Semesat and Semesit
A long time ago in South Sumatra, there lived a king who had been living as a widower for
several years. His wife passed away not long after giving birth to his twin sons. Now, their sons,
who were named Semesat and Semesit, had grown up. But both of them did nothing but playing
football everyday. So much so, they often forgot to eat and ignored their surroundings. The King
was very sad seeing his beloved sons’ behavior. He wanted to educate them but could not
because he did not have enough time aside from dealing with the kingdom’s administration.
Thus, he decided to marry again in a hope that his wife would take care of and educate his
children.
Nevertheless, his hope was gone as it turned out that his new wife married him only for riches
and nobility. She did not love Semesat and Semesit but she could keep her feelings well in front
of the king.
One morning, the King called a meeting in the Palace Hall. Before going, he said to his wife,
“My wife, would you please prepare the lunch for the council?”
“Sure my king, I will prepare the lunch for you all,” answered the king’s wife.
But after the king departed, she did not prepare food. Instead she took a handfull of red chillies
and smeared them on her face. In a wink, her face was swollen and reddening. Just before
midday, the meeting took a break for lunch. So dissapointed and ashamed was the king as he saw
no food upon the table. The king was angry at his wife.
“My wife, did not you hear my word this morning? Why did not you prepare the lunch?” asked
the King furiously.
“I beg your pardon, my King. Please, do not be angry at me. Look at my face!” answered the
king’s wife as she showed him her face.
“What happened to your face? How did it become swollen and reddened?” asked the King
wonderingly.
“It was because Semesat and Semesit, my King. They kicked the ball so hard and hit my face,”
explained the consort.
“Now, I hope you can choose my King, either me or your sons. If you still love me, throw them
out to the jungle. And if you love them more than me, I am ready to be driven out of the palace,”
threatened her.
Apparently, the king was falling for the deceitful words that he believed in his wife without
trying to find out what really happened.
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“Well then, I believed in your words. I should give Semesat and Semesit a lesson. They shall be
exiled to the jungle,” stated the king.
The next morning, Semesat and Semesit were thrown away to the forest. The king’s consort was
so glad with the king’s decision. She thought nobody could keep her out from dominating the
kingdom’s wealth as both the kingdom’s heirs had gone.
Meanwhile, Semesat and Semesit were wandering in and out of the jungle. They were rambling
to and fro, crossing river after river, walking up and down the hills until one day, they got to a
jungle wherein various kinds of trees and birds lived. The two poor princes took a rest below a
huge and shady tree. They leaned on the trunk. Semesit fell asleep. He was exhausted after days
of walking. While Semesat was still awake. He too felt tired but found it difficult to take a nap.
He was thinking of their miserable life.
“It is really tough for us to accept. Why does father believe our stepmother more than his own
sons? Oh God, please help us!” murmured Semesat.
Not long after Semesat said so, a bird perched upon the tree on which they were leaning. To his
surprise, the bird spoke.
“Whoever eats my flesh, he will become rich soon,” said the bird.
Without further thinking, Semesat took a rock and hit the bird. The bird fell on the ground. When
he was walking to take the bird, suddenly another bird perched upon the tree and said to him.
“Whoever eats my flesh, he will endure a hard life but finally finds happiness,” said the bird.
Semesat took another rock and hit the bird. It fell down. Taking the two birds, he woke his
brother up and told him what happened. Semesat then gave his brother the bird he hit first.
“My brother, eat this bird so that you will be a rich man soon! Let me eat this one. It is alright
for me if I have to live a hard life as long as the end is happy,” said Semesat.
Eating up the birds, they continued their walk. They kept going through the jungle until arriving
in a kingdom. People said that the king of the kingdom had just passed away. The king had no
heir that the people wanted Semesit to become king. Meanwhile, Semesat continued his walk up
to the remotest area of his brother’s kingdom. There he lived in poverty. For sustenance, he ate
almost anything the jungle had.
One day, Semesat unintentionally took some fruits from a garden in nearby village. He thought
nobody owned the fruit trees. But he had taken the fruits and so he was accused of stealing. The
people took him to King Semesit to be punished. King Semesit did not recognize his brother. The
king then sentenced him to half-body burial in a pool of husks called Bujud Keling.
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Several days after, there was spread a word that a beautiful princess from abroad was holding a
contest to look for a husband. The contest ran that whoever was kissed by the princess’ horse, he
would marry the princess. King Semesit heard about it and commanded his guards to ready a
ship for his visit to the princess’ kingdom.
Before midday, King Semesit departed along with his guards, carrying along various jewelry and
crops for the princess. However, in the middle of the sea, their ship sunk. They could not
continue their voyage.
“Guards! What is wrong with the ship?” asked King Semesit.
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness. The ship is broken. If we want to continue the trip, I am
afraid we should use Bujud Keling,” answered one of the guards.
King Semesit commanded his guards to swim back to their kingdom to take the Bujud Keling.
Floating upon a huge sack of Bujud Keling, finally the king arrived in the princess’ kingdom.
There, kings and princes from many kingdoms gathered to compete in the contest. The princess,
meanwhile, was sitting in front of the palace with her family. There was also the princess’ horse
tied below a tree.
When the gong was hit, the contest began. The princess then got on her horse. The horse started
to walk passing the contestants to find the right man for its master. The horse was passing almost
everyone and had not kissed one. But when walking before King Semesit, the horse stopped. The
king’s heart was pounding so fast, thinking the horse would kiss him. But it did not. The
princess’ horse in fact kissed the sack behind the king. The princess then commanded one of her
guards to unfold the sack.
“Guard, open the sack! My future husband is in there!”
As it was unfolded, there came out a man covered by husks. King Semesit was surprised as he
did not know that there was a man in the sack. His guards apparently got them in the sack with
the Bujud Keling. Dissapointed, King Semesit said to the people it was him whom the horse
kissed, not the sack. He could not accept the husk man being chosen by the princess.
“I could not accept it if you marry this husk-covered man,” stated King Semesit. “Guards, let us
leave and carry the man with us!”
King Semesit headed back home dejectedly. On their way, a mean idea came up in his head. He
wanted to kill the man who was actually his own brother. He commanded his guards to throw the
man to the sea. As expected, the man was eaten by a huge shark. But miraculously, the shark
died and was drifted ashore in the Princess’s kingdom. The shark was found by a fisherman who
cut the fish right away. The fisherman was taken aback as he found a man in the fish belly. The
man looked like no stranger to the fisherman.
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“Young man, you were the husk man the princess’ horse kissed, weren’t you?” asked the
fisherman.
“Yes, sir. My name is Semesat, the brother of King Semesit,” revealed Semesat.
“Thank God then. You are safe. Now let me take you to the princess. She must be waiting for
you in the palace,” said the fisherman.
Finally, Semesat married the princess. Several days after their wedding, Semesat revealed his
secret to the princess. She was surprised. She almost could not believe in what her husband just
said. The couple then decided to meet King Semesit to tell him the truth.
“Know my brother, the husk man you threw to the sea was me, your brother, Semesat,”
revealed Semesat.
King Semesit was stormed to hear it. He regretted what he had done. In tears, King Semesit
hugged his brother.
“Forgive me, Brother! I am sorry for treating you badly,” said King Semesit in his brother’s
arms.
“Forget it, Brother. All of this is our destiny. I had to live a hard life before enjoying happiness
like what I feel now,” said Semesat emotionally.
People say that King Semesit stepped down after that and enthroned his brother to be king. The
twin brothers ruled the kingdom justly and wisely. The people lived happily and peacefully.
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