Sangkuriang
A very long time ago in West Java, there lived a king, named Raden Sungging Pebangkara.
He was a good ruler. He liked hunting in the forest very much. In the forest, there lived a she-pig,
actually a ursed goddess. One day, she came out of her hiding place looking for water. There, she
saw a coconut shell lled with water. Expecting it to be a fresh water, she drank it, having no
suspicious that it was the king’s urine left there the day before when he went hunting. The
consequence was very strange. She became pregnant. A few months later she gave birth to a very
pretty girl. When the king was hunting again in the forest, he saw the girl and was attracted by her
beauty. He took her to his palace, then he called her Dayang Sumbi and treated her as his own
daughter. Time passed and Dayang Sumbi grew up into a beautiful girl. She was fond of weaving.
One morning as she was weaving, her weaving spool lew out of the window to the eld.
Because she was very tired, she mumbled, “Whoever is willing to help me pick up the spool, I’ll
treat her as my sister if she is a girl. If he is a man, I’ll treat him as my husband”. These words were
heard by a dog, called Tumang, actually a cursed god too. He immediately picked up the spool and
gave it to Dayang Sumbi. Seeing the dog had helped her, she fainted. The god had decided for her
to undergo the fate. She became pregnant and a short time afterwards she gave birth to a healthy
strong 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 didn’t realize that Tumang was actually his father. One day,
when the dog didn't obey him to chase the pig, Sangkuriang was very angry and killed the dog and
cut up his esh into pieces and took it home to his mother. For a moment Dayang Sumbi was
speechless and took a spool and ung it at him. This left a scar on the spot. Then Dayang Sumbi sent
him away.
Sangkuriang left and wandered through the woods. He walked for years. Finally he returned
to his native place, but did not recognise it any longer. At the end of a vast rice eld, he noticed a
house and saw a young girl sitting at her weaving-loom. He approached her and was charmed by
her beauty. He was unaware that she was his own mother. Dayang Sumbi had been given eternal
beauty by the gods which was why she looked young forever. She looked at him and noticing his
good looks, she promised to marry him. They made plans for their wedding day, but one day she
discovered the scar on his forehead. She knew that he was her own son who had come back to his
village. She made an effort to make him understand that marriage between them was impossible,
but Sangkuriang refused to accept it. She had an idea and said to him “All right, you shall marry me
if only you can dam up the Citarum river and build a big vessel all in one night”. Sangkuriang agreed
and started to work by using his magic powers and his praying to the gods for help. To prevent the
marriage, before Sangkuriang finished his work, she stretched the red veil which covered her head
over the eastern side of the plain. Through her magic powers, the red light spread over the
landscape, giving the impression that the sun
was rising and that the time was up. Angrily, Sangkuriang kicked the vessel which was almost
finished, upside down. Some times later the vessel became the mountain of Tangkuban Perahu on
the northern side of Bandung.
