Malin Kundang

Long time ago, in West Sumatera, there lived a poor widow. Her name is Made Rubiah. She lived with her son, his name is Malin Kundang. She loved her son very much.
When Malin Kundang was fifteen years old, he worked as a porter on a merchant ship. He had been abroad many years but he didn’t send any news to his mother. His mother missed him. The captain of the ship liked him because he worked very hard.
When he was older, the captain asked him to marry with his daughter. He worked even more successfully, so that when the captain died, he got all of the captain’s wealth and also became the new captain. He was very rich, but unfortunely he becomes too proud and arrogant.
One day Malin Kundang’s ship dropped anchor at The Batang Arau Harbour. Then his mother, who had been waiting for years, heard about this. She went to the ship to see her beloved son. But, what happened? Malin Kundang did not want to admit that Mande Rubiah was his mother. He even scolded her and asked his guards to send her away.
His mother was very sad, she sorrowfully knelt down to pray to God. “Oh, my God! I know he is my son, but why has he turned so wicked? Please, God, don’t let this wickedness continue. Punish him as you wish!”
Then when the ship sailed, suddenly the sky turned dark, and strong wind blew the ship violently Malin Kundang and all his guards were drowned. The ship was upside down and turned into stone.
Now when we go to the beach near Padang, we can see a rock which looks like a ship. People say that it was Malin Kundang’s ship.