King Iguana

"King Iguana" (Galela: Ma Kolano o Kariànga;[1] Dutch: Koning Leguaan) is an Indonesian folktale in the Galela language, collected by H. van Dijken and M. J. van Baarda, and sourced from the island of Halmahera. It deals with the marriage between a human girl and a suitor in animal form that she disenchants to become human. Later, her envious sisters try to murder her and replace her as the animal suitor's wife.

According to Dutch philologist Jan de Vries, the tale belongs to the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom, in a form that appears in the Indonesian archipelago.[2] Variants also exist in Southeast Asia.

  1. ^ Van Dijken, H.; Van Baarda, M. J. (1895). "O Galėka-Ka Manga Totoādé, Manga Tjarita Déo Manga Pitūa. Fabelen, Verhalen En Overleveringen Der Gȧlėlareezen". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië. 45 (2): 266. JSTOR 25737823.
  2. ^ Vries, Jan de (1925). Volksverhalen uit Oost-Indië: sprookjes en fabels. Vol. I. W.J. Thieme & cie. p. 374 (entry nr. 23).