Sangkuriang is a legend from Sunda (West Java), which tells the story of how the Bandung Lake, Mt. Tangkuban Parahu, Mt. Gurangrang and Mt. Bukit Tunggul were formed. The original story is very long, but I have shortened it here, focusing on the most important parts.

Once upon a time, a beautiful lady named Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a boy whom she named Sangkuriang. When Sangkuriang was old enough to hunt, he took his mother’s dog Tumang (which according to this legend is an incarnation of a god and also Sangkuriang’s father) and ordered Tumang to chase after a boar. When Tumang did not follow Sangkuriang’s order, Sangkuriang

became very angry and he killed Tumang. He carved out Tumang’s heart and brought it back to his mother.

Dayang Sumbi took the heart, cooked it and ate it. When she discovered that the heart belonged to Tumang, her husband, she was overcome with wrath. She sent her son away, but not before she hit him with a spoon and left a deep scar on his head.

Sangkuriang traveled around the world. After a long while, he arrived back in his village again without recognizing it. He saw a beautiful lady and fell in love with her. He did not know that she was his own mother. He asked for her hand in marriage and she agreed.

Dayang Sumbi later realized that Sangkuriang was her son, as she recognized the scar that she had inflicted. She tried to tell him and break off the wedding, but he didn’t believe her and insisted to go on with the wedding. Dayang Sumbi then set an impossible condition that Sangkuriang has to fulfill in order to marry her: he should build her a big boat and a lake by damming Citarum river, all within one night, and it shall be finished by dawn. Sangkuriang agreed to the condition.

He built a boat from a large tree, and with the help of spirits, he dammed the Citarum River with landslides. The water eventually rose and filled the plain, turning it into a lake. When dawn was near, he was almost ready. Dayang Sumbi realized this, so she prayed for divine intervention. As an answer to her prayers, the eastern horizon lit up. Deceived by the lights, cocks crowed and farmers rose for the new day, thinking that dawn has broken.

Sangkuriang was also deceived. He thought his endeavor has failed. Angrily, he kicked the boat so that it toppled over. This boat became Tangkuban Parahu Mountain (tangkuban means upside down, and parahu means boat). The pile of leftover woods became Mt. Burangrang, and the rest of the big tree became Mt. Bukit Tunggul. The lake became lake Bandung (which literally means ‘dam’).