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Myths
and Legends
How
to get there I Myths
and Legends I The
Sacred Lotus I
Local Wildlife
Local legend tells a tale of a wandering group of Jakun tribesmen
who cleared the land to grow food crops. During their labour, an
old woman appeared who proclaimed that she was the rightful owner
of the land and that her permission should have been sought before
any trees were felled. The Jakun humbly apologised, whereupon the
woman allowed the men to continue their work. Before departing,
however, she planted her walking stick in the ground as a mark of
her ownership, telling the men never to remove it.
The men continued with their work, but some time later they heard
one of their dogs barking and snarling at a decaying log. One of
the Jakun threw his stick at the log, but immediately a torrent
of blood issued from the log causing the man to run back to his
friends in fear. His friends thought he was possessed by demons
and tried to keep away from him. However, the barking continued
so the entire tribe returned to investigate the log. A spreading
pool of blood had formed around the log.
In fear they hurled their own sticks at the sight, whereupon a
dark cloud gathered in the sky. The thunder roared, the lightning
flashed and a torrent of rain fell from the sky. The men grabbed
their belongings and ran for cover, but in the chaos one of them
pulled the old woman's stick from the ground - the very stick which
they had been warned not to touch. Immediately a fountain of water
poured from the hole made by the stick. The water flowed for many
years, thereby creating the lake of Tasik Chini. The tribe realised
then that the log was actually the dragon called Naga Seri Gumum.
Of course, no magical lake would be complete without stories of
a resident monster or a long-lost, sunken city. So, Tasik Chini
has both ! Much like the famous Loch Ness, a serpent-like monster
is reputed to make the lake its home. More seriously, there are
theories that an ancient Khmer city once existed in the vicinity
which has prompted archaeological studies of the lake and its surrounds.
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