The Legend of Banyuwangi
Once
upon a time in the edge of east Java Island, there was a kingdom named
Blambangan. The kingdom was led by a king named King Sulahkromo. He was
assisted by a brave Patih named Patih Sidopekso in ruling his kingdom.
Patih Sidopekso had a very beautiful wife named Sri Tanjung. Because of
her beauty, the king was crazy about her. Even, the king had made a plan
to take away Sri Tanjung from Patih Sidopekso. He ordered Patih
Sidopekso to do a mission that was very hard and dangerous so that Patih
Sidopekso would die there. Without suspicion, Patih Sidopekso went to
do The King’s command. When Patih Sidopekso was going on his duty, King
Sulahkromo seduced Sri Tanjung in order to be his wife. However Sri
Tanjung stayed faithful to Patih Sidopekso. The king was angry because
he was rejected by Sri Tanjung.
After getting back from his duty,
Patih Sidopekso went to see the King in the hall. The king who was hurt
because his love was rejected then accused Sri Tanjung that she had
seduced him. Patih Sidopekso was upset to hear what was told by the
king. He felt he had been betrayed by his wife. Then he went to see his
wife and asked for the truth immediately. Sri Tanjung refuted and denied
what was said by the king. Nevertheless, Patih Sidopkeso more believed
to the king than her wife. And then he got mad and dragged her to the
edge of a muddy river. He was so angry there and wanted to kill his
wife. Because her husband did not trust her anymore, Sri Tanjung asked
for a last request to him. She said that if he did not trust her any
more, he may kill her and threw her body into the river. Sri Tanjung
also said that when the water turned to be clean it meant she was right.
Nevertheless, if it did not change, the king was right.Patih Sidopekso couldn’t stand his anger any longer and then he stabbed his wife with a knife. Then he threw his wife’s body into the river. Immediately the turbid river turned into clean and diffused the fragrance. Seeing the incident, Patih Sidopekso regretted what he had done. He realized that his wife was innocent. Then he screamed loudly “Banyu …………… ….. …Wangi. Banyu Wangi ….. “Since the incident happened the river was called Banyuwangi.
Artinya:
Legenda Banyuwangi
Pada
zaman dahulu di ujung timur Pulau Jawa, ada sebuah kerajaan bernama
Blambangan. Kerajaan itu dipimpin oleh seorang raja bernama Raja
Sulahkromo. Dia dibantu oleh seorang Patih yang berani bernama Patih
Sidopekso dalam memerintah kerajaannya. Patih Sidopekso memiliki istri
yang sangat cantik bernama Sri Tanjung. Bahkan, karena kecantikannya,
raja itu tergila-gila padanya. Raja membuat rencana untuk merebut Sri
Tanjung dari Patih Sidopekso. Ia memerintahkan Patih Sidopekso untuk
melakukan sebuah misi yang sangat sulit dan berbahaya sehingga Patih
Sidopekso akan mati dalam misi itu. Tanpa curiga, Patih Sidopekso pergi
untuk melakukan perintah Raja. Ketika Patih Sidopekso sedang menjalani
tugasnya, Raja Sulahkromo merayu Sri Tanjung agar menjadi istrinya.
Namun Sri Tanjung tetap setia kepada Patih Sidopekso. Raja pun menjadi
marah karena ia ditolak oleh Sri Tanjung.
Setelah kembali dari
tugasnya, Patih Sidopekso pergi menemui Raja di aula. Raja yang terluka
karena cintanya ditolak menuduh Sri Tanjung telah merayunya. Patih
Sidopekso kesal mendengar apa yang dikatakan oleh raja. Dia merasa bahwa
ia telah dikhianati oleh istrinya. Kemudian ia pergi menemui istrinya
dan meminta kebenaran segera. Sri Tanjung membantah dan menyangkal apa
yang telah dikatakan oleh raja. Namun Patih Sidopkeso lebih mempercayai
rajanya daripada istrinya. kemudian ia marah dan menyeretnya ke tepi
sungai berlumpur. Dia begitu marah di sana dan ingin membunuh istrinya.
Karena suaminya tidak mempercayainya lagi, Sri Tanjung meminta
permintaan terakhir. Dia mengatakan bahwa jika dia tidak percaya
padanya, ia boleh membunuh dan melemparkan tubuhnya ke sungai. Sri
Tanjung juga mengatakan bahwa ketika air sunagi itu berubah menjadi
bersih, itu berarti dia benar tetapi jika sungai itu tidak berubah maka
rajalah yang benar.Patih Sidopekso tidak bisa menahan amarahnya lagi. lalu ia menikam istrinya dengan pisau. Kemudian ia melemparkan tubuh istrinya ke sungai. Segera sungai keruh itu berubah menjadi bersih dan menyebarkan aroma wangi. Melihat kejadian itu, Patih Sidopekso menyesali apa yang telah dilakukannya. Dia menyadari bahwa istrinya tidak bersalah. Kemudian ia berteriak denagn keras “Banyu …………… ….. … Wangi. Banyu Wangi …..” sejak saat itu sungai itu disebut Banyuwangi.