The Three little pigs

Once upon a time there were three little pigs and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes.

Before they left, their mother told them " Whatever you do , do it the best that you can because that's the way to get along in the world.

The first little pig built his house out of straw because it was the easiest thing to do.

The second little pig built his house out of sticks. This was a little bit stronger than a straw house.

The third little pig built his house out of bricks.

One night the big bad wolf, who dearly loved to eat fat little piggies, came along and saw the first little pig in his house of straw. He said "Let me in, Let me in, little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little pig.

But of course the wolf did blow the house in and ate the first little pig.

The wolf then came to the house of sticks.

"Let me in ,Let me in little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in" "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little pig. But the wolf blew that house in too, and ate the second little pig.

The wolf then came to the house of bricks.

" Let me in , let me in" cried the wolf

"Or I'll huff and I'll puff till I blow your house in"

"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" said the pigs.

Well, the wolf huffed and puffed but he could not blow down that brick house.

But the wolf was a sly old wolf and he climbed up on the roof to look for a way into the brick house.

The little pig saw the wolf climb up on the roof and lit a roaring fire in the fireplace and placed on it a large kettle of water.

When the wolf finally found the hole in the chimney he crawled down and KERSPLASH right into that kettle of water and that was the end of his troubles with the big bad wolf.

The next day the little pig invited his mother over . She said "You see it is just as I told you. The way to get along in the world is to do things as well as you can." Fortunately for that little pig, he learned that lesson. And he just lived happily ever after!

(The above version of this story was transcribed from a promotional audiotape that was distributed by BurgerKing in approximately 1989)

The Old Kingdoms and the Coming of Islam

about 100
"Dvipantara" or "Jawa Dwipa" kingdom is reported by Indian scholars to be in Java and Sumatra. Prince Aji Saka intAoduces writing system to Java based on scripts of southern India. Hindu kings rule the area around Kutai on Kalimantan. "Langasuka" kingdom founded around Kedah in Malaya.

about 130
Salaka or Salanka kingdom, Salakanegara, is founded in West Java.


about 400
Taruma kingdom or Tarumanegara flourishes in West Java.
In these early days, mamy new plants were introduced into Indonesia, including pepper and teak. The Naskah Wangsakerta, a document written in Cirebon many years later, mentions the first king of Tarumanegara as taking power in the year 358, and lists a line of kings through 669.

about 425
Buddhism reaches Sumatra.
Records from these days in Indonesia are scarce, but we do know that sophisticated cultures already existed. The kings and cities of Sumatra and Java are mentioned in records from China, because ambassadors were sent thers. Arabs and Persians knew about the area from traders, and even the Greeks and Romans had very distant reports.

Records from inside Indonesia are very few, though, since writing was done on palm leaves and other materials that did not surcice well. Much of our knowledge comes from stone buildings and inscriptions. By the time we start to get a clear history of Java and Sumatra, there are already great buildings in stone, fine sculptures, classical music and dance, mush as we know them today.

about 600
Melayu kingdom flourishes aroung present -day Jambi on Sumatra
Chinese records from aroung this time mention kingdoms at Jambi and Palembang on Sumatra, and three kingdoms on Java, a western kingdom related to the Taruma of inscripitions, a central kingdom called "Kalinga", and an eastern kingdom with a capital perhaps near Surabaya or Malang.

about 670
Chinese traveller I Ching visits Palembang, capital of Srivijaya. Hindu temples built in the high Dieng plateau of central Java. About this time, the first Sunda kingdom rises after the end of the Tarumanegara kingdom.

about 686
Srivijaya takes the Melayu kingdom at Jambi, and sends an expedition against the kingdoms in Java.
Stone tablets dated 683 and 686 from southern Sumatra and Bangka describe the military campaigns of Srivijaya against Melayu and Java. They are the oldest known writings in any Malayo-Polynesian language.

about 700
Suwawa kingdom flourishes in North Sulawesi. By now, Srivijaya had also conquered Kedah, on the Malay peninsula.

about 732
Sanjaya founds the Sanjaya line of princes in central Java.

about 770
Sailendra King Vishnu (or Dharmatunga) begins building Borobudur. Beginning of building activity on the plain of Prambanan.

about 790
Silendra kingdom attacks and defeats Chenia (today Cambodia); rules over Chenia for about 12 years. The Sailendra kings remembered that teir ancestors came from what is now Thailand or Cambidia.

about 812
Sailendra king Indra is succeeded by Samaratunga.

about 825
Borobudur is finished under king Samaratunga.
Note: Borobudur is a huge Buddhist monument covering a volcanic hill a few miley between present-day Magelang and Yogyakarta. It is in levels representing the stages to enlightenment. The large central stupa is empty. The many beatufil relief sculptures may have been used to educate young monks.

about 835
Samaratunga passes away. His young son Balapatura has the throne taken from him by the father of his sister's husband, Patapan of Sanjaya, who replaces Buddhism on Java with Hinduism.

about 850
Pikatan defeats forces of Balaputra, then resigns the throne to become an ascetic. He is succeeded by Kayuwani. Balaputra, claimant to the Sailendra thore, escapes to Sumatra and takes power in Sriwijaya. King warmadewa rules on Bali.
Note: From about this time we have a version of the Ramayana epic in the Old Javanese languange. The wordk is sophisticated, and there were probably many earlier such works in Old Javanese that have not survived.