The Legend of Sangkuriang

In ancient times, in West Java there lived a princess called Dayang Sumbi. She had a son named
Sangkuriang. The kid was very fond of hunting in the forest. He was always accompanied by a pet
dog named Tumang when he went for hunting. Tumang was actually an incarnation of God, and
was also the real father of Sangkuriang, but Sangkuriang did not know it and his mother was
deliberately kept it a secret.

One day, as usual Sangkuriang went to the forest for hunting. After arriving in the forest,
Sangkuriang began to look for game. He saw a bird perched on a branch, then without a second
thought Sangkuriang immediately shot on target. Sangkuriang then ordered Tumang to chase his
quarry earlier, but the Tumang kept silent and did not want to follow the order of Sangkuriang. He
was very annoyed. Then he expelled Tumang and did not allowed him to go home again.

Arriving at home, Sangkuriang told the incident to his mother. Upon hearing the story of his son,
Dayang Sumbi was very angry. She picked up a spoon of rice, and banged on Sangkuriang’s head.
Disappointed with his mother’s treatment, Sangkuriang decided to go wandering, and left his
home.

After the incident, Dayang Sumbi regretted her actions. She prayed daily, and asked that one day
she was able to meet her son again. Because of the sincerity of Dayang Sumbi’s prayer, then God
gave her a gift of eternal beauty and young age forever.

After Sangkuriang was wandering for several years, he finally intended to return to his hometown.
Once he was there, he was very surprised because his hometown had changed completely.
Sangkuriang’s happiness increased when he met a very beautiful woman, Dayang Sumbi.
Fascinated by the beauty of the woman, Sangkuriang immediately proposed her. Finally
Sangkuriang proposal was accepted by Dayang Sumbi, and she agreed to be married in the near
future.

One day, Sangkuriang asked permission of his wife to hunt in the forest. Before leaving, he asked
Dayang Sumbi to tighten and to tidy up his boat. Dayang Sumbi was surprised because when she
loosened the headband Sangkuriang, she saw a scar. That scar seemed like his son’s. After asking
Sangkuriang about the cause of the wound, Dayang Sumbi’s surprised grew increasingly because
it was true that her husband was her own child. Dayang Sumbi was very confused, because it was
impossible to marry her own son. After Sangkuriang came home from hunting, Dayang Sumbi
tried to talk to Sangkuriang, so Sangkuriang canceled their wedding plans. Dayang Sumbi’s
request was not approved by Sangkuriang.

Dayang Sumbi thought how to make their marriage never happen. After thinking hard, finally
Dayang Sumbi found the best way. She proposed two conditions to Sangkuriang. If Sangkuriang
could meet both these conditions, then Dayang Sumbi wanted to be his wife, but otherwise if it
failed then the wedding would be canceled. The first condition was she wanted the Citarum River
to be dammed. And the second was she asked Sangkuriang to make a very big boat to cross the
river. The second condition must be finished before dawn.

Sangkuriang undertook both Dayang Sumbi’s requests, and promised to finish it before dawn.
With his supernatural powers, Sangkuriang then mobilized his friends from the jinn to help him
complete the task. Secretly, Dayang Sumbi peeked the work of Sangkuriang. How surprised she
was. Sangkuriang almost finished all the conditions given by Dayang Sumbi before dawn.

Dayang Sumbi then asked her neighbors for a red silk cloth in the east of the city. When she saw
the color of red in the east of the city, Sangkuriang thought that the day was early morning.
Sangkuriang immediately stopped his job and felt unable to meet the requirements proposed by
Dayang Sumbi.
With a sense of annoyance and disappointment, Sangkuriang then break through the dam that he
had made himself. Because the dam collapsed, there was flooding and the whole city was
inundated. Sangkuriang also kicked the big boat he had made. The canoe floated and fell facedown,
then into a mountain called Tangkuban Perahu.
 Cerita Rakyat Sangkuriang

Di zaman purba, di Jawa Barat tinggal seorang putri bernama Dayang Sumbi. Dia memiliki
seorang putra bernama Sangkuriang. Anak itu sangat gemar berburu di hutan. Ia selalu ditemani
seekor anjing peliharaan bernama Tumang saat ia pergi berburu. Tumang sebenarnya adalah
sebuah inkarnasi Tuhan, dan juga ayah sungguhan Sangkuriang, namun Sangkuriang tidak
mengetahuinya dan ibunya sengaja merahasiakannya.

Suatu hari, seperti biasa Sangkuriang pergi ke hutan untuk berburu. Setelah sampai di hutan,
Sangkuriang mulai mencari permainan. Sangkuriang langsung menembak sasaran. Sangkuriang
kemudian memerintahkan Tumang untuk mengejar buruannya lebih awal, namun Tumang tetap
diam dan tidak mau mengikuti perintah Sangkuriang. Dia sangat kesal. Lalu dia mengusir Tumang
dan tidak menyuruhnya pulang ke rumah lagi.

Sesampainya di rumah, Sangkuriang menceritakan kejadian tersebut kepada ibunya. Setelah

mendengar cerita tentang anaknya, Dayang Sumbi sangat marah. Dia mengambil sebungkus nasi,
dan menggedor kepala Sangkuriang. Kecewa dengan perlakuan ibunya, Sangkuriang memutuskan
untuk pergi berkeliaran, dan meninggalkan rumahnya.

Setelah kejadian tersebut, Dayang Sumbi menyayangkan tindakannya. Dia berdoa setiap hari, dan
meminta suatu hari dia bisa bertemu anaknya lagi. Karena ketulusan doa Dayang Sumbi, maka
Tuhan memberinya hadiah keindahan abadi dan usia muda selamanya.

Setelah Sangkuriang mengembara selama beberapa tahun, akhirnya dia bermaksud kembali ke
kampung halamannya. Begitu sampai di sana, dia sangat terkejut karena kampung halamannya
telah berubah total. Kebahagiaan Sangkuriang meningkat saat bertemu dengan seorang wanita
yang sangat cantik, Dayang Sumbi. Terpikat oleh kecantikan wanita tersebut, Sangkuriang segera
menugaskannya. Akhirnya proposal Sangkuriang diterima oleh Dayang Sumbi, dan dia setuju
untuk menikah dalam waktu dekat.
Suatu hari, Sangkuriang meminta izin istrinya untuk berburu di hutan. Sebelum berangkat, dia
meminta Dayang Sumbi untuk mengencangkan dan merapikan kapalnya. Dayang Sumbi kaget
karena saat mengendur ikat kepala Sangkuriang, dia melihat bekas luka. Bekas luka itu sepertinya
milik anaknya. Setelah menanyakan Sangkuriang tentang penyebab luka tersebut, harimau Dayak
semakin bertambah kaget karena memang benar bahwa suaminya adalah anaknya sendiri.

Dayang Sumbi sangat bingung, karena tidak mungkin menikahi anaknya sendiri. Setelah
Sangkuriang pulang dari perburuan, Dayang Sumbi mencoba berbicara dengan Sangkuriang,
sehingga Sangkuriang membatalkan rencana pernikahan mereka. Permintaan Dayang Sumbi tidak
disetujui oleh Sangkuriang.

Dayang Sumbi berpikir bagaimana membuat pernikahan mereka tidak pernah terjadi. Setelah
berpikir keras, akhirnya Dayang Sumbi menemukan jalan terbaik. Dia mengusulkan dua syarat
untuk Sangkuriang. Jika Sangkuriang bisa memenuhi kedua kondisi ini, maka Dayang Sumbi ingin
menjadi istrinya, tapi kalau tidak gagal maka pernikahannya akan dibatalkan. Syarat pertama
adalah Dayang Sumbi ingin agar Sungai Citarum dibendung. Dan yang kedua adalah dia meminta
Sangkuriang untuk membuat perahu yang sangat besar untuk menyeberangi sungai. Kondisi kedua
harus selesai sebelum fajar.

Sangkuriang melakukan permintaan Dayang Sumbi, dan berjanji untuk menyelesaikannya

sebelum subuh. Dengan kekuatan supernaturalnya, Sangkuriang kemudian memobilisasi teman-
temannya dari jin untuk membantunya menyelesaikan tugas tersebut. Diam-diam, Dayang Sumbi
mengintip karya Sangkuriang. Betapa terkejutnya dia. Sangkuriang hampir menyelesaikan semua
kondisi yang diberikan oleh Dayang Sumbi sebelum fajar.

Dayang Sumbi kemudian meminta tetangganya untuk membeli kain sutra merah di sebelah timur
kota. Saat Sangkuriang mengira hari itu pagi hari. Sangkuriang segera menghentikan pekerjaannya
dan merasa tidak dapat memenuhi persyaratan yang diajukan oleh Dayang Sumbi.

Dengan rasa jengkel dan kecewa, Sangkuriang kemudian menerobos bendungan yang telah dia
buat sendiri. Karena bendungan itu ambruk, banjir dan seluruh kota terendam banjir. Sangkuriang
juga menendang perahu besar yang dibuatnya. Kano itu melayang dan jatuh tertelungkup, lalu ke
sebuah gunung bernama Tangkuban Perahu.