The Story of Mentiko Betuah from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Indonesia
Long ago in the land of Simeulue, there lived a king. He has a son named Rohib. However, they spoiled him too much, so Rohib grew up to be a spoiled child. When he was a teenager, the king sent him to study in the city. But his spoiled nature carried over to where he studied. One day, Rohib came home before the study period ended. Of course, his father was furious.
“Hey, Spirit! Where did you study there? What a child who knows no profit! Guards, hang this kid to death!” the king orders.
“No, Kanda! How about we just tell him to get out of the palace? But by giving him money as capital to trade,” suggested the Empress.
“Hmm, okay, Dinda.” replied the King.
“What do you think, my son?” asked the Empress to the Spirit. “All right! Thank you, Mother.” replied the Spirit.
Rohib also said goodbye to his parents. He went from one village to another. On the way, he met children who were shooting birds with slingshots.
“O, my brother! You don’t mistreat the bird!” said the Spirit. “Hey, who are you? How dare you forbid us,” rebuked a child. “If you stop shooting at the bird, I will give you money,” said Rohib.
Rohib’s offer was accepted by the children. Rohib continues his journey and he always gives money to people who abuse animals. Without realizing it, the money for his capital had run out. Because the journey was very tiring, Rohib then rested under a tree. Suddenly a big snake approached him. The spirit was very frightened.
“Don’t be afraid, young man! I am the Snake King in this forest,” said the Snake. “Who are you yourself? Why are you sad?” asked the Snake.
“My name is Rohib,” replied Rohib. Then he told all his experiences. “You are a good boy. You deserve my reward,” added the snake as it spits out something from its mouth.
“What’s that thing?” asked the Spirit. “This is Mentiko Betuah. Whatever you ask for, it will be granted,” explained the Snake, then left the Spirit.
“Wow, this thing can help me from my father’s wrath,” Rohib murmured. Rohib returned to the palace. Previously, he begged Mentiko Betuah to give him a lot of money. Arriving at the palace, his father was happy because Rohib brought a lot of money.
Long story short, Rohib brought Mentiko Betuah to a goldsmith to make a ring. However, the goldsmith actually took the object away. Rohib also asked his friends for help, namely mice, cats, and dogs. The dog managed to find traces of the Goldsmith. While the Goldsmith was asleep, the Cat stuck its tail in its nostrils. As a result, the goldsmith sneezed, so Mentiko Betuah was thrown from his mouth. The mouse immediately took it. However, the mouse deceived his two friends that Mentiko Betuah fell into the river. His two friends panicked and immediately looked for him to the bottom of the river, while the Rat immediately gave Mentiko Betuah to Rohib.
When the Cat and the Dog-faced the Spiritist, they were very surprised that the Betuah Mentiko had returned to the Spirit’s hands. Apparently, the cunning behavior of the rats was immediately caught by the cats and dogs. Both of them were furious at the rat’s cheating actions. Since then dogs and cats hate mice to this day.
The moral message of the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Folklore: Mentiko Betuah is that humans are social creatures, so they need a helping attitude. Humans are also individual creatures, if you spoil your child too much, it will have bad consequences when the child grows up.