Folklore And Fairy Tales

The Origin of Reog Ponorogo

In ancient times, there lived a beautiful princess who came from the kingdom of Kediri named Dewi Sanggalangit. Not only has a beautiful face, he is also known to have a good personality. Therefore, there were many kings and princes from other kingdoms who were interested in marrying her.

Unfortunately, the princess did not seem to have intended to build a household. This makes the king and queen confused, moreover they already want to pet grandchildren.

One day, the king asked Dewi Sanggalangit. “My son, until when will you reject every prince who comes to propose to you?” tanyakanya.

“Ayahanda, actually I have not intended to have a husband. If you expect it so much, then I will. However, I will ask for a condition that must be met,” he replied.

When asked further about these conditions, the princess could not answer them. He also asked for time to meditate and ask for guidance from the Almighty.

After three days and three nights of mediation, Dewi Sanggalangit finally found the answer. He then met his father and told him what he wanted.

The condition is that the future husband should be able to make an interesting spectacle in the form of dance that has never existed before. Later, it must also be equipped with a row of twin horses totaling one hundred and forty. Not only that, at the spectacle later there must also be a two-headed animal.

Although he felt that the requirement was quite heavy, His Majesty still announced it to the public. Anyone who is willing can follow the contest.

When hearing about these conditions, many of the kings and princes who initially scrambled to join then chose to retreat. In the end, only two people remained, namely King Kelana Swandana of Bandarangin Kingdom and King Singabarong of Lodaya Kingdom.

Upon learning that the two candidates were in favor, the king was initially surprised. Because, these two people have a reputation that is arguably not good. However, since the contest has been announced, there is no reason to cancel it.

Singabarong was a tall man who had a lion-like head. Her hair was so thick and full of lice. It has a peacock that is used to peck at its fleas.

He was known as a cruel and cruel king. He does not hesitate to kill people who do not obey his orders. In addition, it turns out that he also has a lot of concubines. It's just that, he has not chosen who became the empress because he felt that no one deserved it, except Dewi Sanggalangit.

Meanwhile, the Kelana King Swandana had a handsome and dashing face. He can also rule his kingdom well.Unfortunately, he has a shortcoming, which is to like boys.

One day, he dreams of meeting a beautiful princess. He then gathered palace officials and priests. They also agreed and argued that the girl could stop the bad behavior of her king.

Therefore, the elders agreed if the king followed the contest of Dewi Sanggalangit. They believe that the girl in the king's dream is the princess of Kediri.

Not wanting to waste a lot of time, the two kings then began trying to meet the requirements put forward by Dewi Sanggalangit. Singabarong himself has ordered his servants to look for twin horses. He also told all the artists in his kingdom to make an interesting spectacle.

But it turns out that all of this is not easy. Although he had already managed to gather the twin horses, an interesting spectacle and a two-headed beast had yet to come by.

Singabarong began to feel anxious and worried, lest the opponent could solve everything. Then, he called his trust called Iderkala.

A few days later, Iderkala returned to his kingdom and reported everything he saw. King Kelana Swandana has managed to collect twin horses along with a very interesting spectacle.

Hearing this, Singabarong fires his beard. Of course he does not want to be defeated. Then, he devised a plan to seize all the achievements of the opponent. He told his trainer to prepare strong soldiers to attack Bandarangin and seize it all.

Unbeknownst to Singabarong, it turns out Kelana Swandana already knows the bad intentions of the opponent. It was known after sending a spy because it had a bad feeling.

The handsome king was of course angry when he heard that King Lodaya would attack his soldiers and seize his efforts to win the competition. He decided to attack the opposing kingdom first.

After choosing capable soldiers, he then led the resistance to attack the Kingdom of Lodaya. War is inevitable.

Meanwhile, Singabarong did not know that his kingdom was under attack. He was in the garden and told the peacock to peck at his itchy head. While there, no one dared to disturb him.

His calm was disturbed when he heard a noise from outside. He woke up with the peacock still perched on his head. At first glance, it looks like there are two heads, the lion and peacock.

The king who was careless was shocked when he saw that his opponent, King Kelana Swandana, was already in front of him. A fierce battle between these two great kings was inevitable.

The two of them put out a move to defeat each other. Until in the end, the King of Bandarangin issued his knowledge and made the head of the opponent fused with the peacock.

Still not willing to budge, Singabarong pulled out his kris and attacked. With swiftness, Kelana Swandana also took his whip called Coward Samandiman and swung it towards the lion-headed man.

This caused him to be thrown far and floundered violently. After that, Singabarong's body became limp and then turned into a strange animal, the peacock-headed lion.

Although he had escaped, Kelana Swandana was able to recapture the Singabarong commoners. He then used the animal to fulfill the requirements of the Dewi Sanggalangit competition. This news spread throughout the country.

Meanwhile in the Kingdom of Kediri, the king was feeling troubled. She asked her daughter if she could really accept Kelana King Swandana to be her husband.

Sagely, Dewi Sanggalangit replied, “If it is already a mate servant will accept it. Who knew the presence of a servant by his side would change his bad habit.”

A few days later, King Kelana Swandana and his entourage headed to Kediri. He came with a hundred and forty twin horses, a gamelan motorcade, a drum, a boisterous trumpet, and a two-headed beast.

The arrival of the group was welcomed by King Kediri. Because it completes all the requirements, the proposal is accepted.

Dewi Sanggalangit later married King Kelana Swandana. Well, all the requirements submitted at the time of the contest are then used as a bridal convoy. Later on, it was called Reog Ponorogo.