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 Sangkuriangs head with it. Dayang
Sumbi was so sad; she didnt 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 couldnt find him. Finally, she went home with nothing. She was exhausted.
She fell asleep, and in her dream, she meets her husband. Dayang Sumbi, dont 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 dogs 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
didnt 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.
Sangkuriangs 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).