Tortor & Si Tanggang

It's rather intriguing to read from the news that many Indonesians are angered by Malaysia's claim that Tortor dance is a Malaysian cultural heritage. As Indonesians and Malaysians are increasingly becoming westernised, we would think that there would not be any more issues between us about our Eastern cultures.  So let's look at what these people are angry about as this may lead us to interesting conclusions.

This brings me to the legend of Si Tanggang, popular in Malaysia and Indonesia. As a short summary of this legend: 

Si Tanggang, who was brought up by a fisherman and his wife, became a successful sea captain. Later he disowned his true parents and consequently got cursed by his mother, which turned him into stone. 

Tanggang is usually portrayed as an ungrateful son - which is undeniable - and deserved to be cursed for his ingratitude. That's all very fine, but why on earth would a mother curse her (only) son? 

In fact, a similar question is asked by a lot of people regarding the tortor dispute: why are many Indonesians protesting against Malaysians - their blood relatives -  for claiming the cultural heritage to their traditional dance? Shouldn't they feel proud that their culture extends to a wider geographical area?

Of course the reply to these doubts would be to highlight the fact that Tanggang is guilty of ungratefulness - and similarly, that Malaysia is not the country origin of Tortor dance. However, we should not forget the other facts as well: that the curse came from his own mother, but not from an independent judge - and that the protest came from closely-related Easterners, but not from indifferent Westerners.

I don't deny the right of a mother to feel angry with her ungrateful son - but I think we can also question the sincerity of the mother's love to her son if she really did curse him into stone out of anger. Indeed, Tanggang would be retrospectively justified to disown his mother, if the only way she reacts to his behaviour is to disown him in return. 

Where is the love? *Sigh*

I am not a new man, 

not very different 

from you; 

the people and cities 

of coastal ports 

thought me not to brood 

over a foreign world, 

suffer difficulties 

or fear possibilities. 

I am you, 

freed from the village, 

its soils and ways, 

independent, because 

I have found myself.

from Si Tenggang's Homecoming 

by Muhammad Haji Salleh