The Legend of Batu Kawa

Once there was a wedding feast in one of the houses in Batu Kawa. The bride and bridegroom sat together on a dais in the hall. Relatives and friends sat on the floor around them.

Outside the house, a few villagers were busy cooking rice in a large stone cauldron. They were preparing lunch for everyone to eat once the wedding ceremony was over.

Then a cat walked into the house. One of the children took the cat outside and pushed its tail into the fire! Meow! The poor animal gave a loud cry and teapt away. It ran around, shrieking in pain.

A few naughty children chased the cat and kicked it. The cat gave a loud yawl again. The children just laughed. They thought it was fun to see the cat jumping into the air.

None of the guests stopped the children from treathing the cat in such a bad way. Then an old man walked up to the children. He was very angry.

“Stop that at once!” he scolded. “You must be careful how you treat animals. If you harm a poor, helpless animal, great trouble will come uppon you.”

The children did not say anything. When the old man left, they caught the cat again and tossed it into the air. Meow! Meow! It was frightened, but the naughty children did not let it go.

Suddenly a strong wind began to blow. It blew against the doors and the windows. Bang! Clang! It blew so hard that it overturned the caulsron. All the people at the wedding feast could not move against the strong wind.

The whole place shook. Part by part, the house broke loose. There were a flash and lighting, then a loud clap of thunder. When the strong wind died down and the sun shone again, there were  only large stones where the couple and the guests had been!

That is why you can see a circle of stones of Batu Kawa. It is said that the two largest stones in the centre were once were the bride and the bridegroom, and the stones around them were the guests.