THE LEGEND 0F SANGKURIANG

Once upon a time, a beautiful girl named Dayang Sumbi lived in the
ancient and mystical lands of West Java. As she grew, many noblemen
and princes fell in love with her, but she spurned their advances and
instead spent her days weaving beautiful textiles.

While she sat in the garden terrace with her weaving one day, a tool
dropped to the ground below, outside of the palace grounds. As
daughter of the king, she was prohibited from leaving the palace on foot.

However, she promised that she would marry any man who could
return the weaving tool, and soon Tumang the dog god came along and
restored her precious equipment to her. This deity had committed a sin,
for which the highest mother goddess incarnated him on earth as an
animal.

Though her rescuer was a dog, Dayang Sumbi felt obliged to marry him
anyway, and this caused a scandal in the palace. The princess was
banished and found herself living in a small house in the woods.

It was while the couple was confined to their cottage that the princess
discovered that Tumang transformed into a handsome god during the
full moon. Eventually, Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a son, whom they
name Sangkuriang.
Ten years later, Sangkuriang was old enough to be hunting for food to
provide for his mother and his dog (who he did not realize was also his
father). One day, his mother sent him out because she was craving deer
liver. Sangkuriang took Tumang with him, and they chased a wild boar
until Tumang–still in dog form–realized that the boar was the
reincarnated deity who gave birth to Dayang Sumbi.

Tumang prevented Sangkuriang from killing his own grandmother, but

the boy became frustrated and lashed out at the dog, accidentally killing
him. Sangkuriang was devastated by Tumang’s death as well as the fact
that he had not been able to obtain deer liver for his mother, so he cut
out the dog’s liver and brought it home to his mother.

Dayang Sumbi unknowingly cooked the liver and only after eating her
share did she tell her son to summon Tumang for his meal. Sangkuriang
was overcome with shame and confessed to his mother, who became so
outraged that she hit Tumang on the head and drove him out of the
house.

As a result of the blow to his head, Sangkuriang slowly lost all memory
of his mother and started a nomadic life in the woods. By the time
Dayang Sumbi calmed down enough to search for the boy, he was long
gone. She prayed to the gods that she would someday be reunited with
her son, and she became vegetarian to atone for having eaten her lover.
More than a decade later, Sangkuriang was walking through the forest
one day when he saw a beautiful woman standing outside a cottage, and
the two fell in love with each other. Not once did the man recognize this
cottage as the place where he was raised.

The day before the wedding, Dayang Sumbi realized that the man she
was about to marry was her son. When she revealed the truth to
Sangkuriang, he did not believe her and insisted on their marriage.

To deter Sangkuriang, Dayang Sumbi set her son a set of impossible

tasks, refusing to marry him unless he accomplished them.

1. Sangkuriang must fill the entire valley with water.

2. He must provide a boat so that they can sail across the newly-
formed lake.

3. These things must be completed in one night.

What Dayang Sumbi did not know was that Sangkuriang had acquired
supernatural skills, and he called upon the spirits to help him create the
lake. He cut down a large tree to make the boat, and he had almost
finished building it as dawn approached.

Seeing that she had underestimated Sangkuriang, Dayang Sumbi

remembered her old talent for weaving and quickly wove a magical
scarf. The bright fabric filled the sky with golden light, and farmers and
animals rose, mistaking the flashes of light for sunrise.
Sangkuriang thought that he had failed, and his anger caused him to
violently kick his nearly-completed vessel. He transformed the
overturned boat into Mount Tangkuban Perahu, a volcano that can still
be seen today.

As for the doomed lovers, Dayang Sumbi pleaded with the gods to help
her so that she could escape Sangkuriang’s wrath.

Sangkuriang went insane from spending so much time in the jungle

searching for his lost love. Unbeknownst to him, the gods had answered
Dayang Sumbi’s plea and transformed her into a flower.