Once
upon a time in Sumidang area of South Sumatra, there was a prince named Prince
Serunting. He was a jealous person.
His
jealousy toward his brother in law, Arya Tebing, led to a big fight. Because
Prince Serunting was stronger, Arya Tebing cheated by persuading his sister
(the wife of Prince Serunting) to tell him the prince’s secret. Arya Tebing
then won. Prince Serunting got badly injured and felt betrayed by his wife. So
he chose to wander the land.
Prince
Serunting then meditated on Siguntang Mountain. In his meditation, he heard a voice
that said “You must meditate under a bamboo tree until your whole body covered
by bamboo leaves.” The prince did the message and got the power. Every word
that came out of his mouth would become reality and a curse.
After
got the power, he went home to his village. On the way home, he tested his
power. He cursed everything and every people he met on the way to become stone.
Because of this, people called him The Bitter Tongue.
However,
Serunting realized his mistake in the Serut Hill when he saw it was full of
stone. Then he turned it into a forest. In an instant the hill turned into a
timber forest until the local people thanked him because they could sell the
timber in the market.
Then he continued his journey and arrived at Karang Agung Village. Serunting came to an old hut inhabited by a very kind old couple. He found out the husband and wife had wanted to have a child for a long time to help them work. Serunting granted it. He took a strand of the grandmother’s hair and turned the hair into a baby. The old couple was happy and thanked Serunting.
Serunting felt happy that he can help others. For the rest of his journey, Serunting learnt and tried to help people in trouble. But even though the words that came out of his mouth were good words and to help people in need, people still called him the name of The Bitter Tongue or Si Pahit Lidah.
