Timog Silangan: The Folktales of Southeast Asia

Si Tanggang

Si Tanggang was a poor boy who lived with his father, Talang, and mother, Deruma. The father was a very poor fisherman. They lived by the sea. However, despite living in abject poverty Si Tanggang was a far-sighted boy. He had ambition and dreams to be rich and live a good live.

Tanggang grew older. One day, he told his mother his dreams that he wanted to be a traveller to find riches. He said he must be rich to help her and his father. But Talang and Deruma were reluctant to let him go. However, Tanggang was adamant to leave the village so the parents gave in. Tanggang was elated and promised the parents he would come back to the village when he became rich.

He began his journey in a little boat. In the journey, he was captured by a captain of a junk (an old Malay word for junk is jong) and he was made a slave. Time went by. Tanggang worked hard and obeyed every wish and whims of the captain thus later he became the apple of the captain’s eye. He was taught how to sail. As the captain did not have any son he grew to favour Tanggang that he later adopted Tanggang to be his son. After some time he asked Tanggang to marry his daughter.

The captain grew old and one day, he died and Tanggang was made the junk master. The clever Tanggang then showed his prowess as a seafarer and he became much richer. His name was renowned and later as he sailed to far places he married the second time. This time he married a beautiful princess.

Tanggang was fair to his two wives that he always brought them sailing and sight seeing. One day the grand junk docked at a river mouth of a village. People were awed looking a beautiful junk anchored in their village. The news of the grandeur spread and drew villagers in droves to see it.

But some villagers began to feel that the master of the junk was someone whom they used to see a long time ago. After much whispers and glances, they realised that the captain was Tanggang! They were very excited and ran back to the village to tell Talang and Deruma, Tanggang’s father and mother, that their son had come home. Talang and Deruma were very happy to hear the news. Quickly Deruma cooked Tanggang’s favourite food. Then they hurried to the river and rowed their little boat to the river mouth to see if that was really their beloved son whom they hadn’t met so long.

Alas, as they reached the big junk, the sailors stopped them from boarding. A while later, Tanggang appeared with his wife. Tanggang looked at the man and the woman. Deruma realised that that was indeed Tanggang her beloved son. She immediately cried out for Tanggang and excitedly gave the food to him. But Tanggang had another thought – an evil one. As he realised those poor folks were his father and mother he remembered his princess wife. Looking at his father’s and mother’s tattered clothes, Tanggang felt disgusted and embarrassed. They were so poor to be the father and mother-in-law of a princess. Wrapped in shame Tanggang turned away. But Talang and Deruma, so elated to see their son, didn’t realise Tanggang’s disgust that they cried his name and rushed to hug him.

Tanggang pretended not knowing them. After all he had been telling everyone his father and mother were long dead. Seeing Talang and Deruma, Tanggang’s wife asked him if the poor man and woman were really his parents. Fearful if his wife knew his secret Tanggang arrogantly chased Talang and Deruma away, pushing the food from his mother’s hand. The food dropped to the floor. The mother went on to hug him, trying to reason out that he was her son. Embarrassed, Tanggang pushed his mother away again and again. Deruma fell. Realising their son had forgotten them Talang and Deruma gave way. Heart broken, drenched in tears, they slowly rowed back to their village.

As soon as they reached the river bank, the mother looked up to the sky, stretched her two hands high and cried. “God the Almighty, if it is true he is the son of mine, whom I gave birth and nursed and loved, do punish him O God, do punish him O God, do punish him O God.”

As soon as the mother ended her sad wail, the sky immediately turned dark, black cloud hovered. A sharp lightning pierced through. The wind grew hard, the water rough. The waves began to smash the junk. The junk rolled uncontrollably from side to side, rocked by the black water. The sailors’ hearts sank. They knew what was going on.

Their rich master was being punished. The rough sea was chastisement from God the Almighty. Tanggang’s eyes widened. Regretting, deeply in fear, hands waving towards his mother, he screamed as loud as possible. He called for forgiveness. He wept and wailed in tears, his hoarse voice turned courser. But it was too late. The mother, heart hurt and soul wounded, turned away. In the midst of the roaring sea and flashing lightning the raging waves engulfed the junk. The water rushed in. The junk sank. Tanggang’s soulful voice vanished.

When the sea calmed, the villagers stared in astonishment. Tanggang, his wives, the junk and the sailors had turned into a huge stone, taking the shape of the junk.

The moral of this story is that we have to honour our parents. We need to shower our parents with love and respect. God the Almighty, or life itself, will punish those showing disrespect to their fathers and mothers.