Siranggir The Cow

SIRANGGIR was a cow. She had some children. Everyday they went to a field to eat some grass with their owner, Aji Tonggal. He was a young man and he loved his cows very much. He even could talk with them.

Aji Tonggal and his parents build a new house for them. The people had a tradition. Before a family stayed in their new house, they had to sacrifice a cow. So, the father asked Aji Tonggal to sacrifice the biggest cow they had. And it was Siranggir, the mother cow.
Siranggir was very sad. But Aji Tonggal had to listen and obey his parents. So, he went to Siranggir and explained what happened. Siranggir knew about the tradition, and he also knew that sooner or later she would also be sacrificed.
"Don't worry, Aji Tonggal. I'm ready to be sacrificed. Please promise that you will always take care of my kids after I have gone. And I have a request. Give me time to talk to my children. I want to say good bye to them," said Siranggir.
All the children were very sad. They did not want to lose their mother. They understood about the tradition after their mother explained it to them.
Then, it was time for the ceremony. Aji Tonggal did not have the heart to kill his beloved cow. He asked somebody else to do that. After Siranggir was killed, Aji Tonggal's parents shared the meat to the neighbours. The family still kept Siranggir's head. The head was hung in the kitchen.
Several days after the ceremony, a strange thing happened to the family. Every morning, the family went to the field and when they arrived home in the afternoon, they always had food in the kitchen. The food was enough for the whole family.
Aji Tonggal was really curious. One day, he went home earlier. He saw a beautiful girl was cooking in the kitchen. Slowly he walked towards the girl, and grabbed her hand.
"Please let me go. I will explain everything. I am Siranggir. Even though I'm dead, I still want to dedicate my life to you. That's why I transformed my life into a girl," said the girl.
Aji Tonggal was surprised. He then looked for Siranggir's head in the kitchen. But he could not find it. Then he believed that Siranggir's head had already transformed into a young girl.
Aji Tonggal then fell in love with the girl. After that, he talked to his parents. He wanted to marry the girl. The parents agreed. Once again the family had a ceremony. This time, it was ceremony for their marriage. ***

READMORE - Siranggir The Cow

Raja Omas

IN Simalungun, North Sumatra, there was a king with six wives. Although the king had six wives, he did not have a child yet. Therefore, he decided to marry another woman. His seventh wife gave him a son. The king named him Raja Omas. The other six wives were jealous. The king only loved his seventh wife and the baby. Those six wives had a bad plan. They got rid of the baby by putting him in a big pumpkin and let it drift in a river. On the following day, an old woman was washing her clothes on the river. She heard a baby crying. She was surprised to see ababy boy inside a pumpkin and brought him home. The old woman took good care of Raja Omas until he became a handsome and diligent man. To help the old woman, Raja Omas opened a coffee shop. He also provided tuak, a traditional drink. His tuak was very delicious. Many people came to his coffee shop to drink his tuak. In the mean time, the king was ill. He only could be cured by drinking a very delicious tuak. He heard that there was a young man sold delicious tuak. So, the king went there. Right after the king met Raja Omas, the king knew that Raja Omas was his son. Raja Omas said, "It is impossible, Your Majesty. I have a mother. She is inside." But then, the old woman told the truth. Raja Omas was not her son. She found Raja Omas in the river. Later the king brought him in the palace. After that, the king asked Raja Omas to get married. So, Raja Omas decided to visit the villages to find the right woman. When he arrived in a big lake, he saw some women were taking a bath. He stole one cloth. He did not know that those women were angels from heaven. Because her cloth was stolen, one angel could not fly to go back to the heaven. She was sad. Raja Omas then asked the angel to marry him. Then they got married and had a baby boy. However, the angel found her cloth. She was so happy, now she could fly to the heaven Right before she flew, she wanted to grab her son. But Raja Omas moved very fast. He wanted his son to stay with him and did not go to heaven. The angel was angry. She turned into saringgon, a typhoon. To protect his son, Raja Omas covered the baby with some smelly ingredients. The angel hated smelly ingredients. Since then, mothers in Simalungun also covered their babies with some smelly ingredients every time they hear saringgon. They are afraid that saringgon would take their babies away. ***

READMORE - Raja Omas

Nai Manggale

Once upon a time, there lived a famous sculpture in Tapanuli, North Sumatra. His name was Datu Panggana. He could carve wood into many things. One day, he got an inspiration to carve a wood into a statue of a beautiful woman. Then, he put the statue in front of his house. It was not finished yet. The statue still had any clothes yet. Later, a young merchant passed by in front of Datu PangganaÕs house. His name was Bao Partigatiga. He sold jewelleries and clothes. He was very impressed by the beauty of the statue.

"She would be more beautiful by wearing my clothes," said Bao Partigatiga. He then put on the clothes he wanted to sell on the statue. Bao Partigatiga was very pleased now. The statue looked like a real human. Then he left Datu Panggana's house. After that, a priest and his wife passed by. They were also impressed by the beauty of the statue. "I want to pray to God to make her live like a real human. I want to make her as our daughter," said the priest to his wife. The couple had any children yet. Their dream came true. The statue had changed into a very beautiful girl. The priest and his wife then took the girl home. They named her Nai Manggale. The news about Nai Manggale spread very fast. All the villagers came to the priest's house to see Nai Manggale. Among them were Datu Panggana and Bao Partigatiga. Datu Panggana said, "She has to stay in my house. The statue was mine." But, Bao Partigatiga also claimed the same thing. "She is wearing my clothes. So, she has to stay in my house." The priest did not want to lose Nai Manggale. "Remember, I am the one who made her live like a human. So, she stays here." Those three men then were busy arguing. They claimed to have the rights of Nai Manggale. To calm them, an elderly of the village gave a solution. His name was Aji Bahir. "You all can have her and have a relationship with her. Datu Panggana, you are her uncle. Bao Partigatiga, you are her brother. And you the priest, you are her father."The three men accepted Aji Bahir's advice. And now they were happy because they all could ask her to stay in their houses. Besides that, now those three men were related. ***

READMORE - Nai Manggale

Lau Kawar

IT was a beautiful day. Everybody in Kawar village was happy. The farmers just had their best harvest. All the barns were full of rice. The villagers were planning to hold a party to celebrate the good harvest. On one beautiful day, all the villagers gathered in a field. They wore beautiful dresses and made delicious food. Everybody was having good times! They were singing, laughing, and of course, eating delicious food. Did everyone go to the party? Unfortunately, there was one old woman still stayed at her house. She is too old and weak to go to the party. Her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandchildren all went to the party. At home, the old woman felt very sad and lonely. She was very hungry too. But when she tried to find some food in the kitchen, she was very sad. Her daughter-in-law did not cook that day. At the party, the son asked her wife, "Why don't you take some food from the party and give it for my mom. Ask our son to deliver it." Then the little boy brought the food to her grandmother. The old woman was so happy. But her happiness turned into sadness when she saw the food was not in the good condition. It seemed that someone has eaten the food. It just had little rice. The fish just had the bones. Then, old woman cried and cried. She was very sad. She thought bad things about her son. She thought that her son neglected her. The old woman did not know that it was her grandson who ate the food. He did that on the way from the party to the house. But it was too late. The old woman was so sad and angry. She cursed her son. Then, an incredible thing happened. There was a great earthquake! Thunder struck the village. And heavy rain started to fall. All the villagers were so scared. They wanted to save themselves. They tried to find shelters. Slowly, the field turned into a lake. The lake was getting bigger and bigger and finally the whole village turned into a big lake. People then named the lake into Lau Kawar. (*)

READMORE - Lau Kawar