The Tale of Calon Arang, The Sad & Demonic Widow

For this round of Sankofa I will write about popular folktale from Bali. Although the story is originated from Bali, the story setting is set in East Java (the same region as my previous tale of Ken Angrok). This tale is dated from the 10th century.

Scholars has been analyzing this story from many angles. The easiest to spot would be critics from the feminist studies: Calon Arang and her demonic form "Rangda" as the victim of demonization within a patriarchal society, a victim of a misogynistic culture and discrimination against women. (Source)

^{Rangda (lit. Widow), the demonic form of Calon Arang (source)}

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Calon Arang, The Sad & Demonic Widow

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The Kingdom of Daha is a peaceful place to live. Their King, Airlangga is a great man with a great wisdom. Everyone in Daha loves him... Wait, not everyone... There is a widow living in a hut, in the deep dark forest, she hates Airlangga!

Her name is Calon Arang. She's a powerful witch. She's the master of black magic. She looks scary, her long hair all messed up, scars all over her face. Scars she gets from practicing forbidden magic. She has a very beautiful daughter, Ratna Manggali.

Ratna Manggali is the most beautiful girl in Daha. But no one dares to ask her out, no one will marry her, because she is the daughter of Calon Arang! Oh, that scary witch, she could easily kill a man with just one spell!

Calon Arang is concerned about this matter. She loves her daughter so much. She wants her daughter to live a happy life. She is so sad to see Ratna Manggali live in loneliness, she's afraid that Ratna Manggali will die alone when she's not around.

"My dear daughter, what a disgrace for Daha. I give them the most beautiful girl ever, and no one has the guts to marry you, not even their greatest king, Airlangga," said Calon Arang.

"O, dear mother, don't worry about me. I love you. And I know how much you love me. And that's enough for me," replied Ratna Manggali.

But that's not enough for Calon Arang. She looked down for every man in Daha. They're all cowards.

"They're afraid of me. Alright, I will show them what real fear is," Calon Arang whispered to herself.

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Calon Arang is being serious. With all of her might, she's going to create a disaster for Daha. Her magical power is massive. In her backyard, in the fireplace, she reads the forbidden mantra over and over, for hours. That's a powerful mantra. The fire getting bigger. It becomes red and started to consume her body. Her clothes are melted, her hair turned white, her eyes became red, and her tongue grows longer and longer as she's busy reading the mantra.

From the deep dark forest, a black cloud is slowly coming to the town center of Daha. That black cloud is filled with many many bad spells, it would kill anything. Plants, trees, animals, cattle, and humans too.

In just one night, the peaceful Daha was thrown into a mayhem. There is sadness in every corner of Daha. Too many deaths to handle.

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King Airlangga is devastated by this act of terror. He called his most trusted advisor, Mpu Bharada. As an advisor, Mpu Bharada is a great one. The only matter is, he's not that young anymore.

After a long discussion, Mpu Bharada takes a conclusion:
"O, my king Airlangga, that black clouds are the source of this ruckuses. It's an ancient forbidden magic. It's must be the works of Calon Arang, the witch!"

"But I didn't do any harm to her. I let her live peacefully in the forest. Where people won't annoyed her with whatever she's doing."

"Why don't we sent Mpu Bahula to the deep forest? He's strong enough to encounter this magic."

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Mpu Bahula is reluctant to go. But this is a command from the Great King Airlangga. With heavy feet, he slowly walking into the deep forest. With his own mantra, he repelled the black magic effects.

The dying trees and the corpses lead him to the fireplace of Calon Arang. She looks like a demon. Her naked body is all red, burnt with a strange fire that glows surrounding her. She's still trancing on her own mantra.

Mpu Bahula gathered his guts. He slowly approaches the widow. His dagger is in hand, ready to stab the demonic witch. But, he failed. Instead of stabbing Calon Arang, his hand is moved out of control. The dagger is moving to his own chest. Calon Arang laughing with her demonic laugh.

Lucky for Bahula, Ratna Manggali is coming at the right moment. With such calmness, she take the dagger from Bahula's hand. Bahula is stunned. He's all sweating. Calon Arang is too powerful. But he is stunned with something else. He already heard many words about the beautiful Ratna Manggali. And now, he sees her. The rumors were true. She is indeed the most beautiful girl in Daha.

While he's still stunned, Ratna Manggali takes him into the hut.

"You want to make this madness stop?" Asked Ratna Manggali.

"Yes..." Said Mpu Bahula, his heart beating so fast.

"Marry me. And my mother will stop doing that."

Without even thinking further, Bahula agrees. This is the easiest decision he ever makes. He is going to marry the most beautiful girl in Daha!

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Ratna Manggali manages to stop her mother spells. Calon Arang has returned to her human form. Her hair turned to black, her skin turned to brown. Her tongue is back to normal size.

Calon Arang is so happy for her daughter. Mpu Bahula is a fine young man. He's handsome. And he's brave enough to encounter her worst magical power.

The wedding party is held in the town of Daha. It's a big party. Foods and drinks are everywhere. But no one dares to touch it. It's Calon Arang anyway. People are still scared. Even the great King Airlangga don't have the courage to greet her. But none of that matter. Calon Arang could only care about her daughter happiness.

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The party is over, Calon Arang should back to her hut. She takes a coconut tree leaf and jumped on top of it. The leaf is flying, she rides it to the forest, alone, because Ratna Manggali lives in the town now.

When she arrives, she's surprised by Mpu Bharada. He stands there in front of her fireplace, smiling, and says, "in the name of Daha, I should bring justice for every life you have taken."

"You weak wizard, what are you gonna do?! I'm far more superior than you!"

"I have destroyed all of your relics, amulets, and books of mantras..." said Mpu Bharada.

Calon Arang is furious. She screams so loud, really demonic screams. Red fireballs are coming from the bushes around. This is an old magic. A destructive one. But Bharada was right, without the relics and amulets, her power is easier to handle. Blue fireballs coming from the sky. This is Bharada's magic. The fire clashes. The sounds are so scary as if a volcano is erupting in Daha.

Calon Arang releases her full power, she turns into her demonic form. She becomes "Rangda", the queens of all black magic. She beat all the blue fireballs with a single hand. Her other hand is holding a handkerchief, she gives it a mantra. The handkerchief is moving as if it's a living thing. It smells like blood. Bharada stands still. He should come with his full power too. The blue fireballs coming to his body, glowing like thousands of fireflies, he turns himself into a Barong--A big big lion-like creature that shining brightly.

These two magical creatures are facing each other. They're both jump and start the physical attack. Their power clashes and the lights radiate miles away to Daha. It's still midnight, but the light is so bright, so all rooster in Daha start to crow. People are too scared to get out because the clash sound is even more terrifying than before.

When the dawn comes, there's an old man standing at the end of the forest. He looks tired and wounded. It's Mpu Bharada.

"O mighty Mpu Bharada, did you defeated the witch?" people are asking him while he slowly walks to Airlangga's castle.

"She's gone... for now..." said Bharada. "She'll come back again at any time. You'd better prepare yourself for the worst..."

"What should we do if she comes back?"

"Have a big heart, people...keep the faith..." Mpu Bharada smiles, "the mighty Barong will always protect you..."

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This is an entry for @sankofa contest. If you love to retelling a folktale you've heard in the past, this is a really fun contest to join!