Legend of Gunung Tangkuban Perahu, A Folklore from West Java, Indonesia

Once upon a time, there are a god and goddess which were detained for breaking the rules. They both then were sentenced to live the rest of their life in the world while doing good deeds. During their time on earth the God was turned into a dog named Tumang and the the Goddess turned into a swine named Wayung Hyang.

Tumang was owned by a king named Sumbing Prabangkara and live in the palace. Both become good friend, and stick like a glue. One day, King Sumbing decided to go for hunt to the nearest forest. Apparently, it’s the forest where Wayung Hyang lives.

At the forest, the king needed to do his thing, and apparently his pee was cupped in a coconut shell. Little did they know, Wayung Hyang who felt thirsty and found the ‘water’ in coconut shell drank it and she became pregnant. 9 month after the pregnancy, right after Wayung Hyang gave birth, the king back to hunt on the same forest.

He heard a baby crying, looking for it, and found a lovely baby girl. He took the baby to the palace withourt knowing that it was his daughter and named her Dayang Sumbi.

Long story short, Dayang Sumbi grew up to be a loveliest girl in the country. Lots of prince quarreled and fought over her. Dayang Sumbi who felt uncomfortable chose to remain silent and move to the middle of nowhere where no one knows her. There she lives only with Tumang, her bestfriend.

She spend her live weaving clothes with traditional loom she has. One day the loom was fallen to the ground and she was too lazy to pick it up. She swore to herself anyone who brought her the loom if she’s a girl then she will consider her as her sister, and if he was a man then she would marry him.

Suddenly, Tumang appeared and bring her the loom. As her promised, she married Tumang. As his husband Tumang revealed himself and turn himself to be a lovely God only when the full moon comes. Daang Sumbi then became pregnant in no time.  The king was so angry to hear about this. He casted her out of his family name and told her to live far away from the palace.

Long story short, Dayang Sumbi has a prettiest baby boy you could ever see. She named him Sangkuriang. He grew up to be a descent strong pretty guy who loves her mother without knowing that the dog who happened to stay with him all along was his father.

One day, Dayang Sumbi sent him to go for hunt. She told her son that she wanted a deer heart for dinner. Sangkuriang took Tumang to go with him. Yet, he couldn’t found any deer after three days of hunting. He was too afraid of going home with an empty hand.

Suddenly, he saw a pig and asked Tumang to go for it. Tumang remained silence since he knew it was Wayung Hyang, her granny. Sangkuriang was so upset and point her bow and arrow to Tumang. Accidentally he got shot and died.

Tumang asked him to get his heart to be given to his mother. This young guy cried with tears for he couldn't bear the sadness of losing his best friend. He took Tumang's heart as he wish and came home to her mom. 

Dayang Sumbi was so happy to have her son back. Yet, she was curious why didn’t Tumang came along. She asked Sangkuriang where Tumang was. But Sangkuriang kept silent and didn’t tell the truth. Dayang Sumbi who have a good instinct found out that it was Tumang’s heart. She hit Sangkuriang on his head and then casted him out.

Time flew by, Sangkuriang has grown up to be a good looking man with well-built body. Meanwhile Dayang Sumbi who was a descendant of Goddess was given an eternal beauty and stays forever young. Sangkuriang who wandered anywhere, one day reached his house yet he couldn’t remember that it was his former residence.

Dayang Sumbi didn’t recognize him either when they met around the house. They both fell in love and planned to get married soon. On the day of their marriage, Dayang Sumbi fixed Sangkuriang’s bang. She found a scar on his head and remembered her old forgotten son.

Dayang Sumbi then called out the marriage and explained everything to Sangkuriang. Blinded by his love, Sangkuriang couldn’t take the explanation and kept resisting marrying his own mom. He even threatened that he will destroy everything he found. Dayang Sumbi who knew that Sangkuriang has such God power felt threatened with it.

She then thought of an idea on how to defect the marriage. She gave Sangkuriang a term that she thought he won’t be able to fulfill. In order to marry her, he needed to build her a huge lake along with the boat just in a night. If he could fulfill it then she would marry him.

Sangkurinag with his Godey superpower asked the genies and spirits to help his work done in just a few hours before the dawn. Dayang Sumbi who didn’t expect that to happen was so surprised and thought of an idea. She made a huge fire in the east to decoy Sangkuriang so he thought the dawn had coming.

The genies that thought it was the dawn were afraid of the sunlight run away and left Sangkuriang alone. Sangkuriang was so mad that couldn’t finish his work. The coconut shell he used to dig the ground was thrown to the East and becomes Mount Tangkuban Perahu.


Direction: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer!

  1. Dayang Sumbi was a beautiful and wise woman who lived in __________.
  2. She had a son named __________, who was brave and fond of hunting.
  3. Sangkuriang was unaware that his father was __________, his mother's loyal dog.
  4. One day, Sangkuriang killed Tumang during a __________ trip.
  5. Upon learning of Tumang's death, Dayang Sumbi struck Sangkuriang with a __________ and expelled him.
  6. The blow left a permanent __________ on Sangkuriang's head.
  7. Years later, Sangkuriang returned home and met a beautiful woman, not realizing she was his __________.
  8. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and asked her to __________ him.
  9. Dayang Sumbi recognized Sangkuriang by the __________ on his head.
  10. To prevent the marriage, Dayang Sumbi requested Sangkuriang to build a __________ and a __________ in one night.
  11. Sangkuriang accepted the challenge and summoned __________ to help him.
  12. As the tasks neared completion, Dayang Sumbi spread red __________ in the eastern sky to simulate dawn.
  13. Believing he had failed, Sangkuriang kicked the unfinished boat, which became Mount __________.
  14. The name "Tangkuban Perahu" translates to "__________ boat" in Sundanese.
  15. The legend explains the origin of Mount Tangkuban Perahu near the city of __________.
  16. The story teaches the importance of __________ and the consequences of disobedience.
  17. Dayang Sumbi was granted eternal __________, allowing her to remain youthful.
  18. Sangkuriang's journey symbolizes a quest for __________ and identity.
  19. The legend is a part of the cultural heritage of the __________ people.
  20. The tale warns against the dangers of __________ and uncontrolled emotions.
  21. Dayang Sumbi's cleverness prevented an unintended __________.
  22. The river Sangkuriang attempted to dam was the __________ River.
  23. The boat and dam were to be completed before __________.
  24. The red cloth trick made the roosters __________, signaling false dawn.
  25. The legend of Tangkuban Perahu is a popular folktale from __________, Indonesia.