Indonesian Legends and Where to Visit Them — Ever wondered about the legend behind some well-known locations in Indonesia? There are a lot of Indonesian legends that popularize some tourism spots in Indonesia. Which, makes these locations much more magical and remarkable. Curious about what those legends are? And where you can visit them?
Check out the list of Indonesian legends and where to visit them!
Banyuwangi
The name Banyuwangi came from the legend of a faithful wife who was killed by her husband. Sri Tanjung is a beautiful woman, whose mother was a vidhyadari; a heavenly maiden who married a mortal man. She met Raden Sidapaksa, a powerful ksatria (knight) and a descendant of the Pandavas when he was on the way to the mountains in the search of the hermit Bhagawan Tamba Petra. However, King Sulakrama fell in love with Sri Tanjung, who then tricked Sidapaksa to deliver a threat to the gods unknowingly. After Sidapaksa cleared the misunderstanding, he then returns only to find the King seducing Sri Tanjung. The King declared that it was Sri Tanjung, and she vowed that she’ll shed fragrant liquid if she told a lie.
In his rage, Sidapaksa killed Sri Tanjung who then later shed fragrant liquid thus the name Banyuwangi, which means “fragrant water.”
Minangkabau
The name Minangkabau comes from the tale about a dispute between the West Sumatran people and an invading prince. To avoid bloodshed, the local people proposed sending two water buffalos to fight to the death to resolve the issue. The prince agreed and sent his largest and most aggressive buffalo. Meanwhile, the locals sent their most hungry baby buffalo whose small horns has been sharpened like a knife. The prince’s buffalo didn’t look at the baby as a threat so it ignored them. The baby ran straight to the big buffalo’s stomach, in search of milk. Its sharp horns pierced the bull and killed it. The locals won the battle and name their tribe “Minangkabau” which means “victorious buffalo.”
Malin Kundang
If you ever visit Air Manis beach in Padang, you’ll notice a particular rock that’s shaped like someone kneeling. That rock is the Malin Kundang stone, which comes from the story of Malin Kundang.
It came from the story of an ungrateful son. Malin Kundang is a sailor from a poor family. He begs his mother to let him sneak a ship leaving from Air Manis beach so that he could change their family’s condition. Eventually, she lets him go and every day, the mother wished for nothing but her son’s safety. He becomes rich and marries a princess with unlimited wealth waiting for him. But upon returning to his village, he has become ashamed of it and pushed away his mother, refusing to recognize her.
Heartbroken, his mother prayed to God and cursed him. His ship was turned over and what remains of his ship is just Malin Kundang who has been turned to stone after being a disobedient son.
Roro Jonggrang
The myth origin of Ratu Boko palace in Sewu temple is one of the most popular myths in Indonesia. It tells the story of Roro Jonggrang, a beautiful princess from the Prambanan kingdom. The kingdom lost to the Pengging Kingdom and was under the rule of Bandung Bondowoso, who is a cruel ruler. The war was won due to Bandung Bondowoso’s troops are genies instead of humans.
He fell in love with Roro Jonggrang and ask her hand in marriage. However, Roro Jonggrang will marry him under one condition, which is to build her 1000 temples overnight as Roro Jonggrang deemed it impossible. However, with the power of genies on his side, Bandung Bondowoso managed to build the temples overnight.
Fear that he might succeed, Roro Jonggrang gathers her maids to light up fires in the east direction and pound the rice padi in order to trick the genies that morning have come. The genies, who are afraid of the morning, scurry away in fear. Learning this deception, Bandung Bondowoso was angered. He cursed Roro Jonggrang into a stone to be put in the final temple to complete the 1000th temple thus, fulfilling her marriage conditions.
Sangkuriang
Sangkuriang tells about the creation of Mount Tangkuban Perahu in Bandung. It starts with two deities who are banished from Svargaloka for committing a terrible sin. Sangkuriang is a fine young man who was banished by his mother for accidentally serving her a boar, who is his father. He then returns to his village and met a beautiful woman and asks for her hand in marriage. The woman is Dayang Sumbi, who was his mother who was cursed with eternal youth. To prevent the marriage, Dayang Sumbi requested Sangkuriang to build her a boat and dam Citarum river in one night. He almost succeeds but Dayang Sumbi interfered by waving her red shawl which looked like the sun has risen. Believing that he had failed, Sangkuriang kicked the boat so hard it turned out to be the Tangkuban Perahu it is now today.
How was that? It’s interesting, isn’t it? If you find this article useful, make sure to share it with your friends or family through your social media platform!
