Pos Malaysia "Pulau Kembaro"

POS INDONESIA on 2 February 2002 issued a First Day Cover of an Indonesia folktale entitled "Pulau Kembaro". Postmark cancellation originated from Jakarta.

The fifth series of "Cerita Rakyat" in 2002 which is shown is just one of the many stories and legends circulating in various regions in Indonesia. The folklore featured this time is Kembaro Island from South Sumatra, the story of Nyi Roro Kidul from the Special Region of Yogyakarta , the story of Aji Tatin from East Kalimantan , and the origins of Lake Tondano from North Sulawesi.

Kembaro Island, South Sumatra

The original intention of Than Bun An, the son of a nobleman from China, in coming to Palembang was to trade. Understandably, since ancient times the city had developed as a trading centre which was well known abroad. But fate decided otherwise when he saw a beautiful girl named Fatimah. 

She was the daughter of a Palembang nobleman, and he fell in love with her.  Fatimah's heart was attracted to this young man from a different nation, and her family also approved of their relationship. 

Their love story continued when they married, but their wedding was without the presence of Than Bun An's parents who were far away in another country. 

As a sign of blessing, her parents sent a jar full of gold and jewels which was presented to Fatimah's family. When the ship loaded with urns arrived at the Musi river, Than Bun An and Fatimah immediately met it. 

The ship contained so many jars that Than Bun An wondered how his parents could give him that much gold. How shocked and embarrassed he was when he opened the lid of the jar and discovered the contents were only preserved vegetables. He then smashed the jars until the contents spilled out, then he jumped into the river. 

Fatimah tried to approach her husband to prevent this action, but it was too late because her foot hit the urn which was still intact. The jar broke and it turned out to be full of gold. 

She ignored the gold, and instead jumped into the river to save her husband. However, both of them drowned, unable to save themselves. Meanwhile the ship suddenly swerved and  sank. After the ship sank, land appeared at that place which became known as Kembaro Island. 

The people of Palembang now call it Kemarau Island, which is located in the middle of the Musi river.