Stories from Komodo Dragon Island

The wild and wondrous Komodo National Park is a new tourism magnet in South East Asia. There’s certain raw beauty in the wildness of the landscape. The dry undulating hills with high lontar palm trees, the empty beaches, the deep and forgotten forest, and of course—the last walking dragons on earth. The whole Komodo National Park and everthing within it has been hidden from the world for decades. They have been living remotely from modern civilization and it’s only been recently that they are rising as new tourism hotspot. It’s no surprising that the Komodo dragon island is thick with folkores. Afterall, having a gigantic beast that’s been living since 5 million years ago roaming around your neighborhood guarantee an epic folklore.

Stories from Komodo Dragon Island

Beast of Komodo Dragon Island that Swallow Ships

We’ve heard the old legends. Stories from Middle-Age sailors who once sail around the world and went back home with implausible stories and sea monsters. Angry sea serpents and dragons swallowing a ship whole. Some of these stories were, seemingly, established on real thing. On a certain map, the Hunt-Lenox globe, the first European globes, tiny, and made of copper, appears the infamous phrase Hic Sunt Dracones. Here be dragons. The phrase appears apparently on the coast of South East Asia. A place where we know where the Komodo Island, Rinca, Flores, Padar, and Gili Mota lies. The island where the actual Komodo dragons alive and roam the world.

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Tale of the Long Lost Dragon Princess

Do you know that the old people of Flores believe that the Komodo Dragons is their long lost ancestor? Locals refreain to kill the Komodo dragon in the island cause they believe these beasts are their “sister”. Legends say it that a beautiful princess in Flores, Lea (some versions call her Epa), was pregnant and ready to went into labour. That night she gave birth into a twin; one a baby boy and another… a baby lizard girl. The princess died on labour and the husband is left to take care the children. The baby boy was named Si Gerong and the lizard girl was named Ora, a local language for lizard. The twin grow close together, though Ora grow quicker than her brother. When the brother could barely walk, Ora had been roaming the streets outside the house and even climbing the trees. The twin grow very close to each other despite of villagers’ suspicion of having a dragon living among them.

Stories from Komodo Dragon Island

Ora begun to develop interest in hunting beyond the boundaries, spending more time in the wilderness and came home only to check out her father and twin brother. Until one day, Ora came to her house for the last time, bid goodbye to her twin brother. Meanwhile, her brother grow into a skilled gardener and a hunter, seemingly fogetting his twin dragon sister that live in the wilderness. Long story short, the now adult Si Gerong was out to hunt deer in the edge of the forest. But when he was about to kill the deer, a gigantic dragon appeared from the forest—the largest he had ever seen. Out of instinct, Si Gerong leveled his spear at the beast and try to kill it when allof sudden a light flash and suddenly a radiant woman stand between them. She said, “Do not kill her.” “She is your twin sister Ora. I bore you together,” the woman continues. Si Gerong took down hs weapon and since then, people of Komodo dragon Island treat the dragons as their equal. They were part of the family. The dragons could roam and hunt freely on the island and in return, they will not hunt the humans. As you see today, they live in harmony. The dragons help them make a living while their human brothers make sure to keep their belly full and their home safe.  

So that’s it! The Komodo Dragon indeed made a great tale to tell on the island. And better than many other folklore, this one is real, alive, and kicking.

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