Halo!
For today, I’m posting about a myth from Indonesia, in particular a popular one from Sumatera. This is the story of Malin Kundang, a son who became ungrateful to his mother and he was cursed into a stone. Until now, it is said that the stone can still be seen at the beach.
Note: This version of Malin Kundang is my own freely-translated version based on the famous Indonesian legend with the same name ‘Malin Kundang’, so it is not an official one.
Note 2: The first one is in English, whilst the second one is the Bahasa Indonesia version. You can enjoy this simply as a story, or you can try to read aloud the one in Bahasa Indonesia to further improve your language and pronunciation skills.
Note 3: If you find any typo or bad grammar, don't hesitate to point it out~
Edit 22/9/20: The videos are up! Click here to watch the English version, and here for the one in Bahasa Indonesia^^
Hope you enjoy the story!
Malin Kundang
Once upon a time, in a fishermen village at the coast of Air Manis Beach located near Padang, West Sumatra, lived a widow named Mother Rubayah. She lived with her son named Malin Kundang. Mother Rubayah greatly loved and spoiled Malin Kundang. Even though she was already old, she kept working by selling cakes to make ends meets for her and her only son.
Malin himself was a diligent and clever boy, although a bit mischievous. He often chased chickens around and hit them with a broom. One day while Malin was chasing chickens around, he tripped over a rock and his right arm got injured. That injury left a scar that can never fade. Once, he also contracted a serious disease and his life was almost a forfeit. This incident made Mother Rubayah spoiled Malin Kundang even more.
Seeing his mother who worked hard to the bone to make ends meets in order to raise him, Malin Kundang felt sorrowful. After reaching adulthood, a desire to venture out to become rich swelled in Malin Kundang’s heart.
One day, a large ship owned by a merchant anchored at Air Manis Beach. Not one to miss this chance, Malin asked for his mother’s permission to go and try his luck in the city.
“No, Malin! Mom is afraid something’s going to happen to you over there. Just stay here, accompany mom,” persuaded his mother wistfully. “Don’t you remember how your father never came back after travelling out?”
“Mom, calm down, nothing’s going to happen to me,” said Malin whilst holding his mom’s hands. “This is my chance, Mom. A ship that big might not even docked in this beach ever again. I want to change our fortune, Mom. Please allow it,” asked Malin.
“…Alright, Mom allows it. Hurry back. Mom will always wait for you, Son,” said his mother while crying.
Reluctantly, Mother Rubayah allowed her son to go. She then supplied Malin with rice wrapped in banana leaf with a total of seven wrappings.
“Bring this as your meal during the trip,” said Mother Rubayah while giving those seven rice-wrapped-in-banana-leaves to Malin.
After that, Malin Kundang departed by riding along in the merchant’s ship, leaving his mother all by herself.
During his time on the ship, Malin Kundang learnt sea navigation from the experienced ship crews. However, in the middle of the journey, suddenly the ship Malin Kundang rode on got attacked by pirates. All merchandise on the ship was pillaged by those pirates. Most of the ship crews and those on board the ship was even killed without mercy.
Malin Kundang was lucky; he was able to hide in a small space barricaded by woods so he was not killed by the pirates. Malin Kundang then got adrift at sea for days. Even the packed meal from his mother has already run out.
Until at long last, one day, the ship he rode on stranded on a beach. With what little energy he had left, Malin Kundang walked to the nearest town from that beach. The town where Malin got stranded on was a very prosperous town.
With his effort and persistence while working, Malin gradually succeeded in becoming a wealthy man. He had many trading ships with crews exceeding a hundred in number. After becoming wealthy, Malin Kundang propose a local noble daughter to become his wife.
On the other hand, the days that had gone by felt very slow for Mother Rubayah. Every day she looked out towards the sea and prayed that her son was always safe and came back soon. Every time a ship docked, she always looked for news regarding her son. However, none of the ships’ crews nor captains could answer her questions. There was never any messages or items from a person named Malin Kundang.
Years gone by without any words, and Mother Rubayah became older and older. She started to have difficulties when walking, and her back had humped. Until one day, a ship captain told Mother Rubayah a very exciting news.
“Ma’am, did you know, your son has now become a very successful merchant! He has also married a beautiful girl, the daughter of a very prominent noble!” said the captain.
Hearing that news, Mother Rubayah became extremely happy and grateful. His son has become a wealthy man! Certainly he would come back soon to see his mother.
However, months went by without any sign that Malin would come back to his home village. Diligently, Mother Rubayah came to the dock every day without any result.
Malin Kundang himself no longer remember of his mother whom he left behind. A few months after getting married, Malin and his wife along with many of his crews and guards went on a voyage. Without any intent other than trading, Malin Kundang once again stepped foot at Air Manis Beach after all those years.
Mother Rubayah who was looking out towards the sea also saw the very majestic and beautiful ship sailing to the beach. The villagers also started to gather, thinking that the ship belonged to a king or a prince.
However, Mother Rubayah’s eyes were glued to the figures of two people standing on the deck of that ship. She was sure that they were her son Malin Kundang and his wife.
She then limped towards the dock. After coming close enough, she observed the couple who stood there. Their clothes glittered under the sun, their faces bright and decorated with happy smiles because they were welcomed by a lot of people. Walking even closer, Mother Rubayah could see a scar at the man’s right arm. Mother Rubayah became even more convinced that the one she came closer to was Malin Kundang.
Mother Rubayah immediately approached Malin Kundang and hug him tight.
“Malin Kundang, my son! You’re really my son, right?” asked her while holding her tears of joy. “Why did you go for so long without sending any news?”
Seeing the old woman in ragged clothes hug him, Malin was surprised and became angry even though he knew that this old woman was his mother, because he was embarrassed if ever this fact was known by his wife and also his crews.
Before Malin could speak, his beautiful wife spat while saying, “This ugly woman is your mother? Why did you lie to me! Didn’t you say that your mom was a noble with the same peerage as me?!”
Hearing his wife’s harsh words, Malin Kundang immediately pushed his mother until she stumbled towards the sand. “Crazy woman! I am not your son!” said Malin cruelly.
Mother Rubayah who fall down on her back could not believe her son’s behavior. “Malin, Malin my son. I am your mother, Son! Why do you become like this, Son?!”
“Hey, crazy woman! My mother is not like you! Impoverished and dirty!” snapped Malin whilst kicking his mother.
Being treated like that by her son, Malin Kundang’s mother felt very upset and also angry. She never thought her son would become an ungrateful child.
Because of her mounting rage, Mother Rubayah cursed her son while crying, “Oh God, if he is not my son, I forgive his earlier deed. However, if it is true that he is my son named Malin Kundang, I beg for Your justice! I condemn him to become a rock!”
Not long after, Malin Kundang set his sail once again. However, in the middle of the voyage, suddenly the clear sky turned dark. A great storm approached and smashed Malin Kundang’s ship!
Malin Kundang and all aboard his ship got washed away to the beach. There, Malin Kundang’s body along with his ship’s wreckage slowly became stiff and in the end turned into stone.
Until now, a stone resembling a human body can be seen at Air Manis Beach. That stone is none other than Malin Kundang’s body, the ungrateful child who was cursed by his mother into becoming a stone because of his ungratefulness. Between that rock lives a lot of anchovies, mullets, and mackerels. It is said that those fish came from the body fragments of his wife who kept looking for Malin Kundang.
Malin Kundang
Pada zaman dahulu kala, di sebuah perkampungan nelayan di tepi Pantai Air Manis di daerah Padang, Sumatera Barat, hiduplah seorang janda bernama Mande Rubayah. Beliau hidup bersama anak laki-lakinya yang bernama Malin Kundang. Mande Rubayah sangat menyayangi dan memanjakan Malin Kundang. Meski sudah tua, beliau tetap bekerja menjual kue demi mencukupi kebutuhannya serta anak tunggalnya tersebut.
Malin sendiri adalah seorang anak yang rajin dan cerdas, tetapi sedikit nakal. Ia sering mengejar ayam dan memukuli mereka dengan sapu. Suatu hari ketika Malin sedang mengejar ayam, ia tersandung batu dan lengan kanannya terluka. Luka tersebut meninggalkan bekas yang tidak bisa hilang. Ia juga pernah jatuh sakit hingga nyawanya hampir melayang. Kejadian itu menyebabkan Mande Rubayah makin memanjakan Malin Kundang.
Melihat sang ibu yang bekerja keras membanting tulang demi mencari nafkah untuk membesarkan dirinya, Malin Kundang merasa kasihan. Setelah Malin menginjak usia dewasa, timbul keinginannya untuk pergi merantau agar dapat menjadi kaya raya.
Suatu hari, sebuah kapal besar milik seorang saudagar berlabuh ke Pantai Air Manis. Tidak ingin melewatkan kesempatan ini, Malin meminta izin kepada ibunya untuk pergi mengadu nasib di kota.
“Jangan, Malin! Ibu takut terjadi sesuatu padamu di sana. Menetaplah saja di sini, temani ibu,” bujuk ibunya sedih. “Tidakkah kamu ingat, ayahmu tidak pernah kembali lagi setelah pergi merantau.”
“Ibu, tenanglah, tidak akan terjadi apa-apa padaku,” kata Malin sambil menggenggam tangan ibunya. “Ini kesempatanku Bu. Kapal sebesar itu belum tentu akan merapat di pantai ini lagi. Aku ingin mengubah nasib kita Bu. Izinkanlah,” pinta Malin.
“…Baiklah, ibu izinkan. Cepatlah kembali. Ibu akan selalu menunggumu, Nak,” kata ibunya sambil menangis.
Dengan berat hati, Mande Rubayah mengizinkan anaknya pergi. Beliau kemudian membekali Malin dengan nasi berbungkus daun pisang sejumlah tujuh bungkus,
“Bawalah ini untuk bekalmu di perjalanan,” pesan Mande Rubayah sambil menyerahkan tujuh bungkus daun pisang berisi nasi itu kepada Malin.
Setelah itu, berangkatlah Malin Kundang dengan menumpang kapal si saudagar, meninggalkan ibunya sendirian.
Selama berada di kapal, Malin Kundang belajar ilmu pelayaran dari anak buah kapal yang sudah berpengalaman Namun di tengah perjalanan, tiba-tiba kapal yang dinaiki Malin Kundang diserang oleh bajak laut. Semua barang dagangan yang berada di kapal dirampas oleh bajak laut. Bahkan sebagian besar awak kapal dan orang yang berada di kapal tersebut dibunuh tanpa ampun.
Malin Kundang beruntung; dia sempat bersembunyi di sebuah ruang kecil yang terhalangi oleh kayu sehingga tidak dibunuh oleh para bajak laut. Malin Kundang pun terkatung-katung di tengah laut selama berhari-hari. Bekal dari ibunya pun sudah lama habis.
Hingga akhirnya, suatu hari, kapal yang ditumpanginya terdampar di sebuah pantai. Dengan tenaga yang tersisa, Malin Kundang berjalan menuju ke kota terdekat dari pantai tersebut. Kota tempat Malin terdampar adalah kota yang sangat makmur.
Dengan keuletan dan kegigihannya dalam bekerja, Malin lama-kelamaan berhasil menjadi seseorang yang kaya raya. Ia memiliki banyak kapal dagang dengan anak buah yang jumlahnya lebih dari 100 orang. Setelah menjadi kaya raya, Malin Kundang mempersunting seorang putri bangsawan setempat untuk menjadi istrinya.
Di sisi lain, hari-hari yang berlalu terasa sangat lambat bagi Mande Rubayah. Setiap hari beliau memandang ke laut dan berdoa agar anaknya selalu selamat serta cepat kembali. Setiap ada kapal yang merapat, beliau selalu mencari berita terkait anaknya. Namun tidak ada awak kapal maupun nahkoda yang dapat menjawabnya. Tidak pernah ada pesan atau barang apapun dari orang bernama Malin Kundang.
Bertahun-tahun telah berlalu tanpa kabar, dan Mande Rubayah semakin menua. Beliau mulai sulit berjalan, dan punggungnya telah bungkuk. Hingga pada suatu hari, seorang nahkoda memberi kabar bahagia pada Manda Rubayah.
“Mande, tahukah kamu, anakmu kini telah menjadi seorang pedagang sukses! Dia juga telah menikah dengan gadis cantik, putri seorang bangsawan yang sangat kaya raya!” ucapnya.
Mendengar kabar tersebut, Mande Rubayah sangatlah gembira dan bersyukur. Anaknya sudah menjadi seorang yang kaya raya! Tentu ia akan segera kembali untuk menjenguk ibunya.
Namun bulan demi bulan berlalu tanpa ada tanda bahwa Malin akan kembali ke kampung halamannya. Dengan tekun, Mande Rubayah datang ke dermaga setiap hari tanpa hasil.
Malin Kundang sendiri tidak lagi ingat dengan ibunya yang ia tinggalkan. Beberapa bulan setelah menikah, Malin dan istrinya beserta banyak anak buah dan pengawalnya melakukan pelayaran. Tanpa maksud lain selain berdagang, Malin Kundang kembali menginjakkan kaki di Pantai Air Manis setelah bertahun-tahun lamanya.
Mande Rubayah yang sedang memandang ke laut pun melihat sebuah kapal yang sangat megah dan indah berlayar menuju pantai. Orang-orang kampung pun mulai berkumpul, mengira kapal itu adalah milik seorang sultan atau seorang pangeran.
Namun tatapan Mande Rubayah terpaku pada sosok dua orang yang sedang berdiri di atas kapal tersebut. Beliau yakin bahwa mereka adalah anaknya Malin Kundang beserta istrinya.
Beliau pun berjalan tertatih-tatih ke dermaga. Setelah cukup dekat, beliau mengamati pasangan yang berdiri di sana. Pakaian mereka berkilauan di bawah sinar matahari, wajah mereka cerah dihiasi senyum bahagia karena telah disambut banyak orang. Berjalan lebih dekat lagi, Mande Rubayah dapat melihat bekas luka di lengan kanan si pria. Semakin yakinlah Mande Rubayah bahwa yang beliau dekati adalah Malin Kundang.
Mande Rubayah segera menghampiri Malin Kundang dan memeluknya erat.
“Malin Kundang, anakku! Kamu benar anakku, kan?” tanyanya sambil menahan isak tangis karena gembira. “Mengapa kamu pergi begitu lama tanpa mengirimkan kabar?”
Melihat wanita tua yang berpakaian compang-camping itu memeluknya, Malin terkejut dan menjadi marah meskipun ia mengetahui bahwa wanita tua itu adalah ibunya, karena dia malu bila hal ini diketahui oleh istrinya dan juga anak buahnya.
Sebelum Malin sempat berbicara, istrinya yang cantik meludah sambil berkata, “Wanita jelek inikah ibumu? Mengapa dahulu kau bohong padaku! Bukankah dulu kamu bilang ibumu adalah seorang bangsawan yang sederajat denganku?!”
Mendengar kata-kata pedas istrinya, Malin Kundang langsung mendorong ibunya hingga terguling ke pasir. “Wanita gila! Aku bukan anakmu!” ucapnya kasar.
Mande Rubayah yang jatuh terduduk tidak percaya akan perilaku anaknya. “Malin, Malin anakku. Aku ini ibumu, Nak! Mengapa kau jadi seperti ini, Nak?!”
“Hai, wanita gila! lbuku tidak seperti engkau! Melarat dan kotor!” bentak Malin sambil menendang ibunya.
Mendapat perlakuan seperti itu dari anaknya, ibu Malin Kundang sangat sedih sekaligus marah. Ia tidak menduga anaknya menjadi anak durhaka.
Karena kemarahannya yang memuncak, Mande Rubayah mengutuk anaknya sambil menangis, “Oh Tuhan, kalau dia bukan anakku, aku maafkan perbuatannya tadi. Namun jika benar ia anakku yang bernama Malin Kundang, aku mohon keadilanMu! Aku sumpahi dia menjadi sebuah batu!”
Tidak lama kemudian, Malin Kundang kembali pergi berlayar. Namun, di tengah perjalanan, tiba-tiba cuaca yang tadinya cerah berubah menjadi gelap. Badai dahsyat datang dan menghancurkan kapal Malin Kundang hingga berkeping-keping!
Malin Kundang dan seisi kapalnya terbawa ombak hingga ke pantai. Di sana, tubuh Malin Kundang beserta puing-puing kapalnya perlahan menjadi kaku dan akhirnya berubah menjadi batu karang.
Hingga kini, sebongkah batu yang menyerupai tubuh manusia dapat dilihat di Pantai Air Manis. Batu itu tidak lain adalah tubuh Malin Kundang, anak durhaka yang dikutuk ibunya menjadi batu karena telah durhaka. Di antara batu itu banyak terdapat ikan teri, ikan belanak, dan ikan tengiri. Konon, ikan-ikan itu berasal dari serpihan tubuh sang istri yang terus mencari Malin Kundang.
Quite an ungrateful son, right?
The moral of this story is basically to respect your parents and never be ungrateful to them as a child must always be filial to their parents.
Of course, not every mother has the ability and blessing to be able to curse those around her into stone. However, the fact still stands that it’s better to be good to your parents, as you never know what they can and will do.
I also think that it is better to not have that much hope towards someone else, as the higher you climb, the harder you will fall when in the end they don’t return your goodwill. In Bahasa Indonesia, we have an idiom which goes like this: Air susu dibalas dengan air tuba. It translates as ‘Milk got returned with dirty water’ and means a good deed to someone got returned with a bad deed, or can also be said as biting the hand that feeds you.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this myth! Check out also the vocabs below to enrich your word collection.
Thank you and see you ~(^_^)~
Vocabulary Time!
Bahasa Indonesia [English]
Nelayan [fisherman]
Pantai [beach]
Anak laki-laki [son]
Ayam [chicken]
Bekas luka [wound scar]
Nasi [rice]
Merantau [go to another city, could be to look for work or pursue further education]
Bajak laut [pirate]
Gila [crazy]
Batu [stone]
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