The Chickens from Kamal
( a tale from Madura )
It is well-known that there are many strong chickens around the town of Kamal on the south coast of Madura. This story tells you why.
Long ago, when the gods were still on earth, a gang of cruel pirates attacked a rice ship which was on its way to Java from the Sunda islands. The pirates The Chickens from Kamal ( a tale from Madura )
It is well-known that there are many strong chickens around the town of Kamal on the Continue reading
The Clever Potalla
( South Sulawesi )
Once, a headman lent a sum of money to a peasant called Potalla. When the time came to return the money, the headman came to visit Potalla and asked him for the money. Potalla had no money. He said to the headman, “I haven’t got the money yet. Somebody else has borrowed it from me. Please wait a few more days, so that I will have to collect what people owe me.”
The headman agreed and said that he would return in four Continue reading
When he arrived at the crater of Mount Sawal, Munding Depa met a witch. Her face was very ugly and horrible. Her hair hung down covering a part of her wrinkled face. Her canine teeth appeared from her wide mouth.
The witch embraced Munding Depa and said, “My beloved husband, don’t you recognize me? I am Puteri Dewi Ngalima, your wife.”
Munding Depa angrily cried, “You’re villain. My wife is not as bad as you. Don’t try to deceive Continue reading
A group of men from Kadambawa were on their way to Putallam. They had some important business there. They had started early in the morning from Kadambawa and hoped to reach Putallam by nightfall. But when darkness came, they were still quite far from Putallam. So they decided to rest in a clearing in the forest. They cooked and ate their evening meal together. Then each man spread his mat and went to sleep.
Suddenly, in the middle of the night there was a terrible shout, Continue reading
King Duthagamini had only one son. His name was Saliya. Saliya was a gentle person who loved poetry and music. He didn’t care for armies, soldiers and war.
One day Saliya was riding on his elephant in the forest, dreaming, when through the trees he heard a girl singing. It was such a lovely voice that Saliya slid off his elephant and crept toward the sound. What he saw made him stop and gasp.
There, under the Asoka tree, was a young girl. She was filling a basket with Continue reading
Once upon a time, in a certain country, right in the middle of the gamarala’s field, lay a huge rock. It was the time to plough the field, and the gamarala wanted to get the rock out.
He tried to lift it himself. But the rock was too large and too heavy. He called his neighbours to help. But the couldn’t lift the rock either. They tied a rope around it and yoked it to ten oxen. The rope snapped, but the rock didn’t move.
Finally the gamarala offered a large Continue reading
