The Legend of Timun Mas
Children’s book cover: Indonesian Folklore
Timun Mas is a Folklore from Java, Indonesia that tells a story about a sweet old lady named madam Sirni who longs for a child that she wants to raise on her own. She then proceeds to make a deal with Buto Ijo, a big tall green monster who gives her a magical cucumber seed which soon grows into a cucumber plant with a baby inside. However, by the time the baby turns 16, madam Sirni has to give her back to Buto Ijo for him to feast. The cute baby was named “Timun Mas” which means golden cucumber. Madam Sirni raised her with her love and care but when Timun Mas was old enough for her to be taken back, Buto Ijo came to where she lived as her mother had promised.
The story tells that she had carried 4 magical pouches that had been given to her by an old ascetic in the mountains which consists of cucumber seeds which then turned into a field of cucumbers to slow down Buto Ijo from chasing her. However, Buto Ijo was able to escape it. Here comes the scene I illustrated which was Timun mas that had thrown the second pouch which was filled with needles that turned into tall sharp bamboo trees which strangled the big monster. Her fondness of surviving was really powerful, so she threw her next pouch filled with salt which magically made an ocean appear which unfortunately was still obtainable by Buto Ijo. The last pouch was her last hope, she threw the shrimp paste in it which led to a big flood of boiling mud that finally killed him.
I wanted to capture the emotions of the main character in my illustration and made it seem “alive” and “in the moment”. I used bright vivid colors as usual with a dark scary feeling in the bamboo forest that represents the eeriness of how Timun Mas was feeling being chased by a monster that wanted to consume her body.
And that is a synopsis of the Indonesian Folklore, The Legends of Timun Mas and a little bit of explanation to highlight the scene in this artwork. I hope you enjoy this artwork as much as I do, have a great magical day ! 👑💫
