Long time ago in Central Kalimantan there was a hunter named Sangi who lived with his wife and children. They lived in a house at the river Mahoroi, a tributary of the Kahayan River. Sangi was very popular among village people as an expert in hunting. That is why they called him as The Hunter from Mahoroi.

His only weapon was a long hollow stick called sumpitan. He often brought home various animals from deer to boar for his family. One day when he was in the forest, looking for them, but nothing he could find. While he was walking along the river, he saw that the water near the riverside was muddy. He thought that some boars had been drinking there. 

But then he was very surprised when he saw a boar was half part in the jaws of a giant snake. He was very frightened so he could not move his body. He hid himself among the bushes. The snake was not able to swallow the boar but he kept on trying. His effort came to and end, desperately he loses the boar. However, instead of leaving the dead boar, the giant snake approached the bushes where Sangi was hiding. At the moment, that snake turned into a handsome young man and furiously appointed the boar while talking loud to Sangi, “Swallow the boar! It’s because you have waited for the snake swallowing that boar.” Sangi was even more frightened. He could only obey the handsome young man to swallow the boar. Wonderfully, he successfully swallowed it.

The young man told Sangi that he was put a spell after hiding while he was watching a snake swallowing a boar. He also told Sangi not to worry because he would be immortal and young forever as long as he can keep the secret of the incident. After he finished talking, he suddenly vanished.

Sangi went home and kept the secret only for himself. He could not reveal the secret to anyone, not even his wife and their children. In that way he could live until 150 years old and still looking young. It made his descendants were very curious and kept asking him. Accidentally he violated his vow after he could no longer keep the secret and suddenly his body changed peace by peace into a giant snake. As he had changed into a big snake, Sangi sprang into the Kahayan River after having spread all the pieces of gold he kept in the big jar into the water.

While swimming along the river, Sangi cursed everyone in Kahayan River nearby.

“Whoever pants the gold in this river will die and the money he gets from the gold will be used for the ceremony of his death.” So, that is why now people are not allowed to pant for gold at the upper course of Kahayan River.

(Central Kalimantan Folk Tale)