The Legend of Kawah Sikidang
AN: Kawah Sikidang is a crater in Dieng Plateau,
Banjarnegara.
***
Ages ago, in Dieng Plateau there was a beautiful princess
named Shinta Dewi. She lived in a massive palace with a beautiful large garden.
She was really pretty and mature enough to get married. Every heterosexual men
from all around the world would fall in love with her at the first time they
saw her. Many of them tried to propose her, but she always rejected them
because none of them were rich enough to fulfil everything she wanted. Like
most of girls nowardays, she had a dream to marry a perect man – handsome, kind
and rich.
Onne day,
a prince named Kidang Garungan amazed with the figure of the princess. He
wanted Shita Dewi become his spouse. With his beyond ordinary wealth, he
proposed Shita Dewi. He sent the messengers to Shita Dewi.
“Send
this message to Shita Dewi: Just tell me everything you want, I will give it
for you, everything, no matter what. The total wealth from people in this world
is not compared with my uncountable wealthy” said Prince Kidang Garungan to the
messengers.
After
say ‘yes’ the messegers went to Shinta Dewi’s palace. In the palace, they completed
their task. The princess easily say yes. She was hipotized by the extraordinary
wealth that Prince Garungan offered. Besides she believed that a very rich man
like Prince Garungan must be have an extra ordinary handsomeness too.
The
messengers backed to Prince Garungan.
Prince Garungan was really happy because Shita Dewi accepted his
proposal. The next day, he and his retinue headed to Shinta Dewi’s palace
preparing the wedding ceremony. They brought the dowry, jewels, gold, diamond, and lot of good.
While
Shita Dewi and his house had prepared a welcoming party to great her fiance.
They prepared lot of food and entertainment. Shita Dewi waited Prince Garungan’s
arrival by with an irresistible smile. But his smile faded imediately afer
Prince Garungan appeared. Instead of a figure of handsome prince like she had
imagined, Prince Garungan was a weird one. His body was human, but his head was
a head of a deer!
“I am so dead. What kind of
creature he is? What a joke it is? I do not want to marry a deer.” Shita Dewi
whispered in her heart.
But it was no use crying over
split milk. She could not cancel the proposal. Willy nilly she must marry with
Prince Garungan. She had tried to face her fate, but her heart could not accept
it. Then she was thinking so hard finding a way how to cahnge her horrible
future. Before the wedding, she asked a Prince Garungan to make a large well in
one night.
“You have to know, my prince. Our
people always deal with water proplem. It is so hard to get watter here. So for
the betterment of our land and future, I asked you to make a well by yourself
alone as one prove of your love. Will you?”
With this non-sense request, she believed Prince Garungan would not make
it. But she did not know that Prince Garungan had spiritual power.
“I will, sweet heart. Anything
for you” answered the Prince then kissed her hand.
Right after that, he digged the
Shita Dewi’s choosen land. He digged it by his barehand, sonetimes by his
horns. Without any complain. His tired is not compared with his happiness imagining
Shita Dewi’s happy smile – satisfied with his handmade well and prouded with
her fiance.
When the well was almost done,
panic-attact was crawiling on the heart of Shita Dewi. Her body was trembling.
She is too afraid if Prince Garungan would make it. She started crying and thought
so hard with her dumb head. Then she asked her men to heap the well up. Prince
realized that he was going to burried alive after a piece after piece of soil
hitted his head.
“My princess, stop it!” Price
Garungan screamed his heart out.
The louder he screamed, the faster
they burried him. His boddy was fully burried, he used his power to escape,
then the well exploded. But they continued burry him, until Prince Garungan
dead. In his last breath, he cursed Shita Dewi’s heir will have gimbal hair. While as the time past by,
people named the exploded well Kawah Sikidang.
Thank you so much