Indonesia has a variety of folk tales that greatly educate children’s morals. Some of these folk tales are known to Europe. One of the folk tales is the story of Lutung Kasarung.
Lutung Kasarung (meaning the Lost Lutung) is a folk tale that tells the legend of the Sundanese people about the journey of Sanghyang Guruminda from Heaven who was sent down to Buana Panca Tengah (Earth) in the form of a lutung (a type of monkey).
During his journey on Earth, the langur meets the daughter of Purbasari Ayuwangi who was kicked out by her jealous brother, Purbararang. Lutung Kasarung is an ugly creature. In the end he turned into a prince and married Purbasari, and they ruled the Pasir Batang Kingdom and the Cupu Mandala Ayu Kingdom together.
In 1921, this folklore was adopted into karesmen gending, namely drama accompanied by music, by R.A. Wiranatakusumah, Regent of Bandung. Five years later, NV Java Film Company brought him into a silent film entitled Loetoeng Kasaroeng, directed by L. Heuveldorp. This film is the first film in the Dutch East Indies.
The film was shown from 31 December 1926 to 6 January 1927 at the Elite (Majestic) theaters. The story of the pantun Lutung Kasarung was later used as material for a dissertation by F. S. Eringa which was recorded in 1949.
This story was written in Indonesian by Dutch artist Tilly Dalton in 1950. A copy of the book was donated to KITLV in Leiden, Holland. Currently, this folklore often appears in the form of story books or comic books as well as in soap operas on Indonesian televisions.
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Source : wikipedia
