Indonesian Folktales Series: Danau Maninjau (Maninjau Lake)

Once upon a time, in an area of West Sumatra, there was a very tall volcano called Gunung Tinjau. At its summit was a large crater, and at its base were several villages. The people lived in prosperity and well-being because they were diligent in farming. In addition, the land around Mount Tinjau is very fertile because it often receives natural fertilizer in the form of mountain ash.

Ten siblings lived in one of the villages at the foot of Mount Tinjau, consisting of nine men and one woman. The local people called them Bujang Sembilan. The ten brothers are Kukuban, Kudun, Bayua, Malintang, Galapuang, Balok, Batang, Bayang, and the youngest man named Kaciak. Their youngest sibling was a woman named Siti Rasani, popularly known as Sani. Both their parents have long since passed away, so Kukuban, as the eldest child, became the head of the household. All decisions are in his hands.

The ten siblings live in a house they inherited from their parents. To meet their needs, they cultivate a large piece of farmland inherited from their parents. They are very adept at farming because they diligently helped their father and mother when they were still alive. They were also mentored by their uncle Datuk Limbatang, whom they affectionately called Engku.

Datuk Limbatang was the Mamak of the village and had a son named Giran. As a mamak, Datuk Limbatang had a great responsibility to educate and care for the lives of his people, including his ten nephews. For this reason, he visited the home of the Kukuban brothers every two days to teach them agricultural skills and the various customs of the region. Datuk Limbatang often invited his wife and son to join him.

One day, when Datuk Limbatang, his wife, and Giran were visiting Bujang Sembilan's house, Sani accidentally caught Giran's eye. Apparently, the two young men and girls shared a common interest. Giran invited Sani to meet him in a field by the river. With his heart pounding, Giran expressed his feelings to Sani.

"I've been soaking basil for a long time; only now it wants to bloom; I've been harboring love for a long time; only now I see it.

"For a long time people have been determined to make wide kebaya clothes. My brother has been captivated for a long time.

"Beautiful appearance, beautiful temperament, his life likes to do good. People praise downstream and back and forth who see the heart attracted.

"Sister, sister! Your face is beautiful and lovely, and your temperament is kind and gentle. Would you like to be my lover?" asked Giran.

The question made Sani's heart beat faster. In her heart, she liked Giran too. So she answered with a series of rhymes.

"Jackfruit from the other side is so delicious to make vegetables! I've been waiting for my brother; only now can I rebuke him.

"If the city of Melaka collapses, I will uphold the board in Java. If you really say it, I will give my body and my life".

How happy Giran was when he heard Sani's answer. He was really happy because his love was returned.

Since then, Giran and Sani have been in a loving relationship. At first, both wanted to keep their relationship a secret. But for fear of being slandered, they eventually came out to their respective families. Knowing this, Giran's and Sani's families were happy because it strengthened their family relationship. Since his relationship with Sani, Giran often visits Bujang Sembilan's house. In fact, he often helps Bujang Sembilan work in the fields.

When the harvest season came, all the villagers had a bountiful harvest. To celebrate this success, the traditional leaders and all the villagers agreed to hold a competition, a silat competition. The youth of the village embraced the event. With fiery enthusiasm, they immediately signed up with the organizing committee. Kukuban and Giran also participated in the event.

On the appointed day, all the participants gathered in a field. The crowd cheered for their heroes. Moments later, the organizers struck a gong to signal the start of the event. Apparently, Kukuban got the first turn to perform with an opponent from a neighboring hamlet. The two would face each other in the center of the arena to compete. The winner would then fight the next contestant. As it turned out, Kukuban managed to defeat his opponent. After that, the next contestants entered the arena one by one to fight Kukuban, but no one was able to defeat him. There was one more contestant who had not yet appeared, namely Giran. Now Kukuban faced an opponent of equal strength.

"Hey, Giran! Come forward if you dare!" challenged Kukuban.

"Alright, Bang! Get ready for my attack!" Giran replied and immediately attacked Kukuban.

A fierce battle ensued between Giran and Kukuban. At first, Giran attacked Kukuban relentlessly, but Kukuban was able to dodge all of his attacks. After a while, the situation was reversed. Kukuban was the one attacking back. He continued to attack Giran relentlessly with his signature moves. Giran was pushed back and found it difficult to avoid his attacks. At just the right moment, Kukuban threw a hard left leg kick at Giran. Unable to dodge, Giran was forced to parry with both hands.

"Ouch, it hurts...! My leg is broken!" Kukuban screamed and immediately rolled on the ground, screaming in pain.

He was unable to continue and was declared the loser of the match. Since then, Kukuban felt resentment and revenge towards Giran, feeling that he had been publicly humiliated. However, he kept the grudge to himself.

A few months later, Kukuban's grudge was finally revealed. It began when Datuk Limbatang and his wife visited the Bujang Sembilan house one night when the full moon was illuminating the village around Gunung Tinjau. The arrival of Giran's parents was not to teach them how to grow crops or customary procedures, but to convey Giran's proposal to Sani.The arrival of Giran's parents was not to teach them how to grow crops or customary procedures, but to convey Giran's proposal to Sani.

"Sorry, Bujang Sembilan! Our purpose in coming here is to strengthen our family relationship," said Datuk Limbatang.

"What do you mean, Engku?" asked the confused Kudun.

"Yes, Engku, hasn't our family relationship been good all this time?" continued Kaciak.

"It is true what you say, my son," replied Datuk Limbatang, who already considered Bujang Sembilan as his own son.

"Look, my children, to strengthen our family ties, we intend to marry Giran to your youngest sister, Siti Rasani," said Datuk Limbatang.

"Actually, we feel the same way, Engku! We would be happy to see Giran marry our sister. Giran is a good and hardworking young man," said Kudun.

But just as this sentence left Kudun's mouth, a loud snap came from Kukuban.

"No! I don't agree with their marriage! I know who Giran is," Kukuban shouted with a flushed face.

"He is an arrogant, rude, and insolent young man. He doesn't deserve to be Sani's husband," she added.

"Why do you say that, my son? Has he ever said or done anything to offend you?" asked Datuk Limbatang calmly.

"Yes, Engku! Do you remember what Giran did to me in the arena a few months ago? He broke my left leg, and I still have a mark on it," Kukuban replied, pulling up his pants to show the mark on his broken leg.

"Oooh, that!" replied Datuk Limbatang with a smile.

"Dislocated and broken legs, losing or winning in a fight, is normal. That's what happens when you fight," said Datuk Limbatang.

"But you humiliated me in front of so many people," said Kukuban.

"I don't think Giran wanted to humiliate his own brother," said Datuk Limbatang.

"Ah, you said that because you wanted to defend your own son! Where is your justice as a traditional leader?" argued Kukuban, throwing his hands on the floor.

Everyone in the meeting fell silent. None of his eight brothers dared to speak. The atmosphere was quiet and tense. Except for Datuk Limbatang, who looked calm.

"Sorry, my son, I'm not defending anyone. I'm just telling the truth. Justice must be based on truth," said Datuk Limbatang.

"What truth are you talking about? Didn't Giran clearly smear my face in the middle of the crowd?"

"You know, my son, according to the testimony of many people who saw the incident, it was you who attacked the defeated Giran with a hard kick that Giran parried. It was that party that broke your leg. Do you think that parrying the attack was cheating and wrong?" asked Datuk Limbatang.

Kukuban remained silent when he heard the question. Although in his heart he admitted that what Grandfather Limbatang said was true, because his heart was already filled with feelings of resentment, he still did not want to accept it.

"You know, my son, according to the testimonies of many people who saw the incident, it was you who attacked the defeated Giran with a hard kick, which Giran parried. It was this party that broke your leg. Do you think that parrying the attack was cheating and wrong?" asked Datuk Limbatang.

"It is up to you if you still want to defend your own child. But Sani is our sister. I will not marry Sani to your son," Kukuban said curtly.

"Well, my son, I won't force you either. But we hope that one day this decision will change," said Datuk Limbatang as he said goodbye to go home with his wife.

Apparently, Siti Rasani, who was in the room, heard all their conversations. She was very sad to hear her eldest sister's decision. For her, Giran was the future husband she had dreamed of. Since the incident, Sani has always looked gloomy. Almost every day, she sits brooding, thinking of a way out of her problems. Giran did the same. The two lovers thought for days, but could not find a way out. Finally, they agreed to meet at their usual place, a field by the river, to discuss the problem they were facing.

"What are we going to do, Dik?" asked Giran.

"I don't know, Bang! I don't know what to do. All decisions in the family are in Bang Kukuban's hands. Although he is very hateful and vengeful towards Abang," Sani replied with a long sigh.

They deliberated on the riverbank for some time, but they had not found a solution. Desperate, Sani got up from her seat. Suddenly, a thorny branch caught on her sarong.

"Ouch, my sarong is torn!" cried Sani in shock.

"Well, it looks like your thigh has been scratched by a thorn. Sit down, Adik; Abang will treat your wound," said Giran.

Giran immediately searched for medicinal leaves nearby and prepared some. He then cleaned the blood from Sani's thigh and treated the wound. At that moment, dozens of people suddenly came out from behind the trees and immediately surrounded them. They were Bujang Sembilan and several other villagers.

"Hey, there you are!" shouted Kukuban.

Giran and Sani did not know what to do. Neither of them really expected that there were dozens of people watching their movements.

"Arrest them! Let's take them to the common court!" Kukuban ordered.

"Mercy, Bang! We didn't do anything. I was just treating Sani's wound from a thorn," Giran said.

"You liar! I saw you rubbing my sister's thigh!" snapped Kukuban. ↳

"That's right! You have committed a forbidden act. You must be taken to the customary court to be punished," continued a local.

Finally, Giran and Sani were led through the village to the courtroom. Kukuban, his eight siblings and several other villagers testified that they had witnessed Giran and Sani's illegal behavior. Despite Giran and Sani's defense and the assistance of Datuk Limbatang, the court found them guilty of violating the customs of the village. Their actions were shameful and could bring bad luck. As a punishment, they had to be thrown into the crater of Mount Tinjau so that the village would be spared from misfortune.

The decision was announced to all the villages around Mount Tinjau. Giran and Sani were then paraded to the top of Mount Tinjau with their hands tied behind their backs. When they arrived at the edge of the crater, their eyes were covered with a black cloth. Before the punishment was carried out, they were allowed to speak.

"Oh, all of you, know that we did not commit any forbidden act. Therefore, we believe that we are innocent," said Giran.

Then Giran raised his hands to the sky and prayed.

"O God! Please hear us and answer our prayers. If we are truly guilty, then destroy our bodies in the hot crater water of this mountain. But if we are innocent, please erupt this mountain and curse Bujang Sembilan into a fish!"

After saying their prayers, Giran and Sani immediately jumped into the crater. Both of them drowned in the crater's water. Some people who witnessed the event were filled with tension and fear. If Giran was really innocent and his prayer was answered, then they would all perish. It turned out to be true. Giran's wish was granted by God. Moments later, the mountain suddenly shook, followed by a very loud eruption. Hot lava poured out of the crater and flowed into the village, destroying everything in its path. Everyone tried to save themselves. But they were out of luck. The eruption of Mount Tinjau became more violent until the mountain was destroyed. No one survived. Bujang Sembilan turned into a fish.

This is the story of the origin of Lake Maninjau in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is said that the eruption of Mount Tinjau left a large crater that gradually turned into a lake. The name of the mountain was then immortalized by the surrounding community as the name of the lake, namely Lake Maninjau. Meanwhile, the names of the people involved in the event were immortalized as the names of the villages around Lake Maninjau, such as Tanjung Sani, Sikudun, Bayua, Koto Malintang, Koto Kaciak, Sigalapuang, Balok, Kukuban, and Sungai Batang.