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A Haunted Banyan tree
By Bambang Udoyono
Once in the island of Java there was an old banyan tree. It was located on a slope of mount Andong in central Java. The scenery is spendid. There are many coconut trees and bushes. And the banyan tree is surrounded by rice fields. It is big and has many branches that reach the ground. It is very shady. Under the banyan tree there is a tomb of Kyai Wirapati. In the daytime it looks beautiful but at night it looks spooky. When the wind blows its branches move and produce sounds. At night when it is quiet the sound is clearly heard in the surrounding villages. Amazingly its sound is different from the sound of other tree. Its sound is “Groot, tot”. When it produce sound people are scared and nobody dare to come out of their houses. Actually there is a legend behind it. Here is the story. A long time ago the island of Java was conquered and colonized by the Dutch. The wealth of the island was exploited by the colonizer for hundred of years. They were very unjust and very cruel to the native people. Consequently the local people were poor while the colonizer were very rich. The native people were not content with that situation. One day there was a man named Kyai Wirapati who lived in the regency of Magelang rebelled. He had many followers. They waged guerilla war. They fought the Dutch colonial power by hit and run tactics. When the Dutch slept at night they attacked and when the Dutch attacked they ran away. Wirapati won many battles and soon his influence grew stronger and stronger. More and more people became his follower. He could control more and more areas.
The Dutch were very worried about the growing power of Wirapati so they thought very hard to find a way to defeat him. The Dutch officers held meeting many times to find a solution. One day they found a way. They announced to the local people that whoever can help the Dutch to defeat Kyai Wirapati, would be granted a high position as bupati (the regent) of Magelang. Since the local people hated the Dutch none of them interested to the offer. Several months later the news reached Kyai Wirapati. At first he did not reacted to the news. But several days later he changed his mind. He was interested to the offer. He felt that his life as a rebel is hard. He had to move constantly because he was threatened by the Dutch military. His life was always in danger. So were the lives of his two sons. He had two sons. Their names are Grot and Sentot. As a father he would be happy if his sons live happy lives. He thought if they were regents of Magelang all members of the family would be happy.
So he set a plan and told them about his ideas. He asked his sons to arrest him and bring him to the Dutch army. At first they refused the plan. But after long thingking and heated debate they finally accepted the plan. Grot and Sentot brought their father to the nearest Dutch army post. The Dutch military was very happy and satisfied with them. They decided to give a death sentence to Kyai Wirapati. On the d –day Kyai Wirapati was executed in the field of Magelang. Everybody was watching. Kyai Wirapati was hanged in front of public. But something unusual happened. Grot and Sentot wanted to show their loyalty to the Dutch army. So they kicked their fathers head ! Amazingly they were crippled instantly ! They fell down and could not walk. Since they became disabled they did not qualify to become a regent anymore. They Dutch colonial government then cancelled their reward for Grot and Sentot. Before long they died in sorrow. Meanwhile Kyai Wirapati was buried outside of his village in Magelang, under a big banyan tree. When the wind blows hard the banyan tree would produce sound that heard like someone’s cry : Grot ! Tot !.
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May, 2012
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