storie of sangkuriang
Long
time ago in West Java, lived a beautiful girl named Dayang Sumbi. She
was also smart and clever. Her beauty and intelligence made a prince
from the heavenly kingdom of Kahyangan desire her as his wife. The
prince asked permission from his father to marry Dayang Sumbi. People
from Kahyangan could never live side by side with humans, but his father
approved on one condition, when they had a child, the prince would
transform into a dog. The prince accepted the condition. They get
married and lived happily in the woods until Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a
baby boy. The prince then changed into a dog named Tumang. Their son is
named Sangkuriang. He was very smart and handsome like his father.
Everyday, he hunted animals and looked for fruits to eat. One day, when
he was hunting, Sangkuriang accidentally killed Tumang. His arrow missed
the deer he was targeting and hit Tumang instead. He went home and
tells her mother about the dog.“What?” Dayang Sumbi was appalled. Driven
by sadness and anger, she grabbed a weaving tool and hit Sangkuriang’s
head with it. Dayang Sumbi was so sad; she didn’t pay any attention to
Sangkuriang and started to cry. Sangkuriang feel sad and also confused.
How can his mother love a dog more than him? Sangkuriang then decided to
go away from their home and went on a journey. In the morning, Dayang
Sumbi finally stopped crying. She started to feel better, so she went to
find Sangkuriang. But her son was no where to be found. She looked
everywhere but still couldn’t find him. Finally, she went home with
nothing. She was exhausted. She fell asleep, and in her dream, she meets
her husband.“Dayang Sumbi, don’t be sad. Go look for my body in the
woods and get the heart. Soak it with water, and use the water to bathe,
and you will look young forever,” said the prince in her dream. After
bathing with the water used to soak the dog’s heart, Dayang Sumbi looked
more beautiful and even younger. And time passed by. Sangkuriang on his
journey stopped at a village and met and fell in love with a beautiful
girl.He didn’t realize that the village was his homeland and the
beautiful girl was his own mother, Dayang Sumbi. Their love grew
naturally and he asked the girl to marry him. One day, Sangkuriang was
going on a hunt. He asked Dayang Sumbi to fix the turban on his head.
Dayang Sumbi was startled when she saw a scar on his head at the same
place where she, years ago, hit Sangkuriang on the head. After the young
man left, Dayang Sumbi prayed for guidance. After praying, she became
convinced that the young man was indeed her missing son. She realized
that she had to do something to prevent Sangkuriang from marrying her.
But she did not wish to disappoint him by cancelling the wedding. So,
although she agreed to marry Sangkuriang, she would do so only on the
condition that he provides her with a lake and built a beautiful boat,
all in one night. Sangkuriang accepted this condition without a doubt.
He had spent his youth studying magical arts. After the sun went down,
Sangkuriang went to the hill. Then he called a group of genie to build a
dam around Citarum River. Then, he commands the genies to cut down
trees and build a boat. A few moments before dawn, Sangkuriang and his
genie servants almost finished the boat. Dayang Sumbi, who had been
spying on him, realised that Sangkuriang would fulfill the condition she
had set. Dayang Sumbi immediately woke all the women in the village and
asked them to wave a long red scarf. All the women in the village were
waving red scarf, making it look as if dawn was breaking. Deceived by
false dawn, the cock crowed and farmers rose for the new day.
Sangkuriang’s genie servants immediately dropped their work and ran for
cover from the sun, which they feared. Sangkuriang grew furious. With
all his anger, he kicked the unfinished boat. The boat flew and landed
on a valley. The boat then became a mountain, called Mount Tangkuban
Perahu (Tangkuban means upturned or upside down, and Perahu means boat).
With his power, he destroyed the dam. The water drained from the lake
becoming a wide plain and nowadays became a city called Bandung (from
the word Bendung, which means Dam)
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