The Legend of Sangkuriang

Sangkuriang English Story

SANGKURIANG

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:

the legend of Sangkuriang

“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.

Narrative text - Sangkuriang

“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.