Bawang Putih Bawang Merah Totally Explained

Everything about Bawang Putih Bawang Merah totally explained

Bawang Putih Bawang Merah is one of the more famous of old Malay archipelago folktales, passed down orally through the generations. Like most Malay folktales, the story is laden with lessons regarding familial values, patience in the face of adversity, and that ultimately good will be rewarded and the evil will be punished. The story centers on a pair of half-sisters named Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah. Bawang Putih is the Malay name for garlic, while Bawang Merah is the Malay name for onion or shallot. This naming convention is in the same vein as the Western fairy tale sisters Snow White and Rose Red, although the previously mentioned Malay sisters don't get along as well. The use of these names for the female protagonist and her antagonist is symbolic of their physical similarity (both girls are beautiful) but have completely different personalities. Since the original folktale was passed on orally, different variations of the story exist. In most versions, Bawang Putih is the good and kind daughter, while Bawang Merah is the cruel and vindictive one.

Story

The story takes place in a simple village household. The head of this family has two wives, and each wife has their own daughter. Bawang Merah and her mother are jealous of the attention the father gives Bawang Putih and her mother. When the father dies, Bawang Merah and her mother take charge of the household and bully Bawang Putih into servitude. Bawang Putih’s mother stands up for her daughter but she soon dies prematurely, in some versions due to sickness and in some versions due to the intentional malice of Bawang Merah's mother.
   With her biological mother and father dead, the gentle and obedient Bawang Putih is left alone to be tortured by her cruel stepmother and half-sister. Though Bawang Putih suffers, she's patient. One day, when she's out in the woods, she sees a pond containing a live fish. The fish is able to speak, and tells her that it's her mother who has came back to comfort her. Bawang is was overjoyed to be able to speak with her mother again, and secretly visits the pond whenever she can.
   One day Bawang Merah sees Bawang Putih sneaking off and secretly follows her to the pond, where she witnesses Bawang Putih talking to the fish. After Bawang Putih leaves, Bawang Merah lures the fish to the surface of the pond and catches it. Bawang Merah and her mother kill the fish, cook it and feed it to Bawang Putih without telling her where it came from. Once Bawang Putih finishes eating, her stepmother and stepsister reveal where they obtained the fish. Bawang Putih is repulsed and filled with remorse over this revelation.
   Bawang Putih gathers the fish bones and bury them in a small grave underneath a tree. When she visits the grave the next day, she's surprised to see that a beautiful swing has appeared from one of the tree's branches. When Bawang Putih sits in the swing and sings an old lullaby, it magically swings back and forth.
   Bawang Putih continues to visit the magic swing whenever she can. One day, while she was is on the magic swing, a Prince who is hunting nearby hears her song. He follows the sound of her voice, but before he approach her, Bawang Putih realises that she isn't alone, she quickly runs back home.
   The Prince and his advisors eventually find the home of Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah. (In some versions this happens immediately after the Prince's first sighting of Bawang Putih, but in other versions it happens after a long search made by the Prince's advisors.) Bawang Merah's mother, seeing the opportunity, orders Bawang Putih to stay hidden in the kitchen. The Prince asks about the swing and the girl who sat in it. Bawang Merah's mother says that the girl he heard is her beautiful and talented daughter Bawang Merah. Though the Prince agrees that Bawang Merah is beautiful, he requests that she show him how she sang in the magical swing.
   Bawang Merah and mother reluctantly follow the Prince and his advisors back to the magic swing. Bawang Merah sits in the swing and attempts to sing so that it'll move, but she cannot. The Prince, now angry, ordered Bawang Merah's mother to tell the truth. Bawang Merah's mother is forced to confess that she's another daughter hidden in her house.
   The Prince brings Bawang Putih back to the swing, and as she'd done many times before, the magic swing starts moving as soon as she begins singing. The Prince is overjoyed and asks Bawang Putih to marry him. She agrees and they live happily ever after.

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