The legend of the Long Horn from Batak Land

Cerita Rakyat Kalimantan Selatan: Dongeng Raja Baik Hati Memberikan Putrinya
Cerita Rakyat Kalimantan Selatan: Dongeng Raja Baik Hati Memberikan Putrinya

Every child needs parental love in order to grow into an adult human. The failure of parents to give love to children can cause problems later on.

Today’s The Jombang Taste shares the folk tale of North Sumatra about the legend of the Long Horn from the Land of Batak. In ancient times in a village there was a poor family. The family consists of a father, mother and daughter. The father and mother really love their children.

However, they are still disappointed because they have not been blessed with a son. Every day they pray to God so that they will be blessed with a son as a different gender.

As the months passed, they never stopped praying. Finally the wife got pregnant. The family was happy too. Especially after it was discovered that the baby was a boy. But their joy suddenly disappeared after knowing that the baby’s head had horns.

They feel ashamed and afraid of being insulted by the villagers. This is the beginning of the story of the legend of the Long Horn from the Land of Batak.

According to the folklore of North Sumatra, at night, the baby boy is put in a crate. He is provided with a chicken egg and a cup of rice. Then the chest was washed away in the river.

The baby’s sister knows what the parents are doing. He was very sad. Secretly he left the house and followed his sister. He kept on walking following his younger brother who drifted away.

Some time later he heard his sister crying because she was hungry. The older sister comforted him by saying “My little brother loves the long horns, don’t cry. When you are hungry eat a grain of rice so that you are full.” Not long after, her sister’s crying stopped.

A few days later the older sister heard the sound of chicks from the crate drifting in the middle of the river. He could not approach the chest, but he could guess that the egg that had been supplied to his sister had hatched. When she heard her sister cry, he comforted her with loving words.

In the tale of the Long Horn, it is told that for months the chest was carried away by the current of the river, with difficulty and faithfully the older brother continued to follow it. One day, the chest was carried away by the river to the shore. The brother with a happy face tried to reach it. The chest can be reached.

When the chest was opened, a dashing and handsome boy jumped. No horns on his head. Behind him an excellent rooster accompanied him. How happy the older sister was to see that fact. She thanked God for saving her beloved sister. Furthermore, the brothers immediately walked to the nearest village. At the village gate, they were reprimanded by the villagers.

The village head immediately informed them that in order to enter the village, they had to pit their chickens against the villagers’ chickens. If they win they will receive wealth. If they lose, they will be made slaves in the village. If they do not dare to accept the challenge, then they are welcome to leave the village. Thus the Batak people tell the tale of the long horn.

The brothers agreed to the village head’s challenge. On the appointed day, their chickens were pitted in the presence of all the villagers. It turned out that the Long Horned Chicken was the winner. So they were invited to enter the village, treated with delicious foods and given wealth.

After that, the two brothers took their leave of the village. In order to enter another village, it turns out that they are subject to the same conditions. They have to fight the chicken. Luckily the brothers’ chickens always win so that their property is getting more abundant. Now to carry their belongings, they have to bring some followers.

Finally, the two brothers arrived in the village of their birth. The villagers asked the origin, they told their true story. Hearing the story, the local people knew who the brothers were. Word soon spread throughout the village that Long Horn and his brother had returned.

Both of his poor parents were happy, they immediately welcomed their two children. But the brothers refused. “We don’t have any parents anymore. Because when we needed parental love and protection, we were dumped!”

How disappointed the poor parents are. They just realized their mistake. They were so sorry that they fell ill and eventually died. That is the short story of the legend of the Long Horn from the Land of Batak.

The mandate of the story contained in this North Sumatra folklore is for every parent to accept all the shortcomings of their child. Moral message from fairy tale in Long Horn teaches us to love each other with our family members.

Hopefully this article The Jombang Taste can add to your insight. See you in the next article The Jombang Taste.

References:

Sumardiyanto, Anwar and Eka Katminingsih. 2011. Folk Story. Sidoarjo: World of Science.


Comments

Satu tanggapan untuk “The legend of the Long Horn from Batak Land”

  1. Avatar Mr. Popov
    Mr. Popov

    This story is wonderful. I like your writing. Indonesia is really a wonderful archipelago.

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