THE LEGEND OF LAKE BATUR

A long time ago, there lived on the island of Bali a giant-like creature named Kbo Iwo. The people of Bali used to say that Kbo Iwo was everything, a destroyyer as well as a creator. He was satisfied with the meal, but this meants for the Balinese people enough food for a thousand men.


Difficulties arose when for the first time the barns were almost empty and the new harvest was still a long way off. This made Kbo Iwo wild with great anger. In his hunger, he destroyed all the houses and even all the temples. It made the Balinese turn to rage. So, they came together to plan steps to oppose this powerfull giants by using his stupidity.

They asked Kbo Iwo to build them a very deep well, and rebuild all the houses and temples he had destroyed. After they fed Kbo Iwo, he began to dig a deep hole. One day he had eaten too much, he fell asleep in the hole. The oldest man in the village gave a sign, and the villagers began to throw the limestone made the water inside the hole boiling. Kbo Iwo was buried alive. Then the water in the well rose higher and higher until at last it overflowed and formed Lake Batur. The mound of earth dug from the well by Kbo Iwo is known as Mount Batur.

Adapted from folk Tales from Indonesia

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