Seven Princesses From Heaven Folktales from Maluku - Part I

Seven Princesses From Heaven Folktales from Maluku

By Dwi Elisa

The story begins in the forest at the foot of Mount Ternate, where a man is walking exhaustedly. His most-green, long flowing robe is soaked from the rain. The man is a prince, name Djafar Shidiq. He is searching throught the dense jungle, in quest of a princess to be his wife. Before setting out on his journey, he fasted for seven days for divine inspiration. On the seventh day he had a dream that he should go to the forest below Mount Ternate. He has already been searching in the jungle for forty days, with out finding any women. Now he is beginning to doubt if the future mother of his children is really to be found in this silent jungle?

Suddenly the prince hears the sound f a waterfall, like beautiful music to his ears. He is intriqued and wants to rest for a while. The waterfall and its pool would be the perfect spot, peaceful and beautiful. He wants to wash and swim and refresh his tired body. He starts towards the waterfall, following the rainbow in the sky to its end. When he reaches the waterfall, he is amazed to find seven beautiful girls happily frolicking in the water. He observes them from behind a bush, his heart beating rapidly. He tries to quiet his breathing (so as not to betray his presence). The seven girls are lovely, with soft golden skin and hair that falls to their waists. He wants to shout with joy! The prince is certain that he has found his princess!

While he spies upon them, he wonders, where did the seven princesses come from? Is it possible that his future wife is a goddess? The prince examines his surroundings carefully. Yes, he is sure that the girl are goddesses who came down from heaven on the rainbow. Hey! Look! Near the bush, close to where the girl are bathing, he spots their clothes and their shining wings. The prince moves moves stealthily toward the wings. He dicides that he will take only one pair of wings. If he takes all of them aas his wives, he would not be able to be fair to them all. He does not want to hurt anyones’s heart. He only want to have one wife.

to be continued...