Sekar Langit is the name of a beautiful waterfall located in Tlogorejo village, Grabag District, Magelang Regency, Central Java Province, but behind the beautiful scenery and its name, there is a legend about how this beautiful waterfall is named Sekar Langit waterfall. Let's see the story.
The Origins of the Sekar Langit Waterfall
By Agda Faisal Aziz
In ancient times, a young man named Baladika lived with his mother, named Mbok Bogem. Meanwhile, Baladika's father had long since died. Baladika and Mbok Bogem meet their daily needs by farming in the fields.
Then, one night, Baladika dreamed that he met and married a woman who was very beautiful, even like an angel. When Baladika woke up, he smiled because he was happy with his dream last night. Until noon, Baladika was still thinking about her beautiful dream. He sat pensively happy in his yard.
Baladika is a young man who loves and is good at hunting, like his father used to be. Then, one morning, he decided to go hunting instead of working in the fields. Baladika also prepared all kinds of hunting equipment he needed: bows, arrows, knives, and swords. After he was ready, he said goodbye to his mother.
In the forest, Baladika shoots a deer. His heart felt happy and satisfied because he could cook this deer with his mother for the next few days. When he was on his way home, suddenly a tiger approached him. Baladika panicked, and he let go of the deer that was on his hip so he could run away quickly. The tiger immediately ate the deer it had hunted. Baladika walked back home hungry because he didn't find any game along the way. He also didn't bring anything with him because he didn't think he would be spending quite a long time in the forest today.
When Baladika entered his village area, he saw many residents walking hurriedly in the same direction as him. The closer he got to his house, the more residents gathered. Baladika's heart was even more confused; he did not know what was happening. When he entered his house, Pak Ranu and many other people tapped him on the shoulder to say he had to be patient and accept his fate because his mother had passed away.
In the days that followed, Baladika spent his time hunting and sharing the results of his catch with the residents. Only by hunting Baladika could he forget his sorrow for a moment. Until one morning, when he was hunting in the Gandaria Forest, he felt bored because he couldn't find any animals. Feeling thirsty and tired, he went towards a waterfall. As he was almost there, he heard the voices of several women talking and chuckling, the sound getting clearer and louder as Baladika approached the waterfall. Apparently, there were seven beautiful girls who were bathing in the waterfall. Baladika was shocked beyond words, and his heart was pounding very fast. Baladika watched the girls in the waterfall one by one. All of them are very beautiful. From their conversation, Baladika knew that the seven girls were angels who had descended from heaven. "Is this the meaning of my dream at that time?" He thought with a very happy heart.
Baladika saw a pile of nymphs' clothes on a large rock. All the clothes have different colors. In their clothes there is a shawl with which they can fly back to heaven. Baladika also thought of taking one of the clothes along with the shawl, so that one of the seven angels would not be able to return to heaven. Finally, he quietly took one of the clothes and a red scarf.
As the sun approaches, these angels want to return to heaven. However, one of the nymphs could not find his clothes. The other six angels tried to help find her clothes, but to no avail. From this incident, Baladika heard that the nymph whose clothes he took was named Amaranggana. Amaranggana cried in panic because, without her clothes and shawl, she would not be able to return to heaven. By compulsion, the other angels had to leave Amaranggana because it was getting dark.
Amaranggana looked desperate. Suddenly, without realizing it, he said, "Whoever can give me clothes, I will make a sister if he is a woman, but if he is a man, I will make him my husband." Baladika rushed home to hide Amaranggana's clothes and bring the clothes of the deceased's mother to lend to Amaranggana.
After arriving back at the waterfall, Baladika approached Amaranggana and gave him clothes. After Amaranggana was dressed, he fulfilled the promise he had made: he would marry Baladika. Their marriage lasted a long time, and they were blessed with a son, whom they named Nareswara.
Since getting married, Baladika has finally been able to find happiness again, but there is one thing that still sticks out in his mind. He was surprised why the rice in their barn did not decrease even though it was cooked every day. In fact, the regular harvests made their barns barely fit anymore.