Indonesian Folklore "Gajah Wong"

 

The Legend of Gajah Wong

 

 

That day, Ki Sapa Wira whistled cheerfully. As usual, he would bathe the elephant belonging to his lord, Sultan Agung, the king of the Mataram Kingdom. Carefully, Ki Sapa Wira led the elephant, named Kyai Dwipangga.

They walked to the river which was located near the Mataram Palace, and he began to bathe the elephant from the land of Siam.

"Well, now you're clean. Your fur is shiny, now let's go back to your cage," said Ki Sapa Wira to Kyai Dwipangga. Ki Sapa Wira did treat Kyai Dwipangga like his own son. Not surprisingly, Kyai Dwipangga was very obedient to him.

One day, Ki Sapa Wira was unable to bathe Kyai Dwipangga. There is a big boil on his armpit, it hurts so bad. His body also has a fever because of the boil. He asked his sister-in-law, Ki Kerti Pejok, to replace him in bathing Kyai Dwipangga. "Kerti, please help me. I really can't work today," said Ki Sapa Wira.

"Don't worry, I will definitely help you. But please tell me, how can I get the elephant to obey me? I'm afraid that later he will get angry and attack me," replied Ki Kerti Pejok.

"Usually when he starts to get restless, I pat his ass, then I pull his tail. Later he will return to calm and bathe alone in the river. You just have to bathe it," explained Ki Sapa Wira. Ki Kerti Pejok nodded in understanding. He then went to the river to bathe Kyai Dwipangga.

Along the way, Ki Kerti Pejok invited Kyai Dwipangga to chat. He also brought fruit as provisions for the journey. "Fat elephant, you want to eat coconut?" he asked, throwing a coconut at Kyai Dwipangga. Kyai Dwipangga caught the coconut with his trunk. He easily broke the coconut and ate it.

"Now you're full, right? Let's go again," said Ki Kerti Pejok while hitting Kyai Dwipangga's ass.

Arriving at the river, Ki Kerti Pejok carried out his duties with ease. He rubbed all parts of Kyai Dwipangga's body until it was clean and shiny. After that they returned to the Mataram palace. "Kang, today I have done my job well. Do you still need my help tomorrow? asked Ki Kerti Pejok to Ki Sapa Wira.

“If you don't mind, would you mind giving her one more bath? I still have a fever, while the elephant has to be bathed every day," answered Ki Sapa Wira.

"Okay, I don't mind. After all, the elephant is very obedient. So, I have no trouble bathing him," said Ki Kerti Pejok.

"Thank you Kerti, the day after tomorrow I will be cured. You will be free from this task,” said Ki Sapa Wira.

The next day, Ki Kerti Pejok picked up Kyai Dwipangga. It was raining a little that morning, but it didn't look like it was going to get heavier. At the river, Ki Kerti Pejok hesitated because he saw the river was receding.

"Wow, the water is very shallow. Where can this elephant bathe? I can't do it myself, let alone a big elephant?” he thought to himself.

"Fat elephant, let's find another river. The river is shallow, you can't swim here."

Ki Kerti Pejok led Kyai Dwipangga down the river. There the water seems to be high and the flow is also quite swift. "Well, it seems more fun here. Come on, come on in, take a bath. I will rub your back with this coconut leaf,” said Ki Kerti Pejok while hitting Kyai Dwipangga's ass. While bathing Kyai Dwipangga, Ki Kerti Pejok thought,

“I should tell Kakang to bathe the elephant here. Here the water is deeper, the current is also quite heavy. It's strange, how come Kanjeng Sultan Agung has not known the existence of this river, huh?"

When he was busy talking to himself, suddenly from upstream came a very large flash flood. The flood came very quickly. Ki Kerti Pejok and Kyai Dwipangga didn't even notice.

In an instant, they were blown away and carried away. “Please…please…,” shouted Ki Kerti Pejok. But no one heard. The fate of Ki Kerti Pejok and Kyai Dwipangga is really sad. They were swept away by the current and drifted into the South Sea.

It is very unfortunate, they perished in the ferocity of the flash flood. Ki Kerti Pejok did not know that all this time Sultan Agung had forbidden his servants from bathing elephants downstream of the river. Because he knew danger could come at any moment there. Ki Sapa Wira is grieving. He was very sad because he lost his sister-in-law and his beloved elephant.

To commemorate the incident, Sultan Agung named the river Kali Gajah Wong. Kali means river, elephant wong means elephant and people. Kali Gajah Wong is located in the east of Yogyakarta City.