From the Legends - How the Grain of Rice Was Created

From the Legends

The sacred grain of rice is considered... the staple food of more than half the inhabitants of the globe... It is white and beautiful, resembling the color of jasmine and carnation... light of presence, splendid to look upon, of great nourishment... But this little white grain has... a little story—yet a wondrous, lovable, touching story...

It is told in the legends of Java that the great god "Batara Guru" created a beautiful virgin... whom he named "Retna Dumilah," that is, the glittering jewel... With her beauty, her charm, and her great spiritual power she would grant life to living creatures... and kindle fire and ardor in them... For this she held a great place in the heart of the supreme god... until he was captivated by her and lost in love of her... and desired her in marriage... But "Retna" refused and begged to be excused, so the god said to her:

—Retna... you beauty, you enchantress among virgins and women... Do you refuse to marry a god who fashioned you and formed you well... who bestowed on you the mantle of beauty and the attributes of holiness?... Do you not know that you are of my making and my creation... and that I created this beauty in you only that I might one day blend it with my strength and my spirit?...

—O great creator god... Yes, you gave me the power to grant life to living creatures, to send warmth into cold, rigid, dead bodies... and to grant mind to hollow skulls, so that bodies and minds might set forth in these creatures whom we gods call human beings... set forth in a mighty, capable power... and accomplish deeds before which the gods, in their heights and upon their thrones, stand helpless...

—Was it not I who granted you this power that you bestow upon men?

—Truly, O greatest of gods... but I wish to grant them something else, something new... something I feel in the depths of my soul and sense in my spirit... yet do not know... It seems to me that it is a food... which human beings do not know... and which we gods do not know... Whoever eats of it and drinks of its drink, the springs of strength burst forth in his loins... and vigor courses through his limbs, and he goes to his work capable and strong... no weakness fails him and no sickness holds him back...
—What is this infatuation of yours with human beings, Retna?...
—And what is your infatuation with me, O greatest of gods?... Are they not my creatures, just as I am your creature?... I wish to grant them this food, O god... If you bring it to me, I shall be your wife forever.

And the god sent his beloved and chosen companion, the wise old sage, down to the earth to search for this food beloved of Retna Dumilah... the enchanting virgin goddess... And the sage went about digging in the earth for whatever its fertile black soil brings forth... then returned bearing to the god all the grains, fruits, and herbs his hands could reach... The god set them before "Retna"... but no grain pleased her, no fruit, no herb... At that the god's patience wore thin and he cried out:
—Retna Dumilah... I have brought you every grain, green, fruit, and herb the earth grows... and nothing has pleased you... no kind has satisfied you... What is it you want?... Speak, my patience is exhausted...
—Is this how a god's patience runs dry?... You who command patience and forbearance... and forbid haste and anger...
—Then describe this plant to me, that I may find it...
—Would that I knew it, that I might describe it... It seems to me I see it in my dreams... and touch it in my imagination... little pearls, white and gleaming like snowflakes... pure and clean, scattered upon the mountaintops... A beautiful dream... would that it came true... then I would be your wife forever...

And the supreme god "Batara Guru" turned back... and sent his beloved sage a second time to dig in the earth for these white grains, gleaming like the pure, clean snowflakes scattered upon the mountaintops. And the sage went searching and digging, but he did not find them... and he died still searching for them... The god was angered at the death of his beloved and said:
—Does this please you, "Retna Dumilah"?... You are to me a source of torment and misery... You have grieved me and wearied me, and you were the cause of the death of my companion and beloved, "the Sage"... Die, then, and be done... for I can no longer bear to look at you...

And "Retna" died... and the supreme god grieved greatly at her death... and cried out, from the horror of the shock and the force of the calamity:
—"Retna" is gone and dead... gone is her enchanting beauty... and her strong, creative spirit... Perfume her with the sweet herbs of earth and heaven... bury her in the soil of the earth she loved... and drench her dust with the water of heaven... from which she was created. Keep vigil through the night, mourning at her beloved grave... moistening it with water whenever its dust runs dry...

And forty days went by... and suddenly a great light burst forth from the grave... and from it sprang plants that neither men... nor gods had ever known... No sooner did "Batara Guru" see them than he cried out in a voice that rolled like thunder:
—Retna Dumilah... this is your gleaming white life, come forth and revealed... like the flakes of pure, clean snow when they scatter upon the mountaintops... O gods... in these plants dwells the spirit of "Retna Dumilah" for which she was searching... and in these grains lie her hopes and her dreams. Distribute them among the sons of man as food and strength for them; this is "Retna's" wish, and this is her testament to suffering, hungry humanity...

And these grains were rice...
And rice became food for mankind, and life, and strength...

And the people took the grains of rice to plant them and eat of their yield, and they turned to "Batara Guru" to seek his inspiration on the manner of cultivating them... And he said to them...:
—Let these grains be planted in land flooded with water... for "Retna Dumilah" was the daughter of the water, and these grains sprang up when the daughter of the water mingled with the earth of men...

—And this was the first method ever known for the cultivation of rice...

And the god "Batara Guru" commanded that none should come near the cultivation of rice save those who had purified themselves and washed... And its cultivation spread over the earth... and its planting season came to be regarded as a great religious festival which the people celebrated, offering sacrifices to the gods... Then "Batara Guru" commanded them to transplant the rice... and the women would transplant it after it had grown... then the farmers would ease the flow of the water from it for some days, until the roots could fill the earth... and it would flower and bear fruit...

This is the story of immortal rice, gleaming white, like the carnation and the jasmine... the staple food of more than half the inhabitants of the globe.