Indonesia has lots of cold stories that can make you happy and make children sleep asleep. Once upon a time, in Papua, there lived a man named Woiram and his wife Bonadebu.
They are residents of Merem village. Woiram does not live at home with his wife. This was done because Woiram’s goal in marrying Bonadebu was only to maintain his dignity as a man. Woiram did not wish to have children from his marriage.
The household that Woiram and Bonadebu lived through was originally harmonious, for a long time it felt bland. As a normal woman, of course Bonadebu wants to have children.
As the days passed, Woiram did not respond to Bonadebu’s wishes. He was not moved at all to fulfill his wife’s wishes.
Boredom doing his daily activities made Woiram feel tired. He was eager to find a new atmosphere. Unexpectedly, the desire to have a child began to appear in Woiram’s heart. That desire is getting stronger and stronger. However, Woiram was ashamed to express his wish to Bonadebu. Every night he just prayed that the gods would grant his wish.
All day long, Woiram makes a living by hunting and gardening. One morning while making a bowstring for his arrow, Woiram cut his index finger. Woiram immediately put his bleeding index finger into the water jug in his room. The blood that was pouring out was heavy enough to make the water in the jar red. After treating his wound, Woiram closed the jar and rushed out of the house to pick up Bonadebu. They will be gardening that day.
They have a lot of work to do in the garden. It was dark when Woiram arrived at his house again. Tired all day at work, Woirampun fell asleep. At midnight Woiram woke up to hear the sound of a child crying. When he woke up, Woiram thought he was dreaming. Woirampun decided to continue sleeping. After only a few moments he fell asleep, Woiram jolted awake because the sound of a child’s crying sounded louder.
Woiram sat on his bed. He looked for the origin of the sound that sounded so close. Woiram slowly walked over to the jar in the corner of his room. The guess is right. When Woiram opened the lid, he saw a little boy sitting there crying inside. Woiram immediately picked up the child and moved him to the bed.
The little boy fell asleep after Woiram rubbed his back. While looking at the child, Woiram thanked Dewa for giving him a child. He was sure, the god had changed the water mixed with his blood into a child for him.
Woiram could not sleep again until dawn. He was confused about how to tell the whereabouts of the child to Bonadebu. He was afraid that Bonadebu would not believe that God gave the child. He was also afraid that Bonadebu felt cheated because he had another woman’s child. The thoughts that bothered him finally made Woiram decide to take the boy to the middle of the forest. Woiram intended to build a small house for the boy to live in.
So the little boy ended up living in the house Woiram had built in the middle of the forest. Every day Woiram visited the boy and fed him. The days keep changing. It didn’t feel like the little boy had grown into a handsome young man. Woiram gave him the name Woiwallytmang.
Just like his father, Woiwallytmang hunts and gardens everyday. One day his luck was unlucky, the young man did not find any animals after hunting until noon. Tired, Woiwallytmang rested under a tree. His eyes accidentally caught a bird perched on a tree near where he sat. Woiwallytmang immediately shot the bird. Again he was unlucky, his arrow was wrong target.
Woiwallytmang followed the direction of his last arrow shot. It turned out that the arrow had stuck in a banana tree trunk in a garden. The young man walked into the garden and took his arrow. When he finished drawing out his arrow, Woiwallytmang heard a voice rebuking him.
“Hi handsome young man, what’s your name?” Said a woman from behind a banana tree.
Woiwallytmang stunned at the woman standing in front of him. He was surprised, there were other humans besides men. Indeed, since childhood, Woiwallytmang only knew his father. Although still amazed, Woiwallytmang answered. “My name is Woiwallytmang”, he said briefly. The woman still wanted to know more clearly. He felt that he had never seen Woiwallytmang in his village so far. “Who are your parents? asked the woman again. “My father Woiram”, replied Woiwallytmang short.
The woman who turned out to be Bonadebu was very surprised to hear Woiwallytmang’s answer. She did not think that her husband would have a child who had grown into a handsome young man who was now standing in front of her. After trying to contain his anger, Bonadebu said to Woiwallytmang.
“Let me take you to your father”, asked him as friendly as possible. Woiwallytmang, who had not been visited by his father in several days, immediately agreed.
“So you know where my father is?”, He asked enthusiastically.
Bonadebu nodded with a smile.
Before heading to Woiram’s house, Bonadebu invited Woiwallytmang to stop at the Wasi River to catch shrimp that would be given to Woiram. Because he was absorbed in catching shrimp, Bonadebu did not see him when Woiwallytmang walked into the cave located on the riverbank. After waiting a long time, Woiwallytmang didn’t show up either.
Bonadebu thought Woiwallytmang had left him, finally Bonadebu decided to go home.
The customary chief where Bonadebu and Woiram lived had two daughters named Mesi and Mesam. Shortly after Bonadebu left the Wasi River, Mesi and Mesam came to the river to look for shrimp for their father. While looking for shrimp, Mesi and Mesam were surprised by the arrival of Woiwallytmang who just happened to come out of the cave.
Woiwallytmang was again stunned to see the two girls. Finally they got acquainted and chatted. Woiwallytmang helps Mesi and Mesam find shrimp. He was very happy to find new friends that day.
Woiwallytmang’s acquaintance with the two daughters of the adat chief apparently left a deep impression on the young man. He fell in love with Mesi. In order to have a reason to meet Mesi, Woiwallytmang always looks for prawns in the Wasi River and brings them to the customary chief’s house.
The customary chief caught Woiwallytmang’s point. After delivering prawns several times, finally the customary head asked what the young man really meant.
“I want to apply for Mesi to be my wife, Father,” said Woiwallytmang with his head bowed in shame.
Seeing Woiwallytmang’s seriousness, the customary chief agreed to marry his daughter off to Woiwallytmang.
A festive party was held. Apart from celebrating the marriage of Mesi and Woiwallytmang, the customary chief also handed over his position to Woiwallytmang at the party. All residents of Merem were invited, including Woiram and Bonadebu. Woiram was really surprised to see that the groom was his son, Woiwallytmang.
Bonadebu, who had told the residents about Woiwallytmang, made them hate Woiram. They think Woiram has exiled his own son to the middle of the forest. Those people really didn’t know what the real reason was and how he took good care of Woiwallytmang.
Woiram was really disappointed why the customary chief did not ask about his son-in-law’s parents and invited him. Moreover, now the residents agree to accept him as the new customary head. Woiram felt he was not valued at all.
With a deep sense of disappointment, Woiram prayed to Dewa to give him justice. Suddenly the rain fell in torrents without stopping. All the food served at the party turned to stone. The rain that never stopped resulted in a big flood which drowned Kampung Merem. The entire population was washed away by the swift water. Only Woiwallytmang, Mesi, and Woiram survived the flood disaster. They survived by climbing the areca tree.
After the flood receded, Woiram took Mesi and Woiwallytmang to the Wasi River. He advised them to always ask the gods to be given many offspring. After that Woiram set foot on a large rock and suddenly disappeared there. Mesi and Woiwally heard Woiram’s words. The gods also listen to the prayer they always say. Their descendants are very numerous and breed into Merem residents in Papua at the time. The End.
