UMBUT MUDA

Once upon a time, in a region in Riau, lived a widow with her beautiful daughter named Umbut Muda. Umbut Muda had bad characters; she always treated her mother as if she was her servant. 

One day, there was a daughter of a noble family in that region who would get married. And of course Umbut Muda was invited. For this, she dressed as if she was a princess. She wanted nobody to match her beauty. To fit out her dress she wore all of her jewelries.

After finishing make up by herself, Umbut Muda invited her mother to leave to the party. She walked in the front, while her mother walked behind her and held the umbrella for her.

One, they crossed on a bridge over Siak River. Right in the middle of the bridge, however, suddenly four bracelets in Umbut Muda’s wrist loose and fell into the river. Umbut Muda screamed and pushed her mother into the river to get her bracelets.

At that moment, there came a hurricane from behind. The hurricane came all a sudden and twisted over Umbut Muda.

“Help…! Help…! Mother help…!”

Umbut Muda was holding on the bridge rail. But it was too late. Very quickly, the hurricane flew her away. She was like to be dragged to the air before finally she was thrown the river.

Her mother could not do anything for her. She could only watch her beloved daughter rolled forward and backward by the hurricane. That mother could not stand to watch her daughter suffers. She covered her eyes  with hand, and when she opened her eyes again Umbut Muda had been dead. At that moment, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Since then, there often appear some kind of black root that was played by the stream of Siak River. People believed that it was formerly Umbut Muda’s hair. This was taken as a reminder for the people nearby to always respect their mother.



by : Nadya Riska Rahmadina♥