The legend of Curug Semawur

A folktale from Kendal District, Central Java, Indonesia.

Long time ago in the top of mount Prau, there lived a giant. He was actually a prince who has been spelled by God. When he was a boy, there was a weak old lady asked for some food, but the prince refused to help her even he insulted her appearance. Because of the prince’s bad behavior, the old lady prayed to the God for punishing him. She said to the prince that he would live in sadness forever before he met someone who could receive his ugliness sincerely. Then the old lady disappeared.

Seven days later, a very heavy rain hit the land, thunder sounded badly, and suddenly a lightning struck the highest castle in the kingdom. At the same time, the prince fell down and turned into a giant. A big giant with green scale covered all his body. The king and the queen were very sad to see his son. They were ashamed of the people surrounded the kingdom. They decided to send their son in the top of a mountain. Some soldiers were asked to take the prince reached the place secretly.

Years passed, the giant grew bigger and bigger. He lived with none but animals in the mountain. They accompanied the giant as if they knew that he was actually a prince who must be guarded every time and everywhere.

One morning, there was a woman was searching the wood, she heard a hard voice. It was like a crying, a hard crying. He searched to the right and the left, but found nothing. He continued her activity. Again, she heard the voice. Even it was louder than before. She looked surrounding, and notified a cave. She got into the cave to follow the crying voice carefully. Seeing a big green scaly giant was kneeling on a stone, she was shocked. Luckily, she could refrain herself not to scream. She stood quietly, and heard the giants’ praying. While crying he pleaded to the God to forgive his mistake. He said that he had repent and would never insult others’ ugliness. Seeing the odd thing, she ran as fast as she could because she was afraid of the giant.  Arrived home, the woman kept thinking about the giant. It was impossible that a giant could speak, pray and cry. She was so curious.

In the following day, the woman didn’t go to the jungle. She went to the town to examine a pregnant woman. Actually the woman was a midwife. She helped every woman who wanted to bear. Her house was in the slope of mountain. She lived alone. Her husband had died because a chronic ill. She had no any children. For her need, she planted some fruits and vegetables in front of her house. She exchanged her garden harvest to litters of rice or grain. She was very famous of her kindness among all people in the kingdom and in the village.

One day, the woman was run out of the wood. She was still afraid of the giant, but she had no choice. She went to the jungle and started to do her usual job. After finished collecting the dry twigs, she took her shawl to lift them. On her way to home, she was blocked by a hungry tiger. She was so afraid and screamed for help. She threw away the twigs and turned back into the jungle. In the other side of the jungle, the giant heard the woman’s screaming. He directed to go to the voice and found the woman was going to be eaten by a tiger. Soon, he pulled the tiger away from the woman. They were fighting hard. At last, the tiger was killed.

The giant was injured all of his body. Red fresh blood was out of his body. The woman was surprised to see the incident. She thanked the giant. The giant said to the woman not to go to the jungle alone. There were many dangers over there. The woman replied that she had no one to accompany her. She asked the giant why he could spoke as usual man. The giant replied that it was a prize from the God. Seeing the blood, the woman took some leaves and healed the giants’ wound. Once again, the woman thanked the giant for saving her life from the danger, and then she went home.

On the way home, the woman kept thinking about the giant. She thought that he was not a real giant. He was like a human. If he was a giant, surely he had eaten her as the tiger would do, because giants were the same as wild animals. They fed on meat.

Arrived home, the woman did her usual activity. She watered her plants, cooked her meals and cleaned her house. Late at night, she woke from her sleep because of a dream. She dreamed the giant. She saw the giant were pleading and crying for help. It was also happened in the following night. She dreamed the giant three times. The dream arose the woman’s sympathy. Finally, she visited the giant in the cave. There, he was laid weakly. In his weakness, he kept pleading the God for forgiving his past mistake. The woman got closer to the giant and said,” Surely God will forgive you as He is Merciful, never worry about Him.” the giant replied, “Thanks for calming me down. You are like an angel. You healed both my wound and my worry”. The woman said, “Don’t mention it. You also had saved me from the danger. I have not really helped you yet”. After that, the woman went home. The giant took her to her house, because that was too late.

Late at night, in the cave, the giant prayed to the God. He said that he had met a very kind woman. Because of the woman, he didn’t feel lonely anymore. He felt happy to have a friend like her. Unintentionally, he talked about the woman whole night. He couldn’t sleep of thinking about her. He fell in love with her and was impatient to wait the morning came.

In the dawn, he went to the woman’s house. Knocked the door many times, but none answered. Worried about the woman, he decided to break the door. Inside the house, he found the woman was lying weakly on her bed. She was very weak and couldn’t wake up. She said to the giant that her time was up. Her job had finished. She also said that she would wait for the giant in the heaven, whoever you were and however your physics, kept being useful to others. God never saw your appearance; He just saw your heart. She asked the giant to bring her with him to the mountain and then buried her in front of his cave.

After buried the woman’s corpse, he pleaded to the God, “once again, please forgive my mistake and thanks for sending me an angel. Though my loved one had gone, I will always be pleased as she had leaved her happiness for me. I will try to be useful to the nature and all living things over here in the mountain. When my time is up, please turn me into a something useful for every living thing in this world.”

Years passed, the giant got older and weaker. Every day he took care the plants over the mountain. He made a very beautiful flower park around the woman’s tomb. One day, he made a big hole beside the woman’s grave. He though that his time would up soon. After he finished his work, he felt very tired. He fell to the hole and suddenly his body was covered by piles of flower. After that, from the hole, water came out, flowed and fell to the lower place. It became a waterfall. A huge and very high waterfall, on the left and the right side of the waterfall, there were many green plants. It was the giant’s manifest. His dream came true, becoming a useful thing for everything and everyone forever. Becoming the water meant becoming the life for every living thing in this world.

On the other side, there was a very beautiful angel welcome the giant. No, not a giant anymore. He turned into a handsome prince. They flew together to the heaven happily. This lake is what we know with Semawur Waterfall. Local people call it Curug Semawur. (Semawur means huge and high).