Folklore from Papua
Mr and Mrs Brown Bird lived in a jungle in Papua. Mr Brown always complains about his feathers. He thinks they were ugly. He is jealous with his friend, Mr Green Bird.
"I want to have beautiful feathers like Mr Green Bird. His feathers are not brown like mine. They are very beautiful," says Mr Brown Bird to his wife.
"Honey, you have to be grateful with your feathers. With
feathers like this, humans are not interested in us. So they will not hunt us," says Mrs Brown Bird.
Mr Brown Bird then goes to the God of Jungle.
"I want to have beautiful feathers like Mr Green Bird's feathers,” says Mr Brown Bird.
"Don't worry. I can make your wish come true. Just choose one color."
"Hmm I don't know. How about red? Yellow? Green? I'm confused."
The God of Jungle is upset. "Choose now!"
Mr Brown Bird then looks up to the sky. He has an idea.
"Aha! I know which color to choose. I don't want want one color of my
feathers. I want many colors. I want my feathers to be
colorful like the rainbow in the sky."
Not longer after that, Mr Brown Bird's feathers are colorful. When he goes home, his wife does not recognize him.
"Honey, it's me. I'm your husband."
"No, my husband is not like you! His feathers are brown!" says Mrs brown Bird.
Mr Brown Bird tries very hard to convince his wife realizes that he is really her husband.
"You are very stupid, my husband. With color like these, humans will hunt you. What if they also take our children? Now, please go away! Our lives are in danger if you are still here," says Mrs Brown Bird. She is crying.
Mr Brown Bird is very sad. He knows he just made a very big mistake. He then leaves his house. His name then changes into Cendrawasih. It means a bird of paradise. ***
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Did you know?
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| en.wikipedia.org |
Cendrawasih or the birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea and its satellites, with a few species occurring in the Moluccas and eastern Australia.
The family has forty species in 14 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of most species, in particular highly elongated and elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat.
The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-based polygamy. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird-of-paradise)
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Cendrawasih yang tidak Bahagia
Cerita Rakyat dari Papua
BAPAK dan Ibu Burung Coklat tinggal di sebuah hutan di Papua. Brown selalu mengeluh tentang bulunya. Menurutnya, bulunya jelek. Dia cemburu dengan temannya, Pak Burung Hijau
"Saya ingin memiliki bulu yang indah seperti Pak Burung Hijau. Bulunya tidak cokelat seperti saya. Mereka sangat indah," kata Pak Burung Coklat kepada istrinya.
"Sayang, kau harus bersyukur dengan bulumu. Dengan bulu seperti ini, manusia tidak tertarik pada kita. Jadi mereka tidak akan memburu kita," kata Bu Burung Coklat.
Brown Bird kemudian pergi ke Dewa hutan.
"Saya ingin memiliki bulu yang indah seperti bulu Pak Burung Hijau," kata Pak Burung Coklat.
"Jangan khawatir. Saya dapat membuat keinginan Anda menjadi kenyataan. Hanya memilih satu warna."
"Hmm aku tidak tahu. Bagaimana kalau merah? Kuning? Hijau? Saya bingung."
Allah Jungle marah. "Ayo pilih sekarang!"
Pak Burung Coklat kemudian menatap ke langit. Dia memiliki ide.
"Aha! Aku tahu mana warna untuk memilih. Saya tidak ingin ingin satu warna bulu saya. Saya ingin banyak warna. Aku ingin bulu saya menjadi berwarna-warni seperti pelangi di langit."
Tidak lama setelah itu, bulu Burung Coklat yang berwarna-warni. Ketika ia pulang, istrinya tidak mengenalinya.
"Sayang, ini aku. Aku suamimu."
"Tidak, suami saya tidak seperti Anda! Bulunya coklat!" kata Bu Buruing Coklat.
Brown Bird berusaha sangat keras untuk meyakinkan istrinya menyadari bahwa ia benar-benar suaminya.
"Kau sangat bodoh, suami saya. Dengan warna seperti ini, manusia akan memburu Anda. Bagaimana jika mereka juga mengambil anak-anak kita? Sekarang, silakan pergi! Hidup kita berada dalam bahaya jika Anda masih di sini," kata Bu Burung Coklat. Dia menangis.
Pak Burung Coklat sangat sedih. Dia tahu dia hanya membuat kesalahan yang sangat besar. Dia kemudian meninggalkan rumahnya. Namanya kemudian berubah menjadi Cendrawasih. Ini berarti burung surga.