Batu Golog: The Magical Growing Stone – Indonesian Folktale

Chapter 1: The Poor but Loving Family

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in the land of Padamara near the Sawing River in West Nusa Tenggara, there lived a husband and wife with their two little children. The husband was called Amaq Lembain, and the wife was called Inaq Lembain.

They were very poor. Every day, they worked as farm laborers, offering their strength to anyone who needed help. Inaq Lembain's work was pounding rice for the other villagers. Every morning she walked to the village with her two children beside her, because she never wanted to leave them alone at home.

Chapter 2: The Stone That Grew

One sunny morning, Inaq Lembain went to work as usual. She found a big, flat stone near the place where she pounded rice, and she sat her two children on top of it.

Inaq Lembain: "Sit here nicely, my darlings. Mother will be right over there."

Eldest Son: "Yes, Mother. We will wait here."

Thump, thump, thump! Inaq Lembain began to pound the rice. Then something strange happened. The flat stone began to rise, slowly, slowly, higher and higher.

Eldest Son: "Mother, please help! This stone is getting higher!"

Inaq Lembain: "Wait a moment, my son. Mother is still pounding the rice."

Inaq Lembain did not look up. She was too busy with her work, so she did not see what was happening to her children.

Chapter 3: Higher Than the Coconut Trees

Thump, thump, thump! The stone kept growing. It rose past the bushes. It rose past the roofs of the houses. Soon it was taller than the tallest coconut tree!

Younger Brother: "Mother! I'm scared! Mother, I want to come down!"

Eldest Son: "Mother! Please look at us! We are so high up!"

But Inaq Lembain still kept pounding and winnowing her rice. She thought her children were only calling for her attention.

Inaq Lembain: "Be patient, my children. Mother will be finished soon."

The stone rose higher and higher. The children cried louder, but their voices grew fainter and fainter, until at last they could not be heard at all. The stone carried them all the way up to the clouds.

Chapter 4: A Mother's Prayer

When the rice was finally done, Inaq Lembain looked around and smiled.

Inaq Lembain: "My darlings, Mother is finished! Come, let's go home."

But nobody answered. The stone was gone, and her children were gone too. Inaq Lembain looked up, and her heart nearly stopped.

Inaq Lembain: "My children! Where are you? Please answer Mother!"

She cried and cried, but no answer came. She was full of regret for not listening to her children. With tears running down her cheeks, she lifted her hands and prayed.

Inaq Lembain: "Oh God, please forgive me. Please bring my children safely back to me."

Chapter 5: The Magic Belt

God heard her prayer. Suddenly, Inaq Lembain felt a strange and wonderful power fill her whole body. She took off her belt and swung it with all her might at the tall, tall stone.

Crack! The magic stone split into three pieces and fell down to the earth.

The first piece landed with such a thump that the ground trembled. The place was later named Gembong. The second piece fell where people saw it come down, and that place became known as Dasan Batu. The third piece crashed down with a great roar, and that place was called Montong Teker.

Chapter 6: The Two Little Birds

Inaq Lembain ran from one stone to the next, but her children were not there. They had not fallen with the stone. The two children had turned into two little birds.

The elder brother became a Kekuwo bird, and the younger brother became a Kelik bird. Even now, the people of West Nusa Tenggara say that these two birds never sit on their own eggs to hatch them, because they were once human children.

And that is the tale of Batu Golog, a folktale from West Nusa Tenggara. It reminds us to always listen when our loved ones call for us.

Try the interactive version of the Batu Golog legend! Help Inaq Lembain pound rice, then race to save her two children as the magical rock carries them higher and higher. It comes with narrated audio and an Indonesian/English language toggle.

References:

1. Agni, Danu. 2013. Cerita Anak Seribu Pulau. Yogyakarta: Buku Pintar.
2. Komandoko, Gamal. 2013. Koleksi Terbaik 100 plus Dongeng Rakyat Nusantara. PT Buku Seru.