Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Once upon a time on an island of spices, an old woman went to the jungle to collect rice. At that time, rice stalks grew in the woods, tall and verdant. On her way home, she slipped and fell into a stream. Stuck at the bottom of the river, the grains that she had collected would grow each year, and the woman’s spirit would become the guardian of the springs.
The story may be true only to the people of Wangongira, a remote village in West Tobelo, North Halmahera, North Maluku Province. However, the rice that grows at the bottom of the river really exists. The villagers call it akere mapine, or river rice, and the crystal clear stream molulu, which means “she who tumbled down.”
