The document summarizes a folktale from West Kalimantan, Indonesia about a disobedient girl named Darmi. Darmi refused to help her widowed mother and instead spent her time primping. When they went to market, Darmi was ashamed of her mother and claimed the old woman was her maid. Due to Darmi's disrespect and disobedience, her mother cursed her. In response, Darmi was transformed into a crying stone that remains in the market as a lesson.

1. The province of West Kalimantan is one Indonesian province bordered directly to
the eastern Malaysia. There are so many rivers here; thus the province is called
“the province of the thousands river.” Amongst the local inhabitants of West
Kalimantan, a girl was cursed with a stone just because of her disobedient to her
mother. Here is the story!
Once upon a time, there was a family of a widow, and her only daughter living in
a hinterland of West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The widow was just an old
woman; while her daughter was a charming girl, whose name was Darmi. Both
lived in a decrepit hut. They lived poor since the widow`s husband passed away.
He was gone leaving no inheritance to the family. Consequently, to fulfil their
needs, they were forced willy-nilly to work much harder. However, Darmi was
not a hard-worker, totally differed from her mother. She was a lazy girl who spent
almost of her times dressing up and adoring her reflection on the mirror. One of
her bad habits was showing off her beauty to the local people living in the
surroundings. She never wanted to help her mother working at the field. If her
mother asked her for help, Darmi refused. “Girl, will you help at the field, now?”
the mother asked. “No, I won`t! I don`t want to go there. I`m afraid my skin turns
dark,” Darmi answered to her mother without looking at her. “You let me to work
there alone, don`t you?”. “Mom, everyone knows that you are an old woman
while I am a pretty young girl. So, people will get attracted to me and not you.
That is why I prefer staying at home to working outside in the field because I…!
am…! waiting for a rich boy propose me to get married with.”Darmi`s mother
was speechless to hear that. It was as if she was stricken by a light realizing that
her daughter did no respect to her at all. Then, she went to the field alone and
Darmi stayed at home. Worse, Darmi used to beg money from her mother, soon
after she went back from work. In fact, she earned too little to meet their daily
need. “Mom, where is the money?!” Darmi asked. “No! I won`t give this to you.
We need this to buy some foods,” the mother said. “But I`m running out of face
powder. I don`t have it anymore, Mom! I need to buy a new one,” The mother got

2. angry to her daughter but she repressed it. She surrendered and gave her the
money. Darmi “bad-habit” towards her mother occurred almost everyday. The
mother worked too hard in the field; while Darmi stayed at home. The mother
went back home; then, Darmi begged for the money. One day, Darmi`s mother
was going to a nearest market from her home. Darmi knew this, and she got her
mother to buy some cosmetics. However, Darmi`s mother did not know anything
about cosmetics. She asked Darmi to accompany her to the market. “Go with me
to the market so you can choose which one that you want,” the mother said. “I
don`t want to go with you!” Darmi answered. “But I don`t know which one!”
Then, Darmi gave up. She followed her mother to go to the market. “Ok, Mom! I
will go with you, but please, you have to walk behind me!” said Darmi, who got
her mother to act as if the old woman was her maid. “Why, girl?” the mother
wondered. “I feel ashamed to walk along with an old woman like you. Look at
me! I`m a graceful girl so I won`t people leave me because they know you`re my
mother!” Darmi explained. Both then looked for goods in the market. Darmi`s
mother walked behind her daughter. She brought a plastic bag containing the
things they got from there. Actually, they were between a girl and her mother.
But somehow they looked contrast. Darmi wore elegant clothes and walked
gracefully; while her mother wore a worn out clothes with rumbling face. Along
the way in the market, many greeted Darmi, and some of them asked who the old
woman was. In a moment, Darmi met her friends. “Hi, Darmi! Where`re you
goin`? “Just looking around here. I wish I could find something good here,” she
said. “Then, who`s that one? Is that your Mom?” one of her friends asked Darmi
while pointing at the mother. “No, of course! She is a maid at my house, gals!”
Darmi`s mother was totally shocked to hear that. She couldn`t believe those words
came out from her daughter. No matter what, she tried hard to calm herself down.
She ease off her anger and went ahead accompanying her daughter. In another
moment, an unknown man greeted Darmi. It appears that the man would try to
attract Darmi`s attention. But sure, she did not want to such a common man. “Hi,
girl! Where are you going?” asked the man while smilling. “As you can see by
yourself, I`m here looking for cosmetics,” she answered. “Cosmetics to beautify

3. you? And who`s the old woman behind you?” “She`s my maid,” Darmi said.
What an attacking answer! Darmi`s mother could no longer restrain her anger.
Soon after Darmi said that words, the mother stopped, and took a sit on a swing
on the sidewalk. “Why do you stop?” Darmi questioned her mother but she did
not call her “Mom.” “Hey! Are you listening to me?!” she shouted once more
because the mother was just silent. The mother kept silent, ignoring the call of
her daughter who had hurt her. Since then, Darmi`s mother mumbled with her
hands looked up to the sky. She was reciting prayers to God so that her daughter
was cursed to be a stone.
“Hey, old woman! What… are… you doing?!!” Darmi kept stubborn, admitting
the old woman was not her mother. Darmi`s mother intended not to answer. She
kept praying to God upon a curse towards her daughter. All of sudden, the sky
turned dark. The loud thunder roared back and forth. The rain fell heavily. At that
time, Darmi could move her foots anymore. Gradually, her foots turned into black
stone that later on covered her entire body. “Mom…! Mom…! What`s happening
to me?” finally she called her mother “Mom.” “I`m sorry, Mom! I`m so sorry…,”
she cried loudly. Everything went on. The curse upon Darmi`s disobedience had
happened. The stone covered almost all her body. When the stone almost reached
her head, Darmi shed tears. All the people passing by the market saw this.
Likewise, they watched the girl crying. The weather returned as normal. Now, the
stone had covered Darmi`s entire body, the disobedient girl. What a miracle, the
stone, due the present, keeps spouting water as if a crying girl. Some people took
the stone, and put it on a corner of the market. Since that time, people called the
stone the “crying stone.”
***
Here is the story about the origins of the “crying stone,” which is originally from
the province of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. There is a worth lesson can be taken
from the story. The figure Darmi strongly refused to admit that the old woman
was actually her mother. She was a lazy while her mother was a hard-worker.

4. Consequently, she was cursed to be a stone upon her disobedience towards her
mother.
Sources:
Adapted from "Cerpen: Batu Menangis”, available online on
http://s.tf.itb.ac.id/~armanto/cerpen/batumenangis/, retrieved on May 3rd, 2008
Anonym, “Cerita Rakyat Kalbar,” available online at
http://www.geocities.com/kesumawijaya/ceritarakyat/kalbar1.html, retrieved on
May 3rd, 2008.
Anonym. “Kalimantan Barat”, available online at
http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalimantan_Barat, retrieved on May 3rd, 2008.
Effendy, Tenas. 2006. Tunjuk Ajar Melayu. Yogyakarta: Adicita Publisher in
cooperation with the Center for Research and Development of Malay Culture.
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