This is the story of the "Queen of the Southern Sea". Pajajaran kingdom was located in West Java from 1333 AD to 1630 AD and it was conquered by the Islamic kingdom of Mataram from Central Java. Pajajaran's greatest ruler was Prabu Siliwangi. He had a bride in one his harems and she bore him a very beautiful daughter. The girl was called Dewi Kadita. The beauty of Dewi Kadita and her mother made the other harems jealous, and they formed a conspiracy against them.The harems used black magic to make the bodies of Dewi Kadita and her mother be filthy, ugly and disgusting. Prabu Siliwangi got angry at Dewi Kadita and her mother and forced them to get out of the palace, as they were thought to be bad luck for the kingdom. While they were wandering around the country, the mother died. Dewi Kadita was walking in deep sadness, until she reached the southern sea (the shore of Indian Ocean).
She sat above a stove-shaped rock and when she was sleeping, she had a vision that she should jump into the water to release herself from the curse. When she woke up, with no second thought, Dewi Kadita jumped into the sea. She once again became very beautiful, but then she realized that she was not a human anymore. She had turned into a supernatural form of life. She then ruled all creatures off the southern coast of Java Island, and was known as Nyi Roro Kidul (queen of the southern sea). As revenge on her father, she became the primary bride for Mataram kings (the rival of the Pajajaran kingdom).
The river of Bengawan Solo, which started from the mystical mountain of Merapi in Central Java and leads to the Indian Ocean, is said to be the tunnel used by Nyi Roro Kidul to access Java. In a green costume, she traps males who are walking on the shore. They are swallowed by the waves and are thought to be missing or dead but will actually become her guard or mate.
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Source: Nyi Roro Kidul
