The history of white elephant

in #aceh7 years ago

Hi friends..Today I wanna share a little history of White Elephant fable believed by Gayo tribe in Aceh, called white elephant fable. Gayo is a descendant of the Kingdom of Linge. Most of people there previously resided in one area of Sumatra island, out side of Aceh. Further, generally, they started to move to the eastern areas of Aceh, like Aceh Tamiang, Langsa, and Eastern Aceh. So, they are spreaded themselves in those areas. As long as time goes, the Gayo people (Gayonese) also traveled to the Highlands Area in Aceh, such as Bener Meriah, Midle Aceh (Takengon), and South East Aceh. Most of them earned their livings as farmers for farmings. Therefore guys, if you come to Aceh, Indonesia, you’d like to find why most of Gayonese can be found in those areas.

The legend of white elephant figured is belived by mostly Gayonese originated from the history of Linge Kingdom. The white elephant was domesticated in according to the history and devoted to the Sultanate. The figure of white elephant was really appreciated at that time. Therefore, its story was specifically documentated on the book of “ Gadjah Putih (White Elephant) published by Aceh Tourism and Culture Department 1959, describing about “ the History of White Elephant in Aceh Kingdom”.

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Source: Karya Anak Ranto (https://sulyadiboyz.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/gajah-putih-dan-kerajaan-linge-di-gayo/)

Due to that famous legend, there was one of the Acehnese cultural heritages in the form of a museum piece, like an antique ceramic white elephant. The ceramic was so good and could attract the the attention of an antique ceramic collector. The ceramic was bought by my father a long time ago. The white elephant antique ceramic was found in South East Aceh, that had been burried a thosand years ago. My father was so glad to find it and there were many collectors in Aceh who bargained to it. However, my father still insist to keep it in my home. So guys, if you also feel interested to have a look an antique ceramic white elephant, you may perhaps visit the museum in my country, especially in Aceh or to have a look to my picture when I was a child that I rode a white elephant:
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very interesting nice post, I love elephants so this caught my eye

Thank you.. Very happy to read your coment :)