The Broken-hearted Peacock

Merak yang Patah Hati | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore From West Nusa Tenggara

A long time ago, all animals lived peacefully. They
were friends one to another. The birds lived happily. They all liked to help each other.

The most beautiful bird was the peahen. She lived in Java Island. All birds were amazed by her beauty.

The peahen did not have a mate yet. She was waiting for a handsome bird to marry her. And one day, an eagle came to her.

The eagle told her about a handsome bird living on Sumbawa Island. His name was Santoana. The eagle said that Santoana was perfect to be her husband. The peahen ignored the news. She thought Sumbawa was very far from Java. And it was very difficult for her to meet Santoana.

However, later she had the same news from the pigeon. She told peahen about Santoana who was very handsome. The pigeon also said that Santoana was the perfect husband for the peahen.

Again, the peahen ignored the news. She was still thinking about the distance she had to fly if she wanted to meet Santoana.

But she then changed her mind when she heard the parrot told her the same news. All of her friends told her about this handsome bird. And finally the peahen decided to fly to Sumbawa to meet Santoana.

The peahen flew happily. When she was tired, she stopped flying. She asked other birds where Sumbawa Island was.

"Mr Cockatoo, where is Sumbawa Island?"

"You just go straight ahead. You can find Sumbawa Island," said the cockatoo.

The peahen was happy. She continued to fly. And when she was not sure with the direction, she always asked other birds.

The answer was always the same. She just had to fly straight ahead. And finally she arrived on Sumbawa Island. Her heart beat so fast.

She landed on a beach. There was a bird there. The peahen approached the bird. The people of Sumbawa called the bird as Bongarasang.

"Excuse me, Sir. Do you know where I can meet Santoana?" asked the peahen.

Bongarasang was amazed by her beauty. He instantly fell in love with her. He had a bad plan.

"Well, I am Santoana. Why are you looking for me?" asked Bongarasang.

The peahen was so disappointed. Santoana was not as handsome as she imagined. But because she already made up her mind to marry Santoana, she decided to stay on Sumbawa Island.

Later, the peahen and Bongarasang got married. The peahen did not know that Bongarasang lied to her. Later the couple had a peachick. They were very happy. They held a party and invited all the birds in the island. The party was almost started.

Suddenly the owl said, "Don't start the party now Santoana is not here yet. He will be here soon."
Later Santoana came to the party. He was very handsome. The feather was very beautiful. And he also had great voice.

The peahen was very surprised! She asked Bongarasang and he finally told the truth. The peahen was very sad. She decided to go back to Java. Her peachick was very ashamed. He was always hiding and avoiding other birds. The people of Sumbawa then named the peahen’s chick as Bertong.

Meanwhile, Santoana really regretted that he did not have a chance to meet the peahen earlier. He was very sad and he never flew again. Since then, he had become a jungle-fowl.

He was a chicken who had beautiful feather and a great voice. The peahen never came back to Sumbawa, that's why people said that until now we cannot see peafowls live on Sumbawa Island.***

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Did you Know?

Peafowl are two Asiatic and one African species of flying bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail covert feathers, which it displays as part of courtship.

The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks.

The adult female peafowl is grey and/or brown. Peachicks can be between yellow and a tawny colour with darker brown patches or light tan and ivory, also referred to as "dirty white"

The Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus (from Latin Pavo, peafowl; muticus, Mute, docked or curtailed) is a large galliform bird that is found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

It is also known as the Java Peafowl, but this term is properly used to describe the nominate subspecies endemic to the island of Java.

It is the closest relative of the Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus), which is mostly found on the Indian subcontinent. (wikipedia.org)

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