Mount of Tangkuban Perahu

Folklore from West Java

If you go to West Java, Indonesia, in the north of Bandung city, you will see a mountain that reminds you with a boat that turned up side down. The mountain called Mount Tangkuban Perahu. It has a very famous story.

It began when King Sungging Purbangkara went for hunting in the jungle with his men. He could not hold his bladder control and urinated under the coconut tree. His urine was accidentally accommodated in a piece of coconut shell.

Just a few meters from the place, a female pig was looking for water to drink. When she saw king’s urine in the coconut shell, she drank it. Apparently, the pig was not just a pig. She was reincarnation of a goddess called Wayungyang that being accursed. Then something magic was happened. The pig got pregnant. I know, it’s weird. That’s why I said “magic”. In tales, everything can happen, you know.

Therefore, after couple of months, Wayungyang gave birth to a baby girl. The baby was a human. Feeling could not foster the baby, she took her to place where King Sungging Purbangkara used to hunt.

When she heard the sound of horse's trot, she put the baby in the grass, covered her with a blanket and moved back slowly. The baby was crying when the troops was getting closer. When they saw a baby in the grass, they slowed down. Then the King got down from his horse. He took the baby. His eyes were looking around to find person who put this baby. However, neither he nor his men knew whose the baby was.

King Sungging Purbangkara decided to adopt the baby. He took the baby to palace and named her Dayang Sumbi. Dayang Sumbi grew up in to a beautiful girl. She was very good in embroidery and weaving. Her beauty and skills were known through neighboring kingdom. Many kings from another kingdom asked her to be their wife. They fought each other for her. The king then isolated his daughter to forest. He built a house and a weaving stage for her.
One day, Dayang Sumbi was weaving. Accidentally, she dropped teropong (tool for thread made by bamboo). The teropong was rolling around then falling from stage. Dayang Sumbi tried to pick the teropong but her hand could not reach it. She looked around for help but there was no one there. Then she said, “If there’s a man can help me, I will take him to be my husband and if a woman, I will take her to be my sister.”

That time, she didn’t know there was a dog under the stage. The dog picked the teropong and gave it to Dayang Sumbi. Dayang Sumbi was shocked. She remembered her words. She could not cancel the words. And since the dog was male, so Dayang Sumbi had to marry the dog. Well, an honor person has to keep his/her words, right?

The dog then called Tumang. Tumang and Dayang Sumbi had a son called Sangkuriang. Don’t ask me how that happened. Sangkuriang grew up to be a smart and cheerful kid. The kid liked hunting. He and Tumang always went for hunting. They went for couple of days and got home with deer or pig meat in his hands.

In one morning, like always, Sangkuriang and Tumang went for hunting. When he saw a pig, he ordered Tumang to chase the pig. Tumang knew the pig was Wayungyang. He got scared so he was just circling around Sangkuriang’s feet and made him felt. When he got up, the pig was already gone. Sangkuriang was very angry. Tumang made him lost his meat target. So he stretched his arch and pointed it to Tumang. Sangkuriang killed Tumang. When he realized what he did, it was too late to feel sorry. Tumang was already dead. Sangkuriang then disemboweled Tumang and took its heart. He wrapped it with banana leave and put it inside his bag. He buried Tumang then he got home.

In the house, he gave the heart to his mother. He said it was a deer heart. Dayang Sumbi cooked the heart and served it with hot rice. They then ate together. When Dayang Sumbi did not see Tumang, she asked his son “where is Tumang?”

His son did not answer anything. He just stood up and kept silent his mouth. Dayang Sumbi felt something was wrong. Her eyes looked his son sharply then asked him carefully “whose heart is that?” Her hand pointed to the food that she cooked.

Sangkuriang looked his mother and said frightened “it’s Tumang’s heart”. Suddenly her legs became so week and could not hold her body. Dayang Sumbi was shocked and furious. She griped a ladle and hit Sangkuriang with it. Sangkuriang’s head was bleeding. He was afraid with his mother. He ran to the forest. He ran and ran and did not stop until his leg got stack on a root. Sangkuriang lost his balance and felt to the ground. His head hit the ground and made him fade out.

When Sangkuriang woke up, he did not recognize his surrounding. He could not even remember his name or his house. Apparently, the hitting was very hard and made him lost his memory. Sangkuriang then continued walking with a confused mind.

Dayang Sumbi regretted for evicting her son. She hoped Sangkuriang would come home. But he never came home. Dayang Sumbi prayed to Gods. She did penance and only ate leaves for years. And that made her face looked always young and beautiful.

One day there was a man passed by at Dayang Sumbi’s house. When he saw a beautiful woman came out from the house, he could not take his eyes of her. He felt in love with Dayang Sumbi in his first sight. Dayang Sumbi felt familiar with the man’s face but she could not remember whose face was.

The next day, the man came to Dayang Sumbi’s house again. Also the next day, and the day after. He always had reasons to visit her. One day, he could not hold his willing to marry Dayang Sumbi. Dayang Sumbi who also had feeling for him agreed to marry him.

One day Dayang Sumbi accidentally saw a scar on the man’s head. She looked surprised knowing the scar was alike her son’s scar. She asked her fiance “who are you? How did you get that scar?”

“I don’t remember my real name. I also don’t remember how I got this scar. I guessed it happened when I was a child. All I remember I was in the middle of jungle, my head was bleeding and then I met a company of thieves and their leader adopted me as his son. Why?” the man asked.

Dayang Sumbi was surprised. Her eyes opened wide. She felt like got a shock from thousands volt of electricity. “You are my son. You are Sangkuriang.” She said tremble.

“That’s rubbish. You are too young to be my mother” the man did not believe.

“I looked young because my food and my penance. I’m the person who made that scar. I hit you with a ladle because you killed Tumang, your father” Dayang Sumbi explanted.

“That’s a lie. I don’t believe you. You said it because you don’t want to marry me” the man argued. “You will marry me, Dayang Sumbi” the man said with an angry and threaten face.

Dayang Sumbi couldn’t argue anymore. She was afraid with him but she couldn’t marry her own son. Her brain looked for a way to cancel the marriage. She said to the man “alright, I will marry you. But I have conditions for you”.

“What are they?” the man asked.

“I want you to dam up Citarum River and build a lake. Also, build a boat for me. All of them have to finish in one night before the rooster crowed in the morning” Dayang Sumbi gave her conditions.

“Alright.” Sangkuriang accepted the challenges. He then gathered all his genie friends, asked them for a help to dam up the river. Their number was hundreds. They worked hard to dam the river, some of them made boat. And before sunrise, the work was almost done.

Sangkuriang was glad to see his friends work. He smiled remembering Dayang Sumbi was going to be his wife in a few hours.

Dayang Sumbi watched the work from a distance. She was panic knowing the boat was almost done. She was looking for an idea to fail it.

She thought about an idea. She stretched a white cloth and waved it around the roosters. The roosters thought it was a sunrise. They started to crow. When the villagers heard the crow, they thought morning had come. They went to their barn and started to pound the rice. The crow and the pounding of rice came one to another. The voice was so noise. Sangkuriang and his genie friends heard the noise, they also thought the morning had arrived. His genie friends left the place. Sangkuriang was very disappointed. The work just need a little more. Sangkuriang was angry. He kicked the boat. The boat flung and turned up side down. Then the boat became a mountain. That’s why the mountain is called Tangkuban Perahu.

Source : http://xastory.blogspot.com/2008/01/mount-of-tangkuban-perahu.html