The Legend of Lake Maninjau

Once, in a village in Gunung Tinjau, West Sumatra, there lived two people who loved each other. The two men were named Siti Rasani and Giran. They wanted to get married soon, but one of Siti's brothers named Kukuban did not approve it.

He did not approve it because of his grudge with Giran who had defeated him during the martial arts match and caused his leg to hurt. Siti had repeatedly persuaded her brother to give his permit, but her brother still insisted on opposing their love.

One day, Giran and Siti were going to the forest to find a cure for her brother. On the way home, the skirt worn by Siti caught the spiked wood until it was torn. One of the residents who saw the incident accused them of doing something shameful and violating customary ethics.

Therefore, Giran and Siti were led by citizens to be tried. The customary council ruled that they were guilty and as a punishment both of them had to be thrown into the Gunung Tinjau Crater so as not to cause havoc to the population.

Giran tried to explain what really happened, but none of the people believed it. At the top of Mount Tinjau, before they were thrown into the crater, Giri prayed to Allah. In the prayer he asked God to erupt the mountain as a sign that they were innocent.

Shortly after the two partners were dumped, a massive eruption occurred on Mount Review. This caused a great earthquake and destroyed all settlements.

In fact, the eruption caused the crater to grow to resemble a lake. The lake is now referred to as Lake Maninjau.