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Naga Gombang

Location
Bukit Lesung
Main characters
Event
Dictionary words


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    Summary



    In English

    Why do Balinese shout "Alive, Alive" when there is an earthquake?

    Once upon a time, when there still kingdoms in Bali, there was a widow with two children, a boy and a girl. At that time Lake Bratan did not yet exist. Long story short, the mother had a secret affair with a dragon snake that dwelled in a rice barn near her house. The children started to get suspicious; why does mother every time she comes home from the forest go up into the barn? At one point, when mother went into the forest again, the children climbed into the barn. Inside the barn they saw a pile of eggs larger than chicken eggs. In the middle of the pile of eggs there was a strange egg. They took the egg home and cooked it. Then the boy ate it. Instantly the boy turned into a snake. Because they were worried about causing commotion in the village, the boy and girl decided to go into the forest looking for their mother. The sister carried her brother. They met their mother deeply in love with a dragon. They were angry, because they thought that because of the dragon the brother had become like that. He challenged the dragon snake to fight. In the end, the brother who had been transformed into a snake defeated the dragon. But unfortunately their mother also died in the fight. The siblings went up to Bukit Lesung. Arriving there, the brother thought he must enter the bowels of the earth, because he had become a dragon, named Naga Gombang. So as not to upset his sister, he told her to get water with a basket. While his sister was getting water, the brother entered the mountain crater. When his sister returned from getting water, the brother had already disappeared into the bowels of the earth. The brother said, “Don't you cry, I was destined to live below”. Arriving below, the brother took the position of a sleeping snake, curled up in a circle.

    It is said that if he is anxious to know how is sister is doing above, he would move, which results in the earth moving. That is why when there is an earthquake, Balinese people will shout "alive, alive" while sounding a bamboo bell, to let the brother that his sister is still alive above, and he can stop moving about.

    In Balinese

    In Indonesian

    Dahulu ketika jaman kerajaan, ada seorang janda beranak dua, laki-laki dan perempuan. Pada waktu itu Danau Bratan belum ada. Singkat cerita, sang ibu mempunyai hubungan dengan siluman ular besar, atau ular Naga yang berdiam di dalam lubung padi di dekat rumahnya. Lama kelamaan sang anak mulai menaruh curiga, kenapa ibunya setiap pulang dari hutan selalu naik ke lumbung.

    Pada suatu saat, ketika ibunya pergi ke hutan, dia naik ke lumbung. Di dalam lumbung dilihatnya ada tumpukan telur yang ukurannya lebih besar dari telur ayam. Di tengah tumpukan telur tersebut terdapat sebuah telur aneh. Telur tersebur diambil dan dimasak lalu dimakan oleh anaknya yang laki.

    Seketika wujud kakaknya berubah menjadi ular. Karena kuatir akan menimbulkan keributan di dalam kampung, mereka pergi ke hutan mencari ibu mereka. Lalu oleh sang adik, kakaknya tersebut digendong lari ke dalam hutan. Di dalam hutan mereka bertemu dengan ibu mereka yang sedang menjalin kasih dengan seekor ular naga. Lalu marahlah mereka, karena menganggap gara-gara Naga tersebut, si kakak menjadi seperti itu. Ditantangnya ular naga tersebut berkelahi. Akhirnya sang kakak yang telah berubah wujud menjadi ular berhasil mengalahkan ular naga tersebut. Namun sayang ibu mereka pun turut meninggal dalam perkelahian itu.

    Kemudian mereka berjalan sampai ke arah Bukit Lesung. Sesampainya disana, sang kakak berpikiran dia harus masuk ke perut bumi, sebab dia telah menjadi Naga, yaitu Naga Gombang. Supaya adiknya tidak kaget, dia lalu menyuruh adiknya mengambil air dengan keranjang. Tujuannya agar ketika dia masuk ke perut bumi, adiknya tidak melihat dan kaget.

    Ketika adiknya sibuk mengambil air dengan keranjang tersebut, sang kakak masuk ke dalam kawah gunung. Saat adiknya kembali dari mengambil air, sang kakak telah berada di perut bumi. Sang kakak berkata, jangan kau tangisi, kakakmu memang sudah takdirnya berada di dibawah (perut bumi). Sesampainya dibawah, sang kakak yang telah menjadi ular Naga tersebut melingkar, seperti posisi ular sedang tidur.

    Konon katanya, kalau sang kakak gelisah ingin tau kabar adiknya di atas, dia akan bergerak, yang mengakibatkan bumi menjadi bergoyang. Karena itulah ketika terjadi gempa, masyarakat Bali akan berteriak “idup, idup” sambil membunyikan kentongan, untuk memberitahu sang kakak bahwa adiknya masih hidup di atas.