Fact vs. Legend Ngebel Lake Two

The legend of Ngebel is possibly took place in the era of Islamic Kingdom Mataram back in 17th Century, as informed by Ngebel villager. Should this be true the natural disaster of a big flood drowning the village may be true. The natural disaster of the big flood possibly was caused an effect of the eruption of Mount Wilis in 1640 AD. The eruption triggered an ejection of water from the crater-lake, accompanied by a devastating earthquake and jarring sound. The volcanic activity triggered the existing crater-lake to grow wider, and possibly deeper. A Ngebel villager confirmed that formerly, before the flood disaster occurred, the lake was not as wide as today. Is it possible that legend of Lake Ngebel emerged to commemorate the natural disaster caused by the eruption of Mount Wilis back in 1640 AD?

It was a common custom for ancient Javanese to mark natural disaster or natural phenomena with ‘mouth-to-mouth’ tradition as the unwritten ‘documentation’ called legends or myths. So, it is possibly true that the existing village was destructed and drowned in the flood from the ejection of water from the earth, in which the legend tells the water spouted out from the hole, from which the ‘lidi’ was pulled out by Jaka Baru Klinthing. It is possibly true as well if the only survivors were Mbok Randa Latung and her servant Gerot. The ‘ngebul’ (steamy) water in the mornings witnessed by Mbok Randa Latung was possibly caused by a volcanic activity, where ‘magma’ cracked the crust of the earth, let the lava flowed from the bottom of the lake, that in the mornings ‘ngebul’ (steamy) waters was visible.

In legends or myths nonsense things are common, and symbols are used to portray things. Legends are created to give lessons to heed in life for later generations, not in crude way but in sophisticated way. The examples are as follows:

• *When Kembangsore put the knife Seking on her lap, the knife suddenly vanished and she got pregnant. This symbolizes if a woman has a sexual intercourse she can be pregnant. The knife is a symbol of a male genital.
• *Kembangsore gave birth to a big snake named Jaka Baru Klinthing. This symbolizes that a baby who is born ‘out of wedlock’ (by an incest?) is considered a ‘castaway’.
• *To become a real human being Jaka Baru Klinthing had to do ascetic practice. This symbolizes a journey into a perfection of the soul. A man should perform good deeds to be called a real human. Meanwhile today in the world out there many people have human bodies outside, but inside of them are wild, ferocious beasts!
• *Jaka Baru Klinthing was killed (mutilated) during his ascetic life, but his soul reincarnated as a crippled, wounded and smelly boy, symbolizing that to become a perfect human one should undergo a ‘painful’ process to seek the soul perfection.
• *When Jaka Baru Klinthing asked for meals as a beggar, many people humiliated him, beat him, and treated him badly. This is another ‘painful’ journey to become a perfect man, sometimes through the humiliation of others.
• *After having his meals given by Mbok Randa Latung, Jaka Baru Klinthing felt strong, and he became a handsome young man. This symbolizes that a support of kindness from others may give strength to continue the journey into the soul perfection.
• *The greedy people were punished by Baru Klinthing and nobody was left alive in the disaster, except the kindhearted Mbok Randa Latung and her servant Gerot. This means that greed will not take man anywhere but into the disaster of life, only the kind ones that survive.

Those are examples the legend gives its lesson to heed in life for later generations. What a sophisticated way to teach people!