There are certain rocks in different parts of Borneo which are called by the Dyaks batu kudi (stones caused by the wrath of the gods). A story is related in connection with each. The following are some of these mythical stories:—
1. In the bed of the Sesang River there is a rock which is only visible at the lowest of the ebb-tide. It is called Batu Kudi Sabar. The story goes that in olden days the inmates of a Dyak house tied to a dog’s tail a piece of wood, which they set alight. They all laughed at the sight as the dog ran off in fright, dragging after him the burning torch. Suddenly there was darkness, and a great storm came on. There were thunder and lightning, and torrents of rain, and the house and its inmates were turned into this large rock. A family consisting of three persons managed to escape. They did not join in the laughter at the dog, but ran out of the house and hid in a clump of bamboo. They saw all that happened, and told the tale.
2. On the bank of the Krian River just above Temudok is a large rock called Batu Kudi Siap. It is said that the people in a long Dyak house held a feast to which many invited guests came. An old woman who was living alone in a farm-hut, and had not been asked to the feast, dressed up a cat in finery, “like a young damsel going to a feast,” tied a piece of wood to her tail, and, placing her before the people, said: “Here is a girl come to you to ask for a light.” The people laughed at the cat. Instantly there were darkness and a terrible storm, and the house and all the inmates were turned to stone. A similar tale is told of the Batu Kudi at Selanjan.
A River Scene
The illustration shows some native huts by a river which flows through a cocoanut plantation.
3. There are Batu Kudi in the Grenjang River, as well as in the Undup and Batang Ai Rivers, of which the following tale is told: Two girls were standing in the water catching fish with a fishing-basket (pemansai). A small emplasi fish jumped out of the basket, and hit the breast of one of the girls. She laughed, and said: “Even my lover would not dare to touch my breast as you do.” Her companion also laughed at the fish. There was a storm, accompanied by lightning and thunder, and both girls were turned into rocks.
4. In the Saribas River there is a Batu Kudi, of which the following tale is told: Some men and boys were watching a monkey crossing the river on a creeper which hung low down over the water. The tail of the animal touched the water, and one of them laughed, and said: “The end of his waist-cloth (sirat) is wet; why was he so foolish as not to tie it round his waist?” At this remark all laughed, and a terrible storm came on, and they were turned to stone.
There is a similarity about all these stories. In each some animal is made fun of and laughed at by human beings. This incurs the displeasure of the gods, whose anger is shown in the same way—a terrible storm, thunder and lightning, and the turning of the offenders into stone.
There are, however, other Batu Kudi of which different stories are told, but these are not so common. For instance, in the Skrang River there are two large black boulders which are said to be a brother and sister who were guilty of the crime of incest; and in the Sebuyau River there is a collection of rocks said to be the inhabitants of a whole village, who were guilty of a serious breach of the law of hospitality, and refused to give food and shelter to some travellers.