The Three Sisters and the N'DaungSnake

There is one magical place in Indonesia that I just never managed to reach, many times my intensions were to get there but is just not meant to be. I am talking about the island of Sumatra. It is one of the five biggest islands of the Indonesian archipelago.

In the past, Sumatra was known asSvarnadhipa(the isle of gold). The Svarnabhumi, golden earth, is very rich in natural resources and culture. Their history recorded the arrival of Hinduism, the blooming of Buddhism, the spreading of Islam, the Dutch colonization, the Japanese occupation and many other revolutions.

This tale I am going to share today precedes all those ages. It came from a time when its people simply believed in the power and spirits of nature, which is now labelled as paganism, animism and dynamism.

Bukit Barisan (The Marching Hills) is the name of the very long mountain range that spans from one end of our island to the other, covering more than one thousand miles. These mountains are surrounded by evergreen tropical forest.

Somewhere in the island, lived a woman with her three daughters. Her neighbours called her Madame Violet, after the colour of her garment.

Madame Violet was a very beautiful woman. Many suitors had come to woo her but she declined their offers.

Madame Violet loved her children very much. Being a single parent, she worked very hard to raise her daughters into three fine maidens.

One day, Madame Violet became very ill. Her face was pale and her body was weak. Her children were worried for her. They decided to seek advices from anorang pintar(a shaman/a medicine man).

The sisters walked through the wood to reach the shaman's abode. Before they did, however, a spirit appeared before them.

"Come, children of Violet. I mean you no harm," she said, "I am a spirit of the evergreen tree."

The sisters went closer to the spirit, who then told them something they did not expect to hear, "your mother was once a spirit like I am. She was a flower spirit. Like many of our kind did in the past, she released her immortality to live the rest of her life as a human being.

Many spirits fell in love with men. They left our realm and became humans' wives and then died as mortals. Your mother did not do it for any man.

Violet had always been a mother. Unfortunately, she was a flower tree who could not bear fruits or acorns.

One stormy day, she saw three butterfly eggs washed away by the rain. She released her power, turning herself into a mortal woman and the three eggs into three babies. By doing such thing, her lifespan as a mortal would not be as long as it should be."

The three sisters cried. They were surprised by the truth of their beings and the sacrifice their mother did. They begged the tree spirit to save their mother.

"We need to rekindle your mother's life force," the tree spirit said, "unfortunately, I do not possess such power. You need to warm your mother with the heat of the eternal flame."

The spirit told them about a cave located in a mountain nearby. The cave was filled with many sparkling stones. In the middle of the cave, there were ever-burning fire crystals. The heat of the crystals turned nearby stones into glowing embers.

The spirit asked the sisters to go to the cave with a stick of sandalwood. They need to light the stick by burning it with the eternal flame. Once they had the flame, they should put it near their mother's Body. By doing so, the heat of the flame will replenish Madame Violet's life force.

The sisters thanked the spirit and departed to the mountain. The cave was not hard to reach, but the sister did not expect it to be guarded by a giant snake.

"I am Ular NDaung. This cave is my dwelling. Be gone or be eaten!" the snake hissed.

The three young maidens begged the snake to let them use the eternal flame to light their sandalwood stick so that they could save their mother.

"Fine! I shall let you get into my cave, but one of you must remain here to be my wife!" said the snake.

The younger sister volunteered herself, despite her sisters' objection. "Go, light the stick and take the flame home. Our mother's body is going cold as the time passes!"

The two other sisters went home in tears. When they almost reached their village, the elder sister told the second sister, "Here, take the flame home and heal our mother. I will go back to the cave and see if I can save our younger sister."

The night fell. The youngest sister sat alone by the eternal flame in the cave. The great snake, Ular Ndaung, called for her from outside. The young maiden walked out in fear.

She saw the snake coiling a tall tree near the mouth of the cave. Under the moonlight, the snake flattened, leaving only the skin hanging on the tree. A young, handsome man came out of the skin and approached her.

"Do not be afraid, fair maiden," he said, "I am actually a human being."

He continued, "A few years ago, a woman came to me saying that she wished to be my wife. I declined her proposal because I had no feelings for her. Feeling ashamed, she took her own life.

A sage, who was in love with that woman, was enraged. He cursed me into a giant snake. Since it was not entirely my sin, the curse only work during the day. At night, I turned back into a human being."

The third sister, who had became sympathetic towards the young man, let him take her hands. They walked down the mountain to a small lake. There, by the water, they announced themselves as husband and wife, calling the moon and the stars as their witnesses.

Meanwhile, the elder sister reached the cave. She tried to find her sister but she could find no one there. She saw the snake's hide hanging on the tree.

In her anger and sadness, she took the snake hide and drag it into the cave. With one throw, she burned the hide in the eternal flame.

By doing so, she released the prince from the curse; for the skin of the snake could only be burned by a person who did not desire the handsome man beneath.

In the morning, the newlywed couple returned to the cave and reunited with the elder sister. Together, they returned home where Madame Violet and the second sister waited for them.

I guess tales like this one reminds me about how travel should not only be an adventure it should be romantic discovery of cultures, customs and beautiful tales. So with this we end our travel tales as we start planning our next adventure. This time however we will be staying close to home. There is nothing like finding adventure in your own back yard.