Aji Saka – Contoh Narrative Text

Aji Saka

A long long time ago in the island of Java there was a
kingdom of Medang Kamulan.   The land of Java was very fertile and
productive.  Most of the island of Java are arable.  And water are
abundant.  Java was very rich with plants.  They had almost all
fruits in the world.  All year long the weather is always sunny.  As
a result farmers can grow any kinds of fruits, vegetable and all kinds of plant
all year long. The land of Java was also very rich with gold and many kinds of
mineral.  Many people earned their living by working on gold mine. 
Since Java was also rich with mine they also made weapons like sword, lance,
trident etc.  They sold those weapons to China, India and many other
countries.  But if you think that the Javanese people were prosperous you
are wrong.  

At the time Java was ruled by a monster. 
His name was King Dewata Cengkar.  He was a very cruel king.  He
ordered his people to pay tax on everything they had.  Farmers had to pay
tax on their land.  Merchant had to pay high tax for their profit. 
Workers had to pay tax on their salary and wages.  Even poor people had to
pay tax.  And if they had no money to pay tax then they had to work for
the king without any payment.  The money was not for the welfare of the
people for for the king’s private matters. Worse still, the king’s official
were very corrupt.  When they took one hundred from the people then they
gave only eighty for the king.  They took it for themselves.  
As a result the king was very very rich while his people were very poor. 
    Besides that the king also like to eat the flesh of human
being!  This habit started when he was a child.  One day his mother
made a mistake while she was cooking.  She accidentally cut her thumb and
blood spit on the food.  Her maid then continue cooking without knowing
that blood and a small piece of her mother’s flesh was in the food.  When
Dewata Cengkar ate the food he really like it.  Then he found out the
reason.  Since that day  he demanded the flesh of human being as part
of his food.  So his army killed people every day for his food.  When
he was adult and became king this habit grew.  He ordered every chief of a
district to sacrifice young and healthy people for the king to consume. 
Consequently the people of Java diminished.  The people were restless but
they did not dare to rebel because the king was very cruel and his army was
very strong.

Until one day someone named Aji Saka came to Java.  He had two
guards.  Their name were Dora and Sembada.  Before coming to Java
they landed in a small island in the north of Java, called Pulau Majeti. 
After several days there Aji Saka decided to go to Java.  Aji Saka left
his weapon, a powerful traditional dagger called Kris there.   He
told Dora to stay in the island of Majeti to guard his Kris.  And he told
Dora not to give it to any body else.  After that he went to Java with
Sembada.

Then he settled in Java as a merchant.  The people of Java told him about
his sorrow because of Dewata Cengkar’s cruelty and injustice rule.  
Aji Saka was very concerned to the sorrow of Javanese people.  He told the
chief of the district where he settled to send him as sacrifice when the king
wanted to eat people.  So the chief send him to king Dewata Cengkar.

As his turn came to became sacrifice, Aji Saka asked to say his last words to
the king.  The king granted him opportunity to speak.

‘O, great king of Java.  The father of
development of Java.  The one who make people live prosperous life. 
The richest man in the world.  I am honored to demand your Majesty one
last wish before I die’

‘Tell me what  you want’

“Your Majesty the great king of Java, I just want a
piece of land, the same size as my turban’

‘I grant it.  Just spread your turban’

Then Aji Saka put off his turban and put it on the ground.  Aji Saka hold
one side of it and asked the king to hold the other side.  Amazingly it
became larger so Dewata Cengkar had to step back.  And everytime it became
larger and larger so Dewata Cengkar finally stood at a beach.   Aji
Saka kincked him to the sea and and he died.  The Javanese people were
very happy to hear the cruel king had died.  They were very thankful to
Aji Saka and elected him as the new king of Java.

Aji Saka remembered that one of his guard, Dora was still in the island of
Majeti.  As he was a king, it was impossible for him to go there.  So
he told Sembada to go there and bring his kris back.  So Sembada went to
Majeti island.  As he got there he told Dora that Aji Saka asked him to
take the kris.

‘His Majesty King Aji Saka ordered me to take the kris
to Java’

‘Maybe you make mistake.  Aji Saka is our
superiot but he is not a king.  And he told me not to give his kris to any
boldy else.  It is my duty to guard it here until he came back and take
it’

‘It is my duty to take the  kris’.

‘It is my duty to guard it’

The dialogue
came to a dead lock so the tension grew.  Then it became on armed
conflict.  Finally both of them were killed.   Several days
later Aji Saka was shocked to hear the news that they both died.  Since
that day he created an alphabet, a Javanese alphabeth based on their
story.  Here is the alphabeth.  It is like a poem.  The poem
consist of four lines.  Each line consist of one sentence.  Each
sentence consist of a combination of characters.  All characters are
pronounced like hall.  Here is the poem.

Ho (h) , No (n), co (c), ro (r) ko (k).

Do (d) to (t) so (s) wo (w) lo (l)

Po (p) do (d) jo (j) yo (y) nyo (ny)

Mo (m) go (g)  bo (b)  to (t) ngo (ng) 

Hono = there is / there are in English, coroko = envoy

Do to so wolo = bring a letter / matter

Po do jo yo nyo = they are equally powerful

Mogo botongo = they are killed.

These characters are used widely by the Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese and
Madurese.  But today only very few people can read it.  That’s why in
the province of Yogyakarta it is taught at schools.