Reading Journal #6 : Folklore

     Hello everyone! Good to see you. Today me and my friends have Mr. Dankur class. We discuss about folklore. I enjoy for this class because I can remember many story when I was child. I want to share about folktale. I have read a folktale entitled "Timun Mas". This story is from Central Java. 

    Long time ago, lived an old women named Mbok Sirni. She lived by herself because her husband had long passed away and she had no children. Everyday, she prayed to God would give her a child. One night, when she was praying, a giant passed her house and heard her pray. The Giant then gave her a bunch of cucumber seeds but she did not think about the risk of losing the child later and agreed to take the giant’s offer. 

    In the morning, Mbok Sirni planted the seeds. The seeds grew within more days, and blossomed plentifully.Not longer after that, a big golden cucumber grew from plants. Carefully, Mbok Sirni plucked the golden cucumber and carried it home. With caution and care, she sliced the cucumber. She was very surprised to see a beautiful baby girl inside the cucumber. She then named the baby Timun Emas.

    Years passed by and Timun Emas has grew to become a lovely and beautiful little girl. She was also smart and kind. Mbok Sirni loved her very much. But she kept thinking about the time the giant would take Timun Emas away from her. One night, Mbok Sirni had a dream. In order to save Timun Emas from the giant, she had to meet the holy man who lived in Mount Gundul. The next morning, Mbok Sirni took leave of Timun Emas to go to Mount Gundul. The holy man then gave her four little bags, each one containing cucumber seeds, needles, salt, and shrimp paste.

    A few days later, the giant came to see Mbok Sirni about her promise. The giant looked around for Timun Emas. Mbok Sirni said to her daughter to take the bags because it can save Timun Emas from the giant. But the giant saw Timun Emas running to the woods. The giant was angry. Starved and enraged, he rushed toward Timun Emas. Mbok Sirni tried to stop him, but the giant was unstoppable.

    The giant was getting closer and closer, so Timun Emas opened the first bag she got from Mbok Sirni. Inside the bag were cucumber seeds. She threw the seeds, and instantly they grew into large cucumber field. But the giant ate them all, giving him more strength. As the giant was getting close, Timun Emas took the second bag with needles inside and spilled the content behind her. The needles turned into bamboo trees, sharp and thorny. The giant’s body was scratched and bled. He made it and still chasing Timun Emas.

    Timun Emas then reached the third bag and spilled the salt inside. The ground which the salt touched turned into a deep sea. The giant almost drown and had to swim to cross the sea. After some time, he managed to get out from the water. Timun Emas saw the giant coming, so she reached for the last bag. She took the shrimp paste and threw it. The shrimp paste became a big swamp of boiling mud. The giant was trapped in the middle of the swamp. The mud slowly but surely drowned him. Helpless, he roared out.Then the giant drown and died. Timun Mas then immediately went home. Since then, Timun Emas and Mbok Sirni live happily ever after.

    This is my favorite folktale. I like this story because it's very easy to remember. When I was in elementary school I started read this story. I can learn about patient, brave, and don't give up if we fail. The moral value is don't give up  today, on the next day we can see a happiness. I think folklore in general is used to refer to the traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people which have beem disseminated in an informal manner -- usually via word of mouth, although in modern times the Internet has become a pivotal source for folklore. The term folklore may also be used to define the comparative study of folk knowledge and culture. I prefer folktale than myths, legend, etc.

    Thank you for read my blog. See you next time in my other blog!