princess cave visit, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency folklore, South Sumatra: Indonesian Goa Putri Legend

 

Goa Putri is a tourist attraction in Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) Regency of South Sumatra (North Sumatra) that can be used as a recommendation for year-end trips with the family. Behind its beauty, Goa Putri has a legendary folklore. As the name suggests, the legend associated with Goa Putri is a princess named Dayang Rindu. This princess was the concubine of Prabu Amin Raysid, ruler of the Ogan Kingdom. One morning the princess was bathing at the mouth of the Sumuhun River. While enjoying the cool water of the river, he came across a traveler named Serunting Sakti or The Bitter Tongue. In South Sumatra, Serunting Sakti or Si Pahit Lidah is narrated by a traveler who has extraordinary powers i.e. his words are like a curse. What he said took effect immediately.

This magical wanderer wanted to greet the very beautiful princess, but Princess Dayang Merindu ignored his presence as she was busy taking a bath. Feeling neglected, which offended him, Serunting Sakti said, "This princess is very arrogant, calm as a rock." The words turned out to be true, the beautiful princess was cursed to turn into stone. So Si Bittertongue went to the village where Dayang Merindu lived. The town seems deserted, Bitter Tongue murmurs, how lonely this town is, like a cave. The town then became a cave. Goa Putri is located on Bukit Barisan in Padang Bindu Village

. It is 159 meters long, eight to twenty meters wide and up to twenty meters high. In it flows the Semuhun River, a tributary of the Ogan River that flows from west to east.