Many years ago when Israel was dry, everything was dry, everything was thirsty for rain. The rain didn’t pour and the rainy months have past.

Everything was thirsty for water - the people, the trees and the animals were thirsty. The wind did not shove, clouds were not in the sky, a single drop of rain did not pour.

The people were worried. Every morning the people were looking at the sky if there were any clouds. All the people will pray for a drop of rain but there wasn’t any rain.

Honi was a peaceful man. The people said, “Honi will drop us rain and went to Honi and asked him: “can you pour rain for us?” Honi took a stick and made a circle around him and prayed and said, “God please pour rain,” and there was a drop of rain pouring. Honi said, “God please drop more rain,” and there was more rain dropping.

That’s why they call him Honi the Circular.

——————————————————————–

This translation of a Jewish legend comes from Ilana Ben Sasson, who teaches English in a school in Jerusalem, and was done by one of his students.

Share This

Song of Amergin is an ancient Celtic calendar-alphabet, found in several purposely garbled Irish and Welsh variants, which briefly summarizes the prime poetic myth.

I am a stag:of seven tines,
I am a flood:across a plain,
I am a wind:on a deep lake,
I am a tear:the Sun lets fall,
I am a hawk:above the cliff,
I am a thorn:beneath the nail,
I am a wonder:among flowers,
I am a wizard:who but I
Sets the cool head aflame with smoke?

I am a spear:that roars for blood,
I am a salmon:in a pool,
I am a lure:from paradise,
I am a hill:where poets walk,
I am a boar:ruthless and red,
I am a breaker:threatening doom,
I am a tide:that drags to death,
I am an infant:who but I
Peeps from the unhewn dolmen, arch?

I am the womb:of every holt,
I am the blaze:on every hill,
I am the queen:of every hive,
I am the shield:for every head,
I am the tomb:of every hope.

(tr. Robert Graves, The White Goddess, Faber and Faber Limited)

Share This

Muara Kaman county lies along the Mahakam River, in eastern Borneo.  In the past the county was a kingdom, ruled by Queen Aji Bidara Putih.  She was a typical queen of myths:  beautiful, wise, and sensitive.  Many princes and kings proposed her but she always refused them because she concerned more about ruling her country and guarding her people.

One day, a Chinese junk came to eastern Borneo.  First the people thought it was a merchant ship but the ship was loaded with trade goods and highly trained soldiers.

Their envoys brought gold antiques and porcelains to announce the proposal from Prince of China.  The queen didn’t refuse instantly and replied that she had to ponder first.  After the envoys left the palace, the queen called a court officer and ordered him to infiltrate the Chinese junk to gather information on the prince.

When the night fell, the officer sneaked into the junk, got through behind every guards, and finally found the prince’s room.  The large door was opened and he couldn’t find any peek hole.  So the officer put his ear to the wall, trying to catch sounds from inside.  He heard that the prince was having his dinner and the noise of his chewing and slurping surprised the officer.  It was like a boar which once he heard when he was hunting.

He quickly left the boat and returned to the palace.  He reported that the prince must have been a phantom, not a human.  He believed that the phantom could be in a human’s form only during the daytime.  The queen was so surprised and got angry.  On the next day, she refused his proposal.

The enraged prince ordered his troops to raid Muara Kaman.  The battle was won by the huge troops of China, and they got close to the palace.  Queen Aji Bidara Putih chewed a leaf of betel vine and sang a mantra (spell) while holding it.  When she threw it to the Chinese troops, it turned to giant centipedes.  The Chinese troops started to retreat but three centipedes chased them and sank the junks.

The site of the sunk ship is now known as Danau Lipan, Lake of Centipede, with Chinese treasures hidden on the lake’s bed.

- Mario Rustan

Share This

This story comes from Tana Toraja, in South Sulawesi (Celebes).

Landorundun was a young beautiful girl with long hair.  One day she took a bath in the river, and combed her hair.  One of her hair was fallen, and when she put it on a stone, the wind flew it to the river bank and it reached the middle of sea.

Landorundun’s hair was glowing in the sunlight, and an adventurer, Bendurana saw it from his ship.  He ordered his companions to take that hair, but all of them came back wounded.  Bendurana then walked on water, took the hair himself.  He rolled the hair over his arm, and the hair turned to be very long.  When he wondered the origin of the hair, a bird said to him where it came from.  He followed the flock of the birds, and finally dropped the anchor to a stone, nowadays called Batu Sangkinan Lembang.  Then Bendurana planted a mango tree, instantly grew and had fruits.

He walked around the place and found a girl, Landorundun.  Bendurana asked Landorundun to marry him, but she said her father Solokang and mother Lambe Susu aren’t ready to be separated from her.

Then Bendurana walked away, but he kept stalking Landorundun.  When Landorundun took a bath at the river, she saw the mango tree that Bendurana had planted and picked fruits.

After she ate it, Bendurana asked her who ate his mango, and Landorundun said the shepherd boys did it, but they said Landorundun did.  Finally Landorundun surrendered and agreed to marry Bendurana.

To trick her mother Lambe Susu, Bendurana gave her a bottle with large hole on its bottom, and ordered Lambe Susu to fill it with water.  When she realized she had been tricked, Lambe Susu just saw her daughter sailed away.

At their wedding ceremony, Landorundun wasn’t happy, and kept quiet.  But when a man brought a crow with invalid leg, she laughed seeing the crow jumping in an odd way.

- Mario Rustan

Share This