hold the pain anymore. She prayed to God to punish her daughter. Suddenly, the girl's leg turns into stone. Slowly, the process continues to the upper part of the girl's body. The girl was in panic. "Mother, please forgive me! Mother!" she cried and asked her mother to forgive her. But it's already too late. Her whole body finally becomes a big stone. Until now, people can still see tears falling down from the stone. People then call it batu menangis (it mean the crying stone).***

The Greedy Fisherman Folklore from West Kalimantan

A long time ago in Sintang, West Kalimantan, lived a fisherman with his family. The fisherman was poor. Everyday he went fishing in the river using his fishing rod, because he did not have a net. That was why he always caught a few fish. In one morning the fisherman rowed his sampan in the river. As always, he brought his fishing rod. He stopped his sampan and put the bait. He was waiting but no fish caught the bait yet. He changed the bait. He hoped this time a fish would catch the bait. Sadly, he was not lucky yet. After waiting for a long time, finally he felt that a fish caught his bait. Aha!, he said. He slowly pulled the string of his fishing rod. It was hard! The fisherman could not pulled the string. Wow! The fish must be very big! The fisherman thought. He was thinking about the size of the fish. He knew that the big fish was very expensive. He hoped he would get a lot of money if he could sell the fish. After thinking about the money, he suddenly had more power to pull the string of his rod. He pulled the rod with great power, but still, he did not succeed. The fisherman was very tired, he had been pulling with great power. The fisherman decided to get some rest. It was almost dark, the fisherman thought that he already had enough rest. He hoped that the fish would be weak. He took a deep breath and counted, one, two, three! He pulled the String, and yes! This time he succeeded! He lifted the fishing rod. He wanted to see the size of the fish. However, he did not see any fish! Instead, he found some

wire on the hook. At first he was very disappointed. But when he looked at the wire carefully, he was so happy. The wire was made of gold. He wanted to sell the wire and had a lot of money. So he pulled the wire, he pulled more and more wire. The wire covered all area in his sampan. Suddenly, there was a voice. Enough, dont take the wire anymore. The fisherman ignored the voice. He wanted to take the gold wire as much as he could. He wanted to be rich. Enough! Dont take the wire anymore, stop now! Again, the voice asked him to stop. No! I dont want to stop now! said the fisherman. He continued pulling the gold wire. The sampan was filled with the gold wire. It could not hold the wire anymore. Slowly, the sampan sunk to the bottom of the river. The fisherman did not realize that because he was busy pulling the wire. When he found out what happened, it was too late. The sampan was completely sunk and the fisherman panicked! He wanted to save the wire but the sampan sunk very fast. Finally, the fisherman swam to the river side. He regretted his bad behavior. People heard about the fisherman and his wire. Since then people named the river as Wire River orSungai Kawat. ***

Siuk Bimbim and Siuk Bambam A Folktale from Central Kalimantan

Siuk Bimbim and Siuk Bambam are brothers. They are orphans. Their parents died when Siuk Bimbimwas a baby. Siuk Bambam always takes care of his younger brother, Siuk Bimbim. They help each other and never quarrel. It's the late afternoon. Siuk Bimbim and Siuk Bambam went to the dinner. "We don't have enough food. I have to go to the barn now," says Siuk Bambam. "But, don't go too long. Please come back soon," says Siuk Bimbim. "Don't worry. Lock the door and never open to anyone except me, OK?" Siuk Bambam then leaves. Actually he wants to take his brother goes with him to the rice barn. But it's very far. He doesn't want his younger brother to be tired. Besides that, he can go there faster by walking quickly. Meanwhile, Siuk Bimbim is sleeping. He is very tired. Suddenly, he wakes up. He hears someone knocks the door. The sound is very loud. Siuk Bimbim is very scared. When he looks outside through a window, he sees a giant the front of the door. He is shocked. The giant then breaks the door and enters the house.Siuk Bimbim then runs. He runs and runs until he gets very tired. He feels he cannot stand up anymore. Then he fainted. After a while, Siuk Bambam comes home from the rice barn. He is shocked when he sees the house is in a mess. He is calling his brother, "Siuk Bimbim, where are you?"

No one answers Siuk Bambam gets more shocked when he sees some footprints. They are not his brother's footprints. They are the giant's footprints! Siuk Bambam gets much panicked. He looks for his brother everywhere. Suddenly he sees his brother under the tree. Siuk Bimbim is unconscious. Siuk Bambam then takes him to a well. It's a magic well. It can cure any disease. He gives some water to his younger brother. After a while, Siuk Bimbim cured. SiukBimbim is very happy. He hugs his younger brother and takes him home. ***

Ning Rangda Folklore from South Kalimantan

A long time ago, there was an old woman named Ning Rangda. She was called Ning because she was old and had a hunchbacked body. Everybody knew her because she always makes a wedding dress. Every time people asked why she sewed a new wedding dress, she always said that it was for her prospective husband. Do you want to know the whole story why Ning Rangda always sewed a new wedding dress? Read on! When Rangda was a young girl, she always helped her parents. Her father was a tailor and Rangda always helped him sewed the people's dress. Rangda was also very beautiful. Many young men fell in love with her. The king's son heard about Rangda. He was a prince of the kingdom and one day he would replace his father as the king. The prince was single and wanted to get married. So, he decided to go to Rangda's house. He wanted to order a dress from her. When the prince arrived at Rangda's house, he fell in love with her. After getting his dress, he immediately went back to the palace. He wanted to tell his father that he already found his prospective wife. However, right after the prince arrived at the palace, he suffered a terrible illness. He got high fever. And every time the prince slept, he always whispered a name, "Rangda, Rangda, Rangda." The king was really worried. He asked his advisor about the Rangda's name. The advisor then told the king about the beautiful Rangda. The king knew that his son fell in love with her. The king then asked his soldiers to take him and the prince to Rangda's house. A soldier went first to Rangda's house. He was asked to tell Rangda and her parents about the wedding proposal. As he arrived at Rangda's house, he told Rangda and her parents that the king and the prince would come to propose her. Rangda was very happy because she also fell in love with the prince. When the prince heard that she would meet the beautiful Rangda, he was very happy. Then he cured of his illness. Then the prince, the king, and the soldiers went to Rangda's house. The trip was very tiring and that made the prince suffered his illness again. The illness was worse than the previous one. It was so bad that finally the prince died. The king was sad. He thought it was useless to continue the trip. Then he went back to the palace. Meanwhile, Rangda did not know that the prince had died. She was sewing a wedding dress for the prince. She wanted to give him the best wedding dress. Every day, she waited and waited for the prince but he never came. She always waited for the prince. She kept on sewing the wedding dress until she was old and had a hunchbacked body. ***

Indonesian Folktale:The Legend of Balikpapan

Do you know where Balikpapan is? Its in East Kalimantan. And do you know how Balikpapan got its name? Well, following is the story how the city got its name as Balikpapan. Haven fun reading the folktale!

King Aji Muhammad was the king of a kingdom in Tanah Pasir, East Kalimantan. He had a daughter. Her name was Princess Aji Tatin. The princess was very beautiful. She would replace her father as a queen therefore the king gave her the best education. The king sent her to the best teachers. Slowly she began to learn well how to lead a kingdom.

The princess had grown as a beautiful lady. She was not only beautiful but also smart. No wonder many men fell in love with her. One of the men was a prince from Kutai Kingdom. He came to propose PrincessAji Tatin. He went to Tanah Pasir and talked to King Aji Muhammad. My daughter is grown up. This is her decision, not mine, said the king. Did the princess accept the proposal? Yes, she did. She also loved the prince and hoped that he would help her lead the kingdom when she would become the queen. The marriage was held very extravagantly. The guests were served by delicious food. Everybody was very happy. After the wedding was done, the king came to her daughter. He had a plan to her lovely princess. I want you to start learning as a queen. You must lead now. What do you mean, Father? asked the princess. I want you to live in the gulf and lead the people there. You can build a palace. For the income, you are allowed to ask the people to pay the taxes and the tributes. Thank you for the opportunity, Father. I will not disappoint you, said theprincess. She was so happy that she got an opportunity to lead a small kingdom. Princess Aji Titin and her husband then went to the gulf. The king asked some soldiers to guard them. The soldiers were led by their commander. His name was Commander Sendong. When they arrived, the people welcomed them nicely.

The queen did not have a palace yet. She lived in a temporarily palace. The soldiers led by their commander looked for some wooden-boards. They would use the boards to make the palace. Commander Sendong and his soldiers searched the boards until they had to cross the sea. They found the boards! They brought the boards in the boats. While they were trying to row their boats going back to the gulf, there was sea storm. It was so terrible. They could not control their boats. Their rowboats were broken! Finally the boat and the wooden-boards were turned upside down. What happened to Commander Sendong and his crew? Unfortunately they were dead. The princess was extremely sad. She just lost her loyal soldiers. The place was then named as Balikpapan. Balik is to turn upside down and papan is wooden board. The remains of boat slowly became an island. The people named it as Tukung Island. Tukung is from the word tokong which means the crew of the boat. The Legend of Ruai Bird Folklore from West Kalimantan ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom in West Kalimantan. The King had seven daughters. The queen had passed away. The king did not want to remarry. The seven daughters were beautiful. However, the youngest daughter was the most beautiful. She was also the kindest. She often helped other people. Her sisters were very much different. They were lazy. They also had bad attitude. They were cruel to people. The king knew about his daughters behaviours. He often advise his older daughter to behaviours. He often advise his older daughters to behave like the youngest daughter. Sadly, they never listened to the king's advice. They hated their youngest sister because the king often praised her good behaviour. The older daughters often did terrible things to the youngest daughter. They often hit her. She was very sad. She often cried. She could not tell it to her father because her older sisters always intimidated her. They would hit her even harder if she told their father. One day, the king asked all her daughters to meet him. "I'm going to the neighboring kingdom. I'll go for several months. While I'm gone, my youngest daughter will rule the kingdom. Do you understand?" asked the king. "Yes, we do, Father, "said all the daughters. The older daughters were angry. They very upset about their youngest sister was asked to rule the kingdom.

After the king left, they planned something bad. They wanted to get rid of their youngest sister. They pretended to be nice to her. The youngest daughter was happy. Finally, her older sisters were nice to her. The older sisters asked her to go fishing. They asked to go to Gua Batu or a stone cave. There was a river flowing inside the cave. And there were a lot of fish in that river. The youngest daughter was so happy when they finally arrived at the cave. She did not know that her sisters were going to do something bad to her. "Hurry up, let's go inside the cave. You can find a lot of fish inside the cave," said the oldest daughter. The youngest was so eager. As she went inside the cave, she did not know that her sisters stayed outside the cave. They kept on asking her to go inside the cave. She kept on walking until she was lost! She was calling out all her sisters, but they did not respond. She then understood that her sisters did not want her to rule the kingdom anymore. She was very sad. She cried. Suddenly an old man came. He was a holy man. He was meditating in the cave. She changed her tears into eggs. "Don't worry, I can help you. You can go back to the kingdom but you have to change into a bird. I name youRuai Bird. After that, Brood these eggs. After they hatch, the birds will accompany you," said the old man. She agreed. Slowly she changed into a beautiful bird. And after all the eggs were hatched, they went back to the kingdom. They all stayed at the tree near the kingdom. They all saw how the king punished the older sisters.***