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Although Nyi Bagendit had become the richest person in that village, she didn't feel satisfied.
She was well known to be a very stingy person. She was very fond of her wealth, especially her
jewelry. Her only satisfaction was to gloat over them. Her biggest fear was the villagers would
ask for her charity, because she didn't like to part with her wealth, not in the slightest bit.
One day Nyi Bagendit had a great harvest. She hired villagers to harvest her vast paddy fields.
When they finished, she celebrated the harvest by providing a feast for those hired hands. But
being stingy, there wasn't enough food for them all.
When there wasn't any food left, an old man came. He looked poor, his shoulder hunched and he
used a stick to support him walking. He asked for some food.
Being an arrogant and stingy self, Nyi Bagendit got angry with the old man. She told him to get
lost. In her opinion, he didn't deserve any food because he didn't work for her.
Before he left, the old man stabbed his stick to the ground saying:
everything you do, both good and bad, will be reprised accordingly.
All of a sudden water was spouting from the hole made by the stick. Since the water couldn’t be
stopped, people fled in panic. They run to save their own lives.
True to herself, the first thing Nyi Bagendit did was to save her precious wealth. She was so busy
collecting them all, she didn’t realize the water had gradually submerged her house. She kept
screaming for help, but nobody there to help her. Everybody had left the village and took refuge
at the higher land. In the end Nyi Bagendit drowned hugging her precious belongings.
The water kept going until the whole village was submerged. It became a lake and it was named
Situ Bagendit [Situ is a Sundanese word for a lake].
Some people say until this day sometimes they see a huge creature as big as a matress, that looks
like a leech lies on the bottom of Situ Bagendit. They believe that giant leech is Nyi Bagendit
who is still protecting her precious belongings.