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Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia Appendix 5
Appendix 5
The legend of Prabu Siliwangi and Kiangsantang
Once upon a time, Prabu Siliwangi – king of the Padjadjaran – and his son Kiangsantang
were having trouble with each other. Kiangsantang decided to fly to Mecca, to find himself
an opponent to fight with. He is convinced that there is no one stronger than he is. In Mecca,
he meets a person, but Kiangsantang does not know that it is Saidina Ali. He tells this
person that he wants to fight Saidina Ali, not realising that his opponent is already standing
in front of him. Kiangsantang states again that there is no one stronger than he is and that
he wants to see the blood flowing out of the body of Saidina Ali.
In between the two rivals, a stick is standing in the sand. Saidina Ali challenges
Kiangsantang to pull out the stick from the sand. Using all the power in his body,
Kiangsantang tries repeatedly, but he does not manage to get the stick out of the ground.
After a while, he starts to bleed and eventually he gives up. With his body covered in blood,
he goes to the house where Saidina Ali lives and asks “why are my arms red and wet?”
Disappointed about his defeat, Kiangsantang decides to go back home to Bogor,
West-Java. On his way back however, Saidina Ali touches the sea so that Kiangsantang
almost drowns. Forced to return to Mecca, it appears that the only way to save his life is to
make a deal with Saidina Ali. First, Kiangsantang has to read the Koran twice and second,
he has to recite the following text twice:
Ashadu ala ilaha ila lahu wa ashadu anna Muhammadan abdoho wa raswuloh
I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and
messenger
After finishing the testimonial, Saidina Ali circumcises Kiangsantang. He has become
Muslim now, and is allowed to go back to Indonesia. Here, he tells everyone about the fact
that he is a Muslim, and that the people have to follow him in his belief. However, when the
first people agree to join, Kiangsantang makes a mistake during the circumcision. Instead of
cutting away the foreskin of the penis of the male followers, he cuts off the whole penis.
Several males do not survive this, and consequently people become scared of
Kiangsantang and his new religion.
Totally confused about the disappointing effects of his efforts to convert the
Indonesian people to Muslim, Kiangsantang decides to go back to Mecca once more. In
search of advice, he meets Saidina Ali again. The details of the right way to do a
circumcision are explained to Kiangsantang now. With this new knowledge, he returns to
Bogor and continues to convert people into Muslims.
However, Prabu Siliwangi, the father of Kiangsantang, practices Hinduism as a religion. His
son forces him to convert and become a Muslim, but he does not agree. Moreover, he is
insulted because of the lack of respect, telling Kiangsantang that ‘you do not treat me like a
little boy’. A fight breaks out between the father and his son, but when Kiangsantang recites
the Arabic text twice, Prabu Siliwangi suddenly disappears.
By travelling under the ground, Prabu Siliwangi is able to escape. Going westwards
from Bogor, he rises above the ground again in the settlement of Munjul. Furious about the
fact that his father is running away, Kiangsantang decides to chase Prabu Siliwangi. Just on
time, Prabu Siliwangi disappears under the ground again, coming to the surface in the
settlement of Panyauangan. The hunt continues to the settlements of Cisih, Kedeper, and
finally Rawayan, a Baduj village. When Prabu Siliwangi arrives at the Baduj, Kiangsantang
suddenly stops chasing his father. He gives up and returns to Bogor.
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