PPS#114 | Grosso modo Komodo dragon

Of Latin origin, as well as being native Italian, the meaning of “Grosso modo” is “approximately, roughly-speaking, in broad terms”, etcetera. Roughly-speaking, Komodo dragons are giant lizards originating from the Komodo Island of the Indonesia Archipelago.

As the character of a children’s book I used to have as a child, was a Komodo dragon. It was fascinating to learn that these sort of giant lizards existed on islands in a place called Indonesia. They had scales, long slithering forked tongues, were heavy, and were very good at hunting.

In one of this week’s catch-up posts, I looked into this interesting reptile from my childhood to see what I’d find.

If Greeney the lizard was a giant.

Dear Patient Reader,

What about the Komodo dragon? Forming part of many myths and legends, the native people of the islands named the Komodo Dragon as “Ora or Orah”, “Buaya Darat or Land Crocodile”, and “Biawak Raksasa”' which means “Giant Monitor”. “Ora and Gerong” is the Indonesian legend of the Komodo dragon.

Legend goes that Najo had a daughter, Epa, who was awaiting the birth of her first child. Based on the tradition at Kampung Najo, the birth of a child was not done through the normal birth process. But, through a ‘surgical operation’ by using a knife made of bamboo. The tradition was carried out by local people to avoid the risk of maternal death.[1] Which wasn’t the case for Epa.

When the time came, Epa’s stomach was cut open by a midwife. She gave birth to twins. Strangely, one baby was a male, while the other was a baby lizard.

Epa and her husband, Wake, named their baby boy, Gerong, while the baby lizard was named Ora. Ora in the local language means lizard.

The twin brothers, though very different, were each raised with the love and care of their parents. However, in the growth process, Ora started to slowly show a violent and aggressive nature.

While the locals staple diet was made from Gebang fruit trees, Ora, the boy lizard’s appetite was slowly changing. He became malevolent and would often prey on people’s pets.

The villagers expelled Ora due to his increasingly dangerous attitude. He went and settled in the forest.

Though exiled from his home, Ora still came to the village to meet its twin brother, Gerong.

In another source, Epa is replaced by the princess who lived on Komodo Island, named The Dragon Princess. She married a man named Majo, and had twin children. A boy named Gerong and a dragon baby named Ora.[2]

As an ancient lizard species, the Komodo dragon has its share of legend and stories.

Till the next.

P.S. Have a nice week ahead.

P.P.S. The next post is titled “The Chameleon Effect”.

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References

[1] https://indonesianfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-legend-of-komodo-dragon.html?msclkid=50c447b3be3e11ec9ad8ec89f37d174c

[2]https://komododragon.org/post/detail/7#:~:text=The%20Tale%20of%20the%20Komodo%20Dragon%20Princess&text=Gerong%20grew%20up%20in%20the,intended%20to%20steal%20the%20deer