Lau Kawar

Folklore from North Sumatra

IT was a beautiful day. Everybody in Kawar village was happy. The farmers just had their best harvest. All the barns were full of rice. The villagers were planning to hold a party to celebrate the good harvest.

On one beautiful day, all the villagers gathered in a field. They wore beautiful dresses and made delicious food. Everybody was having good times! They were singing, laughing, and of course, eating delicious food. Did everyone go to the party?

Unfortunately, there was one old woman still stayed at her house. She is too old and weak to go to the party. Her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandchildren all went to the party. At home, the old woman felt very sad and lonely. She was very hungry too.

But when she tried to find some food in the kitchen, she was very sad. Her daughter-in-law did not cook that day.

At the party, the son asked her wife, "Why don't you take some food from the party and give it for my mom. Ask our son to deliver it."

Then the little boy brought the food to her grandmother. The old woman was so happy. But her happiness turned into sadness when she saw the food was not in the good condition. It seemed that someone has eaten the food. It just had little rice. The fish just had the bones.

Then, old woman cried and cried. She was very sad. She thought bad things about her son. She thought that her son neglected her. The old woman did not know that it was her grandson who ate the food. He did that on the way from the party to the house. But it was too late. The old woman was so sad and angry. She cursed her son.

Then, an incredible thing happened. There was a great earthquake! Thunder struck the village. And heavy rain started to fall. All the villagers were so scared. They wanted to save themselves. They tried to find shelters. Slowly, the field turned into a lake. The lake was getting bigger and bigger and finally the whole village turned into a big lake. People then named the lake into Lau Kawar.