In the time when West Java was still thickly
covered with woods and undergrowth and wonders existed, there reigned a king,
named Raden Sungging Pebangkara. He was a good ruler and to convince himself of
the welfare of his subjects, he used to visit them. But the thing he liked most
was hunting in the forest.
It happened that in one of the forests the king
often visited there lived a she-pig, actually a cursed goddess. One day, as it
was very warm, she came out of her hiding place looking for water. There she
saw a coconut-shell, filled with water. Glad to have found something and
expecting it to be coconut-milk, she drank it at a draught, having no
suspicions whatsoever that it was the King?s urine left there the day before
when hunting. The consequence was very strange. She became pregnant. In a few
months she gave birth to a very pretty girl. When the king was once again
hunting in the forest, he saw the girl and, attracted by her beauty, he took
her to his palace, called her Dayang Sumbi and treated her as his own daughter.
Time passed and Dayang Sumbi grew up into a
fine young girl. She was fond of weaving and thus passed her time. One bright
morning, as she was absorbed in weaving, her weaving-spool suddenly got loose.
Before she could prevent it, it flew out of the window to the field below. It
was out of her reach, as her room was about three stories high. Furthermore she
was very tired and had no wish to descend the stairs to fetch the spool. Quite
at ease, she mumbled: “Whoever is willing to help me pick up the spool, I?ll
treat as my sister, if she is a girl. If he is a man, I?ll take him as my
husband.” These words were overheard by a dog, called Tumang, who happened to
come along. He immediately picked up the spool and brought it to Dayang Sumbi.
Tumang was in fact a cursed god too, like the she-pig. Seeing the dog with the
spool in his mouth, Dayang Sumbi fainted. The gods had decided her for her to
undergo the same fate as her mother, the she-pig. She too become pregnant and a
short time afterwards she gave birth to a strong healthy son, whom she called
Sangkuriang.
Sangkuriang became a handsome young man, as
time went by. Like his grandfather, he was fond of hunting in the forest and
Tumang was his faithful friend when roaming the woods. He loved this creature
very much; having no idea at all that it was his own father. One day while
hunting, they came across a fat pig. Sangkuriang strung his bow and
z-z-z-z-z-z-z! the arrow hissed towards the she-pig, and hit but did not kill
her. Wounded, she vanished into the undergrowth.
“Come on, Tumang, run after her!” Sangkuriang
shouted, eager to taste the pork. Tumang, however, did not move. Whatever
Sangkuriang said to urge Tumang to pursue the pig, it left him unmoved.
Sangkuriang lost his self control. In his anger he killed Tumang, cut up his
flesh and took it home to his mother. She prepared a tasty dish of it and after
the meal she asked:
“Sangkuriang, what kind of flesh is this? It is delicious!”
“This is Tumang?s, mother,” Sangkuriang
responded. “I killed him, as he did not obey my command to pursue a fat pig.”
For one moment Dayang Sumbi was speechless. Then in rage she took a spool and flung
it at him. It struck his forehead and blood dropped out of the wound. This left
later on a scar on the spot. Then Dayang Sumbi sent him away.
Deeply grieved, Sangkuriang left and wandered
through the woods. He walked for years. Finally he returned to his native
place, but did not recognize it any longer. There he stood, looking around him,
all alone, musing about the past. At the end of a vast rice-field, which
stretched in front of him, he noticed a house on stilts. Looking closely, he
saw a young girl sitting at her weaving-loom. He approached her and, charmed by
her beauty, he immediately proposed to her, unaware that she was his own
mother. The girl looked at him and, noticing his good looks, she promised to
marry him. For some time they loved each other tenderly, making plans for their
wedding day, but one day she discovered the scar on his forehead.
“That wound!” she whispered, and at the moment
she realized that he was no other than her own son who had come back to his
village. After being left by Sangkuriang, Dayang Sumbi had been given eternal
beauty by the gods, which was why she looked so young and Sangkuriang did not
recognize her as his mother. She made efforts to make him understand that a
marriage between them was impossible and withdrew her promise to marry him. But
Sangkuriang refused to accept the truth and was determined to get his own way.
Dayang Sumbi was very sad, as she was ashamed to reveal her secret.
“What is to be done?” she pondered. She had an
idea and said to him: “All right then, you shall marry me only on condition
that you fulfill a wish of mine. Dam up the Citarum River and build a big
vessel, which we shall use after being married. But you have only one night to
complete the work.” Sangkuriang agreed and started to work. Only at daybreak
did he approach the end, in spite of his magic powers and his prayers to the
gods for help. Noticing this, Dayang Sumbi got alarmed and hit upon another
plan to prevent the marriage. She stretched the red woven veil which covered
her head over the eastern side of the plain. Through her magic powers, red
light spread over the landscape, giving the impression that the sun was rising,
which meant that time was up for Sangkuriang. He was astonished.
“In vain!” he shouted in despair and at the same
time, filled with rage; he kicked the vessel, which was almost finished,
upside-down. Then he made for the south, for the Indian Ocean. He had not gone
very far when the water of the lake rose and overflowed its banks, dragging
everything in its way. Sangkuriang himself had no chance of escape and with all
his workers he was driven away. Sometime later the lake dried up. The mountain
of Tangkuban Prahu on the northern side of Bandung is thought to be the
overturned vessel of Sangkuriang. In time it became covered with trees and the
lake became the present fertile rice-fields around Bandung area, every year
yielding great benefits for all the people.
By Sandi TKR
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