Legend of Bledug Kuwu

Afifah Tri Hyuanawati
2201408053
Narrative Text

In a long time ago, around 7th BC, Grobogan was included in Medang Kamulan Kingdom ruled by Sanjaya Dynasty. One of the kings of this dynasty was Dewata Cengkar, a reputedly very fond of eating human flesh. Because the king’s favorite was strange, the people felt fear. They did not want to be one of the king’s preys. Nothing could beat the king with his power.

One day, there were Ajisaka, a nomad, who were concerned with the suffering experienced by the people. Then, Ajisaka was trying to stop the practice of the king. Witnessed by thousands of pairs of eyes, Ajisaka also challenged the king to compete their magic power. Many people doubted the ability of Ajisaka, considering his small body. But several communities still put their hopes to Ajisaka. The king accepted the challenge of Ajisaka only with laughter. The King also offered, if ever Ajisaka was able to defeat him, then Ajisaka was entitled to a prize of half the kingdom. Conversely, the King would take Ajisaka’s body.

Ajisaka accepted the King’s offer. One last demand of Ajisaka, if he was defeated and his body is eaten by the King, was to bury his bones in the ground which was as wide as his headgear. The King absolutely agreed it and didn’t infer at all whether Ajisaka’s headgear was a sacred headgear. Ajisaka took his headgear off soon and put it on the ground. Suddenly, the headgear became very wide so that King Dewata Cengkar must stepped backward. Because of the width of Ajisaka’s headgear, King Dewata Cengkar was thrown in the South Sea. The King, however, did not die and turned into "bajul" (white crocodile). Afterwards, the people crowned Ajisaka as the King of Medang Kamulan.

When Ajisaka ruled Medang Kamulan, there was a dragon whose name was Jaka Linglung. According to his confession, he was Ajisaka’s son and he was searching for his father. Regarding his shape, Ajisaka refused to confess him as his son. Ajisaka tried to expel the dragon euphemistically. Ajisaka promised the dragon that he would confess him as his son if he could kill the white crocodile who was Dewata Cengkar in the South Sea. Because of it, Jaka Linglung afforded Ajisaka’s demand to kill Dewata Cengkar. Jaka Linglung left Medang Kamulan. Ajisaka forbade Jaka Linglung through the land so that he didn’t bother the people’s tranquillity. Conversely, Ajisaka required Jaka Linglung to go to the South Sea through the underground.

In brief, Jaka Linglung arrived in the South Sea and killed Dewata Cengkar. As the way he departed, he went back to Medang Kamulan through the underground. As the proof that he had arrived in the South Sea and killed Dewata Cengkar, Jaka Linglung brought a bundle of grinting wulung grass and the salty sea water.

Jaka Linglung tried to appear to the surface several times because of the suspect that he had been in his destinations. The first time he appeared was in the Village Ngembak (now the City Purwodadi District), in Jono (Tawangharjo District), in Grabagan, Crewek, and the last was in Kuwu (third entry Kradenan District). In Kuwu, Jaka Linglung was releasing his tiredness. The tracks of his emergence created some mud explosions. And this is, where the emergence was appeared, now believed to be the original legend of Bledhug Kuwu.