From the  legend about North Sumatra’s Lake Toba to the legend about West Java’s Mount Tangkuban Parahu, there is a good chance that a mythical tale is behind almost every landmark in Indonesia, natural or man-made.

However, there is a belief that most, if not all, of the occurrences in such folktales can be explained through science, that some of these “supernatural” events were, in fact, natural phenomena and have the scientific evidence to prove it.

One example is the legend on the origins of the Mataram Sultanate in Central Java.

It is said that the sultanate’s first king, Danang Sutawijaya, also known as Panembahan Senopati, had asked the help of the sea goddess Nyi Roro Kidul in establishing the Islamic kingdom of Mataram. The Queen of the Southern Sea granted Senopati’s wish, and went on to become the divine protector of the sultanate and its descendants.

The event leading up to Senopati’s encounter with Nyi Roro Kidul is a critical aspect of the story: As he meditated on a slab of rock to gain an audience with the goddess, a great tidal wave struck the region and was said to have caused widespread devastation. It was on the tidal wave that Nyi Roro Kidul appeared to Senopati, who then conveyed his request to the goddess.

It turns out that this tidal wave actually happened, and that the account in the tale matches a real tsunami that struck the region of the South Java Sea approximately 400 years ago, around the time the Mataram Sultanate was founded in 1587.

Proving myths: Gravinda Putra Perdana (left) and Arief Hermawan answer questions from the audience during the Nov. 7 screening of their documentary, 'The Untold Story of Java Southern Sea', which was funded by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. (Courtesy of @america Cultural Center)

This historical finding is part of The Untold Story of Java Southern Sea, an Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) documentary that is directed by Gravinda Putra Perdana and produced by Arief Hermawan.

Gravinda and Arief both attended the Nov. 7 screening of their film at the @america Cultural Center, along with LIPI researcher Eko Yulianto, who is featured in the documentary. American geologist and research professor Brian Atwater also joined the screening via teleconference.

“When we stop investigating within the scientific domain, that’s when the elements of myth can emerge. On the other hand, a myth can become science when we question, test and verify the elements [in it],” said Eko. “Myth starts when science stops.”

Although they might be mutually contradictory, combining the elements of both myth and science could contribute to a new way of communicating science, said Gravinda.

“Looking at it from [the perspective of] a science filmmaker, it’s an interesting thing, considering that we usually face lab equipment and field tests every day,” he said.

Gravinda cautioned, however, “Adding elements, such as myth, like this allows us to strive for a more interesting science documentary, although we have to know its limits. We must take care that we don’t overdramatize things.”

Sacred harmony: Participants of the Labuhan ceremony lay out offerings on a beach in Kediri, East Java, as depicted in The Untold Story of Java Southern Sea. (Courtesy of LIPI)

The research that connected the creation myth of the Mataram Sultanate and the tsunami 400 years ago started when Eko and Atwater were studying the tsunami that hit Pangandaran in 2006.

While looking for evidence of previous tsunami incidents before 2006, Eko discovered tsunami deposits that were as old as 400 years in a lab sample, which matched the year when the Mataram Sultanate was believed to have been established.

This discovery kickstarted Eko’s research into the connection between the Mataram Sultanate creation myth and the real tsunami that struck four centuries ago, which he is still researching to this day.

Enlisting the help of university students across Indonesia, Eko focused his research on the southern coastline of Java, starting from Banten and working all the way across to Bali. The results were consistent: The tsunami deposit samples that were collected showed that the deposits had formed approximately 400 years ago.

By the time the documentary started production in 2017, Eko already had a lot to tell Gravinda and Arief.

The documentary project has been an eye-opener for Arief regarding myths and their connection to real-life natural phenomenons.

“Before this documentary, I always thought of this myth as nothing more than a folktale,” he said.

“Now, looking at this and some other myths I know, they are actually connected to reality. It’s just that they were told differently compared to the way they are told now.”

— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.