Badang

Badang is a legendary South-East Asian strongman, believed to have lived in the 1300s.

tory

A story was told that there lived a Siamese boy (his age varies from teens to young adulthood) called Badang in a place called Saluang in Aceh. Badang was a slave. His master was Orang Kaya Nira Sura. Badang did not mind working hard. Badang spent his days working in the fields and clearing the jungle. When he was not working in the fields or clearing the jungle, Badang liked to go fishing. He cast his nets along the sea bed every evening and gathered the net the following morning.

The story goes that one morning Badang saw that there was only fish bones and heads in his net. He threw away the fish bones and heads. He took the net home, cleaned and dried it ready for the next day.

That evening he cast his net along the sea bed again. The next morning he went to gather his net. The net felt very light when he pulled it. When it was all out of the water there was only fish bones. Badang was very angry. Badang decided to sleep on the beach that night to catch the thief. He took a small log of wood for his head, a mat to sleep on and an old sarong to cover himself. He also took a broadsword to protect himself. Badang fell asleep quickly. The fresh air and the soft sound of the waves against the rocks lulled him to sleep. Badang had a strange dream. He dreamt that he was very strong. So strong that he could lift a boat with all its load. He dreamt that he lifted a great big rock and threw it into the air. The rock travelled many miles and landed at the mouth of a river. In his dream Badang was very rich. He lived in a palace and had many servants waiting on him. His mother, father and sister wore fine clothes and lived with him in the palace. He also dreamt that he swallowed something that came out of the mouth of an ugly beast. A beast so big and ugly that Badang shook with fear and woke up.

Badang opened his eyes. He could not believe what he saw. There was the demon in his dream. He was taller than the house that Badang lived in with his family. He had long, matted hair on his head reaching to his waist, a beard that was wide, long and matted covering his hairy chest. There was also hair on his shoulders, arms and legs. The demon had a pair of horns and tusks. The tusks protruded from its upper jaw. In the dim light its eyes shone like that of a wild animal, flashing and red. (In another version the demon looks like an old man dressed in white.)

The demon made its way to where Badang laid out his net. The demon pulled the net in. The net came through the water easily. It was a good catch. Badang could see from where he was the shiny fish wriggling in the net. There were some large fishes which would have made his mother very happy. Within minutes the demon had eaten all there was in the net. The demon picked the largest fish first. He twisted the fish heads, threw them into the net and tore the raw flesh off the bones and threw the bones into the net too. When all the big fish were gone he gulped the smaller ones in one large mouthful. He gave a big burp and walked off to a nearby knoll and was soon fast asleep. After seeing the demon stealing his catch, Badang became very angry. His anger overcame his fear. He grabbed his parang (machete) and crept up to the sleeping demon. He used his now empty net as a rope to tie the demon’s long hair. He secured it to a rock.

With his sword ready to strike Badang woke the demon. The demon turned out to be a gentle frightened creature. The demon feared for its life and begged for mercy. He promised to grant Badang any wish if he spared his life. Badang thought of wishing to be invisible but knew he would be hunted and killed. He thought of asking for riches but knew that whatever he owns belongs to his master. Instead he wished for great strength so that he would not tire during his chores.

The demon said that if Badang wanted great strength and wisdom he would have to swallow whatever he coughs up. Badang agreed and the demon coughed out all the fish he had eaten from his stomach. He gave these to Badang. Badang ate the fish. (In some versions the demon coughed out two red gems called geliga for Badang to swallow.)

True to the demon’s word Badang gained strength and became very wise. Badang still worked in the fields. He cleared the jungle. With his new strength Badang was able to bring a big harvest to his master. With his wisdom Badang showed his master how to be a very successful farmer. His master was so grateful for Badang's loyalty that he freed him and his family from slavery. He gave Badang some money to start a new life in Temasik (present-day Singapore).

While living in this new home, Badang performed good deeds for the people. One day he saw a large group of men trying to push a heavy boat into the water. The boat was so heavy that no matter how many strong men tried to push it, it wouldn't budge. Although Badang continually offered to help the men, they always refused saying that one as small as Badang would not make any difference. Eventually there were 1000 men pushing the boat to no avail. This came to the attention of Seri Rama Wira Kerma, the king of Temasik. He came to see what the trouble was when he saw Badang offering his assistance once again. The king asked Badang if he really believed he could help. Badang said he did and easily pushed the boat into the sea. Badang was summoned to the court of Seri Rama Wira Kerma and was appointed commander-in-chief of the army.

At this time, Badang had become known in other nearby countries as well. The king of India (Java in other versions) heard of him and wanted to test his strength against Nadi Bijaya, the champion of India. Nadi Bijaya came to Temasik and had various tests of strength against Badang. In every test, the result was tied. Seeing this, the agreed to have one final trial of lifting up a heavy rock. Only in this trial did Badang come out as the clear victor. While Nadi Bijaya could barely lift it at all, Badang lifted it above his head. This competition brought great fame to both Badang and his adopted home of Temasek.