Mythology and Folklore from your country. -

[Solid Snek]

My tribe used to tell a lot of stories!

One of my favorites was called The Burning Time. The legend goes that within a decade, our world was going to end. The Earth Goddess, angered by our factories and capitalism and ignorance of the Great Prophet Malthus, would cause the world's temperature to rise until the planet could tak it no more. Crops would burn, polar bears would go extinct, the hungry seas would rise to consume our vane cities, and there was nothing we could do to stop it - NOTHING - save if everyone stopped being greedy and resolved to obeyed the King. We were given mere years to prepare before the point of no return was passed, which caused us to tear at our scalps and gnash our teeth in fear.

One of a thousand variations on the tale which our storytellers entertained us with.

But, of course, the world is still here. Doom's Day came and went and our cities were not destroyed. So, our wise men recalculate the Apocalypse, and once again we gnashed our teeth and tore our scalps - but that day came and went, too. And the next, and the next. In fact, my tribe still tells this story even today, except now the timeframe is rarely given, and it is no longer called the story of The Burning Time. Now it's the story of The Great Change, which is nice, because regardless of what happens when the judgement of Gaia finally comes - whether it gets colder or hotter, wetter or drier, too many animals die or too few - then our wise men can nod and say they foresaw it long ago.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

 

[Rezza]

Let me tell you of the story of Timun Mas, a Javanese female giant-slayer story (quite a rarity I believe) from Indonesia.

So an old widow named Mbok Rondo (basically mean old widow, I know, so uncreative) is lonely because her husband is died and she has no child. She prayed to the gods for help, but instead her prayer was answered by a wicked giant named Buta Ijo (meaning Green Giant). He gave her a bag of cucumber seed and told her to plant it. As she plant it, the seed grew and bear fruit to a gold cucumber. When she cut the fruit, she found a beautiful baby girl inside. Adopting her, she named her Timun Mas (Golden Cucumber). However, Buta Ijo then told her that in exchange for the baby, Buta Ijo will return when the baby is an adult to eat her. Desperate, Mbok Rondo agreed to the term.

Timun Mas quickly grew up into a beautiful and kind young girl. However, Mbok Rondo is anxious about her deal with the giant, and she didn't want her daughter to be taken away to be eaten. So Mbok Rondo ask for help to a sage in a mountain. Agreeing to help, the sage gave her four bags, each containing: cucumber seed, needles, salts, and terasi (shrimp paste). He told her to use the items against the giant.

As the day approaches of the giant's arrival, Mbok Rondo told Timun Mas to run away, equipping her with the four bags. As Timun Mas ran away, Buta Ijo arrived for his payment. But when he realized he's bamboozled, he gave chase to the girls. Timun Mas, being chased, then used the magic items to help her escape.

First, the when she threw the cucumber seed, a forest sprang up. The giant, although blocked, managed to continue the chase by eating all of the cucumber. Then, Timun Mas threw the needles, which turn into a forest of sharp bamboos. Although wounded from the bamboo, Buta Ijo still managed to break free. For the third item, Timun Mas threw the salt, which expand into a large sea between her and the giant. But Buta Ijo, still determined, swam across the sea. But as he swam, however, the girl thre the final item, the terasi. It transformed into a giant boiling volcanic mudfield. The giant is trapped inside the mud, and quickly drowned and boiled alive. Once the giant is dead, Timun Mas returned to her mother