East Nusa Tenggara Folktales: Indonesian Legends & Fairy Tales

This is a collection of Indonesian folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and legends passed down among the people of East Nusa Tenggara Province.

The province of East Nusa Tenggara has its capital in the city of Kupang and borders the nation of Timor Leste. Its motto is "Sehati Sesuara Membangun."

These stories have been gathered from various sources (see references below). New stories will be added from time to time. We hope you enjoy them.

1. Suri Ikun and the Two Birds

Long, long ago, on the island of Timor in East Nusa Tenggara, there lived a farmer with his wife and their fourteen children — seven sons and seven daughters. The family made their living from a large garden, but even so, the harvest was never quite enough to feed so many mouths, for a wild boar kept sneaking in at night to trample and devour the crops.