Friday 24 July 2020

Kyai Bonten and Ki Jalono

It is said that in the Kudur hamlet, East Java, if there is a death, then surely two people die at the same time. According to the folklore, this incident is related to the relationship between Kyai Bonten and Ki Jalono. Here is the story:
Kyai Bonten and Ki Jalono


In the village of Kudur, Kyai Bonten is a kyai who is famous for his intelligence. Besides that, Kyai Bonten also has a large rice field. He is blessed with a daughter.

It was Jalono, a man from Sedayu who wanted to imprison or serve Kyai Bonten. Ki Jalono has a son. He then went to the house of Kyai Bonten to beg to be allowed to disregard him. Kyai bonten agreed, then gave Ki Jalono the task to cultivate his rice fields.

Ki Jalono did not waste the trust given by Kyai Bonten. He worked hard every day taking care of Kyai's rice fields, even to the point of rarely returning home. The rice fields that Jalono does, every time he is harvested, then immediately it will bear fruit again. To meet his needs while working, Ki Jalono made a large well. The community called the well by the name of the Gedhe well.

Jalono's work made Kyai very happy. Finally he made Ki Jalono as an in-law by marrying his daughter to Jalono's son.

In contrast to his hard-working father, Kyai Bonten's son-in-law was very lazy. He knows his father's ability to take care of the Kyai rice fields, where his rice fields are harvested every time, it will immediately bear fruit again. Therefore, the son-in-law every day only cooks rice and watches. He never sleeps. Kyai Bonten was very upset with his son-in-law's behavior. He has often scolded his son-in-law for wanting to work. If you get angry, the son-in-law is usually forced to go to the fields.

One day Kyai Bonten scolded his son-in-law for being lazy and as usual the son-in-law went to the rice fields. It was then that Kyai Bonten had the opportunity to destroy the cauldron where his son-in-law cooked rice. Coming home from the fields, the son-in-law found the cauldron where the rice was cooking. Easily the son-in-law restored his broken potions. Kyai Bonten who witnessed this felt astonished and finally admitted his son-in-law's supernatural powers. Feeling the upper hand, the son-in-law then asked for half of his wealth and inheritance. Then, he also asked if he had died, so that he would be buried, covered with twins and sprinkled with flowers. Kyai Bonten obeyed his son-in-law's request.

Since then, in the Kudur village, if there were deaths, there would have been two people at the same time. Ki Jalono, after he died, was buried near the Gedhe well. Now sumurgedhe is a sacred place (punden).

More folklore on East Java:

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