Scribd
Upload
47 views

A Long Time Ago

Uploaded by

Jolen Chen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
47 views

A Long Time Ago

Uploaded by

Jolen Chen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

A Long time ago, up on the Kamboi Rama mountain, there were two villages, Kamboi Rama

and Aroempu. Kamboi Rama was a residence for Kamboi people, and Aroempu was a sago

plantation owned by God Iriwonawani, who also owned a tifa. Whenever the tifa is played,

the Kamboi people would gather. Every day, the Kamboi women would go to Aroempu to cut

sago for their meals. As time passed by, the sago trees were becoming scarcer. God

Iriwonawani got really angry,

“Get out of here! Don’t just cut but sow and plant!” Because

they were scared, the Kamboi people moved to the coastal area and named themselves

Randuayaivi. However, upon the mountain, there still lived a couple of husband and wife,

Irimiami and Isoray.

One day, on their way home after a hunt in the jungle, being tired, Irimiami and Isoray

decided to rest. Irimiami sat on the ground leaning on a tree. Meanwhile, Isoray was still

finding a place to sit. She saw a large stone and thought that it would be comfortable to sit

on. As she sat, all of a sudden, Isoray shouted and jumped off the stone. “Ouch! The stone is

so hot that I almost got burned!” Isoray cried. “What is it, dear?” Irimiami who almost fell

asleep immediately stood up, startled by his wife’s screams. “I don’t know what happened

either, but this stone feels really hot.” answered Isoray in panic.

A short time later, in their astonishment, smoke came out of that stone. Curious, Irimiami

tried to sit on that stone. “Ouch! It’s really hot!” he shouted. Becoming more curious, the

couple decided to test the stone’s heat. “How if we put this venison on that stone?” said

Irimiami. “Let’s just try, dear,

” answered Isoray. Exquisite smells came from the burning

meat. As it was ready, they ate them up. “What a delicious piece of meat” or “This meat is

so delicious,

” Irimiami said happily. Unsatisfied with what they had found, they continued
testing the stone. “Let’s try to put these bamboo stems,

” said Isoray. “Let’s try these grass

and leaves,

” Irimiami added. “How about that timber!” shouted Isoray. Day by day, they

kept on testing the stone.

THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY STONE

One bright day, they gathered more grasses and put them on the stone. The grasses burned

quickly and spread to the surrounding plants, the fire got bigger. They started to panic. “My

husband, we’ve burned this place.” Isoray cried in fear. “It’s a big disaster and we can’t

stop. Let’s meet God Iriwonawani for help,

” said Irimiami in tremble. They ran to God

Iriwonawani. “My Lord, please help us put out the fire,

” begged them. “Well, I shall help on

the condition that you stop that harming act of yours,

” said the God. “We promise, my

Lord,

” they said. With a magical power, the fire could finally be stopped.
Nevertheless, it seemed that they had not learned from their mistakes. They kept on testing

the stone, until one day they started a really big fire that did not stop for seven days and

nights. They were really terrified and could not do anything but asked God Iriwonawai for

help.

Finally, the sounds of the tifa were heard again after a long time. All Randuayaivi people ran

to Kamboi mountain, witnessed the burning forest which was again successfully

extinguished by God Iriwonawani. On the mountain, Irimiami and Isoray finally told the story

of ‘the holy stone.’ The following day, all Randuayaivi people came back to the mountain

bringing food items. All those food items were put on the holy stone and the traditional

feast took place for three days and nights. All the people chanted and danced around the

holy stone, worshipping it and passing the holy stone story. People of Papua, particularly

those of the Yapen islands, sanctify the fire stone hitherto. The stone has become a sacred

stone that they worship annually. Bapak kamu

You might also like