Kebo Iwa
Once upon a time in Bali, lived a wealthy man and his wife. They have been married for
a long time but did not have any children. They prayed to God to give them a child. So, they
prayed and prayed every single day endlessly. One day, the God finally answered their pray. The
wife got pregnant and they had a baby boy. They were very happy. The baby was extraordinary.
He was very different from other babies. He ate and drank a lot. Day after day, he ate more and
more. His body was getting bigger and bigger. And by the time, he was teenager, his body was a
big as a buffalo. That’s why people call him Kebo Iwa, it means uncle buffalo or Kebo in
Balinese.
Because of his eating habit, Kebo Iwa’s parents spent a lot of money to buy his food.
They finally went bankrupt. They had no other choices and asked the villagers to help them
provide the food. “I’m very sorry, my dear son. We got bankrupt and we don’t have any money
anymore”, the father said. The villagers then worked together to cook and build a big house for
Kebo Iwa. He was like a giant. He could not stay in his parents’ house anymore because of his
big body. After a few months, the villagers also couldn’t afford to cook him the food anymore.
“Kebo Iwa, we cannot prepare you some food, because it is a dry season now, there is no rain so
we don’t have any food for you”, said one of the villagers. Then, they asked Kebo Iwa to cook
his own food. The villagers just prepared the raw materials. Kebo Iwa agreed. He said “Well, I
agree and as my expression of my gratitude to you, I will help you to build a dam and dug
wells.” He also protected the villagers from animals and people who wanted to attack their
village. It was an easy task for him since he also had incredible strength.
Meanwhile, the kingdom of Majapahit was planning to attack Bali. They knew about
Kebo Iwa and Kebo Iwa was more powerful than they were. Maha Patih of Majapahit then
planned something. They were pretending to invite Kebo Iwa to Majapahit to help them dig
some wells. They said that Majapahit was suffering from a long dry season and needed water.
“My dear friend, Kebo Iwa, we faced a dryness now, could you help to dig some wells for us?”
Kebo Iwa did not know the plan, so he went to Majapahit to help them. “Don’t worry, my dear
friend, Maha Patih. I will help you”, Kebo Iwa said. Then, Kebo Iwa went to Majapahit to help
them digging some wells.
When Kebo Iwa was busy digging a well, the Majapahit troops covered the well.
“Help….. help… help me!” Kebo Iwa said. Kebo Iwa had difficulty in breathing and buried
alive. He died inside the well. After the death of Kebo Iwa, Bali was conquered by Majapahit.
Until now, people still remember Kebo Iwa because he had done a lot for Bali. The stone head of
Legendary Kebo Iwa can be found in Pura Gaduh Temple in Blahbatuh.
