teradesa.com Lake Kelimutu or Lake of Three Colors is located on Mount Kelimutu. The exact location of the lake is in Pemo Village, Kelimutu District, Ende Regency, Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara. Lake Kelimutu is named Lake of Three Colors, because Mount Kelimutu has three craters with different water colors. Kelimutu Lake is a leading tourist attraction on Flores Island. In addition to its natural beauty, Lake Kelimutu holds the legend of the lake of three colors which is a folklore of East Nusa Tenggara.
Lake Kelimutu
Legend Lake Kelimutu
Is named Lake of Three Colors, because Mount Kelimutu has three craters with different water colors, namely red, blue, and green. The blue lake is called Tiwu Ata Bupu, which means old man’s lake. The red lake is called Tiwu Ata Polo which means magic lake. The green lake is called Tiwu Nuwa Muri Kou Fai which means the lake of young people. Quoted from bobo.grid.id, the names are related to the legendary story behind the beauty of the lake. Read also: The Legend of Batu Menangis from West Kalimantan: End of Story and Moral Message It is said that in ancient times, Konde Ratu and her people lived at the top of Mount Kelimutu. Among her people, there were two people who could use magic, namely Ata Bupu and Ata Polo. Both of them were friends and obeyed Konde Ratu.
However, both have different habits. Ata Bupu is a good person and likes to protect others. Meanwhile, Ata Polo is considered an evil witch because he likes to eat humans. One day, a pair of Ata Kalo (orphans) came to Ata Bupu. They both asked Ata Bupu for protection because their parents had died. Ata Bupu agreed to protect them, but on the condition that they should not leave Ata Bupu’s farm so that they would not fall prey to Ata Polo. Both agreed. One day Ata Polo came to Ata Bupu’s house. He knew the whereabouts of the two orphans. Ata Polo was about to prey on the two orphans, but Ata Bupu managed to prevent it. Read also: Moral Message and Legend of Lipan Lake from East Kalimantan Ata Bupu asked Ata Polo to wait until the two orphans grew up.
After growing up, the two orphans changed their names to Koo Fai and Nuwa Muri respectively. Ata Polo came to collect the promise to prey on the two orphans. Ata Bupu did not want the two children to fall prey to his friend. He prevented Ata Polo’s attack. Then, Ata Bupu went to the belly of the earth with the two orphans to escape. Meanwhile, Ata Polo continued to chase them, until finally the two witches along with the two orphans were buried alive by the earth.
Shortly after the incident, blue water appeared from the place where Ata Bupu was buried. While from Ata Polo’s place, red water appeared. The same thing happened to the place where the two orphans were buried, where green water appeared. Until finally, the location was called the three-color lake.
