In the valley between the Kaweng Mountains, a young man named Mamanua plowed a field. He planted corn in this field. A few months later, when the corn cobs could be baked, he invited some young men and women he knew to come and taste the baked milk cobs.
How many people gathered, how fun it was! There was only one thing missing - there was no water nearby to splash around. The guests complained to Mamanua about this. He was very upset and turned to the goddess Muntu-untu with a prayer so that she would send him a spring.
The next night Mamanua had a dream. The goddess Muntu-untu let him know that if he wanted to have a spring, he must, sparing no effort, dig up a large stone that was located at the edge of the field. If he works, he will achieve his goal.
Mamanua began to dig. And indeed, that’s how it all turned out. On the third day he saw a stone, and from under the stone a strong stream of water burst out. The water became more and more. She gathered in a spacious valley, and a lake formed there. This is the origin of the current Lake Tendano.
Mamanua's field became even more fertile because it received a lot of water. During the day and in the evenings, various birds frolicked on the lake; in its depths lived many kinds of fish. Mamanua planted the land around the spring with sugar cane and fruit trees.
But Mamanua noticed that someone was stealing his field every day. Fruit peels and sucked sugar cane stalks were lying near the spring.
Mamanua decided to track down the thief, capture him and punish him according to his deserts.
And who did he see?
Nine white swans flew to the source. They sank to the ground, shed their feathers and at the same moment turned into nine beautiful girls. From surprise, Mamanua could not utter a word. The girls went to the field, picked fruits and reeds and began to feast on them. Then they jumped into the water and began to play and splash.
Having swam and dived to their heart's content, they went ashore and put on their feathers again. And at that same moment they turned into swans and soared into the sky. Mamanua, with his mouth open, watched the white birds. And so every day he allowed them to swim and feast on his field. Finally he wanted to catch one of the birds.
One morning, when the girls were playing as usual, he quietly crept up to them and grabbed the plumage of one of them. After bathing, the girls climbed ashore, each took her feathers, and the flock rose into the sky. Only one of them could not do this, because her plumage disappeared. She began to look for him everywhere, but did not find him and began to cry bitterly.
When the girl saw Mamanua, she was very scared. Out of fear, she cried even harder and asked the young man for forgiveness.
- What is your name? - asked Mamanua.
“Lingkambene,” answered the girl. “I am the daughter of Muntu-untu, the supreme goddess in the heavenly kingdom.”
Mamanua thanked her for her answer and invited the girl to become his wife.
- How can I refuse your request? Aren't my clothes missing? - answered Lingkambene. - But remember, when you comb my hair, make sure that not a single hair falls off. Otherwise, misfortune will befall both of us.
- I will not forget about your request! - answered Mamanua.
From then on they lived in love and harmony. A year later, the gods sent them a boy. They named him Vulansendov. The child was beautiful and strong, and the parents’ happiness knew no bounds.
But one day, when Mamanua was combing the hair of his beloved, he accidentally pulled out one hair. So what happened? Blood began to flow from Lingkambene's head like a small fountain. Shedding tears, she told her husband:
- Oh, how unfortunate we are! I must leave you and return to the heavenly kingdom to heal my wound so that the bleeding stops.
And she handed over her son to her husband.
- Take care of Vulansendov! - she said goodbye. - God willing, we will see each other again!
It was hard on both of them!
Lingkambene put on her feathers and flew to the sky. And Mamanua didn’t know what to do. He told everyone about what had happened and looked for an opportunity to follow his beloved.
While wandering, he met a large eagle and told him about his misfortune.
“Hold on to my legs with your son, and I will lift you to heaven,” said the eagle.
- How good! - Mamanua was delighted.
The eagle soared into the sky, carrying Mamanua and his son. But the load was too heavy. The eagle could not fly half the way and descended to the ground.
With a heavy heart, Mamanua set off further, looking for the way to the heavenly kingdom.
A large liana came to his aid.
“Hold on to my top,” said the vine, I will lift you to heaven.
But they had barely reached the middle of the path when a strong wind blew, and the vine, bent, fell into the sea. Mamanua and his son floundered in the waves until a large fish helped them.
- What happened to you? - asked the big fish. And Mamanua told her about how his wife left him, flying into the sky, how he wanted to follow her, but he failed.
“Sit on my back, and I will take you to where the sun rises, to the foot of the heavens,” said the big fish. “And from there the dog will take you to the palace of Muntu-untu.”
Mamanua and his son climbed onto the back of the fish and they swam away. The fish swam for several days, struggling with waves, storms and storms. Finally she reached the foot of the heavens, the place where the sun rises. Then she asked her friend the dog to escort Mamanua and Vulansendov to the kingdom of the goddess Mungu-ungu.
After some time, all three reached the city gates. Mamanua said, turning to the gatekeepers:
“Hey, gatekeepers, I want to appear before the goddess Muntu-untu.” One of her daughters is my wife, and this is our son.
And he told them everything.
The goddess Muntu-untu was informed of the arrival of Mamanua.
“Okay, let him recognize his wife among my nine daughters who live in the palace,” said Muntu-untu.
Mamanua obeyed the order without hesitation. He took his wife's clothes, which he had brought from home, and gave them to the dog who had brought him here to smell them. The dog rushed to look for Mamanua's wife. Having found Lingkambene, she sat down under her throne and waved her tail.
Mamanua was delighted. If not for the help of the dog, how could he recognize Lingkambene among the nine daughters of the goddess? They did not differ from each other either in appearance or clothing. Without hesitation, Mamanua placed Vulansendov on his wife's lap and said:
- Feed our son milk. He missed you so much. Forgive me my guilt!
Lingkambene's joy was immeasurable. She hugged her son tenderly and fed him milk.
And Mamanua remained in heaven with Lingkambene.
Soon Vulansendov grew up. He was half a son of the soil, and he really wanted to go back there. Before letting him go to earth, his grandmother, the goddess Muntu-untu, gave him a package, but did not allow him to open it until Vulansendov found himself on earth.
Vulansendov was lowered to the ground using a rope. When he was already close to the ground, the package - a gift from his grandmother - fell down. The egg in it broke, and a very beautiful girl emerged from the shell.
- What is your name? - Vulansendov asked.
“Matinemung,” answered the girl.
- Why did grandma send you here?
- So that I can become your friend on earth.
Vulansendov was very happy.
In her hands, Matinempung held a box filled with seeds of various plants. There were seeds of rice, corn, durian (Duryan is a fruit tree of the baobab family; the sweet fruits of durian are eaten.), lemon and other plants and fruit trees.
Vulansendov and Matinempung diligently plowed the field and planted it with seeds brought from the sky. Matinempung divided the seeds among her neighbors, and all the people in the village became very fond of Woolansendow and his wife.
They named their land Tumentenden. From here, fruit trees spread throughout Minahasa.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru