Tuesday 28 July 2020

The Origin of Lake Maninjau

Once upon a time, in West Sumatra there was a very high mountain. Local people call it Mount Tinjau. At the foot of Mount Tinjau, there is a village that has fertile soil. Local residents are mostly eyed as farmers. People live prosperously because the harvest is always abundant.
The Origin of Lake Maninjau


In the village there lived ten brothers with nine men and a woman. They are Kukuban, Kudun, Bayua, Malintang, Galapuang, Beam, Batang, Shadow, Kaciak and the woman is named Siti Rasani. Kukuban became the head of the family after their parents died. The ten siblings live next door to the Datuk Limbatang family. Datuk Limbatang has a son named Giran. The two families used to visit each other.

One day, Datuk Limbatang went to visit the family of the Kukuban family. He invited his son, Giran. That's when Giran met Siti Rasani, Kukuban's youngest sister. It seems both of them are in love. With a beating heart Giran conveyed his feelings to Siti Rasani.

The Legend of Bujang Sembilan


"It's been a long time soaking basil. It's only now want to expand

"People have been approaching for a long time to make kebaya kebaya. It's been a long time my brother has been lured. Wants to meet chest palpitations."

"A beautiful temperament is beautiful. His life likes to do good. People praise the downstream and going home Who sees the heart is interested"

"Dik, Sani! Your face is beautiful and beautiful, with a good temper and gentle heart. Will you be your brother? " Giran asked.

Siti Rasani likes Giran and he responds with a pantun.

"Jackfruit from the other side It is delicious to make vegetables It's been a long time my brother will be able to reprimand now"

"If the city of Melaka Papan collapses in Java, I will enforce it. If indeed Kanda said that my body and life will be surrendered"

Since then, both of them established love. For fear of causing slander, the two then frankly to their respective families. Luckily, both the Datuk Limbatang family and the Kukuban family agreed on a relationship between the two.

The Agility Fighting

Not long after Giran's introduction with Siti Rasani, the villagers held a thanksgiving event because of abundant harvests. Thanksgiving is held by making martial arts skills. Both Kukuban and Giran attended the event.

In the competition, Kukuban showed its greatness. He defeated his opponents. None of the opponents is able to compensate for Kukuban. Finally came the match between Kucuban against Giran.

At the beginning of the match, Kukuban and Giran competed quite fiercely but were also balanced. But over time, Kukuban was able to urge Giran to look very overwhelmed. Seeing that Giran was already pressed, Kukuban sent his final kick towards Giran's chest. Seeing this rapid attack, Giran had no choice but to deflect Kukuban's kick using his hand.

"Ouch, my feet!" Kukuban shouted, limping away from Giran. Giran's hand grip is hard enough to make Kukuban feel pain. The match was stopped with Giran declared the winner. It turned out that Kukuban could not accept his defeat. He felt very hurt towards Giran.

Giran Won Siti Rasani

A few days later Datuk Limbatang and his wife visited the Kukuban brothers' home with the aim of applying for Siti Rasani for their child, Giran. All the siblings accepted the arrival of Datuk Limbatang as a family. They agreed to Giran's marriage to Siti Rasani except for Kukuban. He chose to remain silent in the room.

"I do not agree that Sani is married to Giran!" suddenly Kukuban shouted then came out of the room.

"Why Kukuban? Didn't you agree with Sani's relationship with Giran? " asked Datuk Limbatang.

"Giran is an arrogant young man! He had humiliated me in front of the crowd at the martial arts competition. Anyway I do not agree! " Kukuban shouted.

"Alright then. We will go home. " Datuk Limbatang and his family then returned empty-handed.

The Sentenced to Throw Into the Crater of the Mountain

Giran and Sani of course mfeel very sad. They were both annoyed by the behavior of Cucuban. They both decide to meet secretly discussing this issue. When they met, the two of them didn't talk much because they were confused about what to do. Siti Rasani got up from her seat because she was confused thinking about this, but the sheath cloth was stuck in the thorn of the tree until it was torn to the wound of her thigh.

"Ouch my sarong is torn!" Sani shouted.

"Wow, your thigh was hit by a thorn, sit down, brother, so Abang treat your wounds." Giran immediately helped by rubbing the medicine on Sani's thigh.

Kukuban and her younger siblings left the house looking for Sani, who was long invisible. They arrived before Giran and Kukuban. They were very surprised when they saw Giran rubbing Sani's thigh.

"Giran! You are indeed a young man who does not know manners. How dare you act indecent to my sister! " Kukuban shouted angrily.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to treat Sani's feet" Giran tried to explain.

"That's right Sis, Giran is treating my feet." Sani said.

But Kukuban and his brothers paid no attention to Giran's answer. They then dragged the two to trial according to custom.

The Origin of Lake Maninjau From Mount Tinjau

Kukuban and her siblings herded Giran and Sani to the village to the courtroom. Kukuban together with his eight siblings and several other residents testified that they had witnessed the prohibited actions carried out by Giran and Sani. Although Giran and Sani had defended and assisted by Datuk Limbatang, the trial decided that both of them were guilty of violating customary practices in the village. Their actions are very shameful and can bring bad luck. So as punishment, both of them must be thrown into the crater of Mount Tinjau so that the village was spared from disaster.

Both of them screamed for mercy but no one wanted to listen. With both eyes bound in black cloth, Giran & Sani were ordered to jump into the crater of Mount Tinjau.

Giran raised his hands to the sky while praying. "Dear God, if we are guilty, then destroy our bodies in the hot crater. But if we are innocent, erupt Mount Tinjau. Curse the Sani brothers into fish. " Because he was resigned to the punishment, he finally jumped into the crater.

God answered Giran's prayer. Shortly after the two of them jumped, suddenly a thunderous mountain finally erupted violently. Hot lava flowed to destroy the village at the foot of the mountain. Former eruption of a very powerful mountain that produces a broad basin. Now the basin has been filled with water. Mount Tinjau Basin is a lake. The nine siblings, Kukuban and their younger siblings, turn into fish. It is said that the eruption of Mount Tinjau, leaving a vast crater and gradually filled with rain water and become a lake. Local people call it by the name of Lake Maninjau. While the figures involved in the event were immortalized into the names of the areas around Lake Maninjau such as Tanjung Sani, Sikudun, Bayua, Koto Malintang, Koto Kaciak, Sigalapuang, beam, Kukuban, and Batang River.

Lake Maninjau is located in the province of West Sumatra, Tanjung Raya district of Agam regency, about 140 kilometers from the north of Padang city, 36 kilometers from Bukittinggi, 27 kilometers from Lubuk Basung. With an area of ​​about 99.5 km2 and a depth of 495 meters makes Lake Maninjau the eleventh largest lake in Indonesia and the second largest in West Sumatra after Lake Singkarak.

Lake Maninjau is a caldera formed by a composite strato volcanic eruption that developed in the tectonic zone of a large Sumatran fault system called Gunung Sitinjau. 

According to the Minangkabau folklore, the origin of Lake Maninjau is closely related to the Bujang Sembilan Legend.

More Folklore on West Sumatra:

No comments:

Post a Comment