SANGKURIANG

Sangkuriang is a legend among Sundanese people, Indonesia. The legend tells about the creation of lake Bandung, Mount Tangkuban Parahu, Mount Burangrang and Mount Bukit Tunggul. From the legend, we can determine how long the Sundanese have been living in Java island. From the legend supported by geological fact, it is predicted that the Sundanese have been living in Java island since thousand years BC. The legend of Sangkuriang was almost certainly a story of oral tradition before being written down. The first written reference to Sangkuriang legend appeared in the Bujangga Manik manuscript written on palm leaves at the end of the 15th century or the early 16th century AD. Prince Jaya Pakuan, alias Prince Bujangga Manik or prince Ameng Layaran, visited all of the sacred Hindu sites in Java island and Bali island at the end of the 15th century AD. Using palm leaves, he described his travels in archaic Sundanese. His palm manuscript was taken to England by an Englishmen and put at the Bodleian library, Oxford, in 1627.[1] After a long journey, Bujangga Manik arrived in the current Bandung city area. He is the first eyewitness reported the area. Here is his report: Leumpang aing ka baratkeun (I walked forward to the west) datang ka Bukit Patenggeng (arriving at Mount Patenggeng) Sakakala Sang Kuriang (where the legend of Sang Kuriang is) Masa dek nyitu Ci tarum (in which he would dam Citarum river) Burung tembey kasiangan (he failed because a new day came) According to the legend, Sangkuriang had been separated from his mother, Dayang Sumbi, as a child. Yet he was destined to meet his mother again. On his way home, he stopped at a small village and met and felt in love with a beautiful girl. He didn't realise that the village was his homeland and the beautiful girl was his own mother. They fell in love and made plans to marry. One day before the planned wedding, Dayang Sumbi saw and recognized a scar on Sangkuriang's head. She suddenly realized that she had fallen in love with her own son who had left her twenty years previously. She was horrified and realized she could not marry her own son. She revealed the whole truth to Sangkuriang and asked him to call off the wedding. But Sangkuriang didn’t believe her and insisted on going through with the wedding. Dayang Sumbi then told Sangkuriang that she would only marry him if he could build her a great lake by filling the whole valley with water. She said he must also build a boat for them to sail in, and both of these tasks must be completed in one night. Sangkuriang accepted the challenge. With the help of some guriangs (heavenly spirits / god in ancient Sundanese belief), he dammed the Citarum river with landslides. The river's water rose and filled the plain, transforming it into a lake. Then Sangkuriang cut down a massive tree to make a boat. When dawn was about to break, the boat was almost complete. Dayang Sumbi realized that Sangkuriang would fulfill the conditions she had required of him. So she prayed to God to help her prevent the disgrace of a marriage between a mother and her son. With a wave of her magic shawl, Dayang Sumbi lit up the eastern horizon with flashes of light. Deceived by what looked like dawn, cocks crowed and farmers rose for a new day. Sangkuriang thought that he had failed. In his anger, he kicked the boat that he had built and it fell, turning upside down, transformed into Mount Tangkuban Parahu (in Sundanese, "tangkuban" means "upturned" or "upside down", and "parahu" means "boat.") The wood left over from the boat became Mt. Burangrang and the rest of the huge tree became Mount Bukit Tunggul. The lake became Lake Bandung (lit. "dam.") Centuries later, the inhabitants of Bandung city knew from traditional lore of the existence of a former Lake Bandung and the creation of Mount Tangkuban Parahu. Without a knowledge of geology, but living under the taboos of spirits, ghosts and gods, geologic facts were woven together into a tale which was understandable according to their beliefs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangkuriang

TANGKUBAN PARAHU

Tangkuban Perahu (spelt Tangkuban Parahu in the local Sundanese dialect) is a dormant volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It last erupted in 1959. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs and boiling mud up close, and buy eggs cooked on the hot surface.[2] This stratovolcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983. Together with Mount Burangrang and Bukit Tunggul, those are remnants of the ancient Mount Sunda after the plinian eruption caused the Caldera to collapse. In April 2005 the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - Anak Krakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a build up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal." Eruptive History A study conducted in 2001 determined that Tangkuban Perahu has erupted at least 30 times in the previous 40,750 years. Studies of the tephra layers within 3 km of the crater revealed that twenty one were minor eruptions and the remaining nine were major eruptions. The eruptions that occurred prior to approximately 10,000 years ago were magmatic/phreatomagmatic. The eruptions that occurred after 10,000 years ago were phreatic." Local legend of the mountain The name translates roughly to "upturning of (a) boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation. The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang decided to return to his home, long after the two had forgotten and failed to recognize each other. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and planned to marry her, only for Dayang Sumbi to recognize his birthmark just as he was about to go hunting. In order to prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to build a dam on the river Citarum and to build a large boat to cross the river, both before the sunrise. Sangkuriang meditated and summoned mythical ogre-like creatures -buta hejo or green giant(s)- to do his bidding. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban Perahu from the hull of the boat.