The Legend of Mount Tangkuban Perahu

THE LEGEND OF MOUNT TANGKUBAN PERAHU

            Once upon a time in west Java, Indonesia lived a wise king who had a beautiful daughter.   Her name was Dayang Sumbi.  She liked weaving very much.  Once she was weaving a cloth when one of her tool fell to the ground.  She was very tired at the time so she was too lazy to take it.  Then she just shouted outloud.

‘Anybody there?  Bring me my tool.  I will give you special present.  If you are female,  I will consider you as my sister.  If you are male, I will marry you’

            Suddenly a male dog, its name was Tumang, came.  He brought her the falling tool.  Dayang Sumbi was very surprised.  She regretted her words but she could not deny it.  So she had to marry Tumang and leave her father.  Then they lived in a small village.  Several months later they had a son.  His name was Sangkuriang.  He was a handsome and healthy boy.

            Sangkuriang liked hunting very much.  He often went hunting to the wood using his arrow.  When he went hunting Tumang always with him.  In the past there were many deer in Java so Sangkuriang often hunted for deer.

            One day  Dayang Sumbi wanted to have deer’s heart so she asked Sangkuriang to hunt for a deer.   Then Sangkuriang went to the wood with his arrow and his faithful dog Tumang.  But after several days in the wood Sangkuriang could not find any deer.  They were all disappeared.  Sangkuriang was exhausted and desperate.  He did not want to disappoint her mother so he killed Tumang.  He did not know that Tumang was his father.  At home he gave Tumang’s heart to her mother.

            But Dayang Sumbi knew that it was Tumang’s heart.  She was so angry that she could not control her emotion.  She hit Sangkuriang at his head.  Sangkuriang was wounded.  There was  a scar in his head.    She also repelled her son.   Sangkuriang left her mother in sadness.

            Many years passed and Sangkuriang became a strong young man.  He wandered  everywhere.     One day he arrived at his own village but he did not realized it.  There he met Dayang Sumbi.  At the time Dayang Sumbi was given an eternal beauty by God so she stayed young forever.  Both of them did not know each other.  So they fell in love and then they decided to marry.

            But then Dayang Sumbi recognized a scar on his Sangkuriang’s head.  She knew that Sangkuriang was his son.  It was impossible for them to marry.  She told him but he did not believe her.  He wished that they marry soon.  So Dayang Sumbi gave a very difficult condition.  She wanted Sangkuriang to build a lake and a boat in one night!  She said she needed that for honeymoon. 

Sangkuriang agreed.  With the help of genie and spirits Sangkuriang tried to build them.  By midnight he had finished  the lake by building a dam in Citarum river.  Then he started building the boat.  It was almost dawn when he nearly finished it.  Meanwhile Dayang Sumbi kept watching on them.  She was very worried when she knew this.  So she made lights in the east.  Then the spirits thought that it was already dawn.  It was time for them to leave.  They left Sangkuriang alone.  Without their help he could not finish the boat. 

Sangkuriang was very angry.  He kicked the boat.  Then the boat turned out to be Mount Tangkuban Perahu.  It means boat upside down.  From a distant it looks like a boat upside down.