The Legend of the Weeping Stone

Once upon a time in a remote village, there lived a widow’s

daughter. Her skin was pale, her hair thick and long, and her
beautiful face contrasted with her selfishness. She always
demanded her wishes be fulfilled, disregarding their poor
condition and her mother who had to work very hard to give her
what she wants.

One day, the two of them walked to the market some distance away from their village.
She walked in the front in glamorous dress while her mother trailed behind her in her dirty work
clothes like a servant. Many men were captivated by her beauty, but they were also curious about
the old woman trailing after her.

“Hello, pretty lady! Who was that old woman behind you? Was she your mother?”

“Of course not,” she scoffed every time. “She’s nothing but a servant.”

Her constant belittlement hurt the mother’s heart. After her daughter kept denying their
blood relation and even treated her as a servant, she couldn’t take it anymore. She knelt on the
sidewalk and prayed to the gods to punish her child.

The gods heard her, and they decided to grant her wish. The sky began to darken, rain
and lightning came pouring in. Gradually, the girl’s body began to turn into stone. She begged
and cried for forgiveness, promising that she would be a good daughter, but it was too late. She
turned into a statue, and her tears kept flowing down her stone cheeks for eternity.
 The Origin of Salatiga

A long time ago, the city of Semarang was led by Adipati

Pandanarang, who had a wife named Nyai Pandanarang. He was
known to be an honest leader, but he was also known to be like to
hoard treasures.

Stories of the Adipati’s greed was heard by wise Sunan Kalijaga. He pretended to sell
grasses for the Adipati’s livestock. Every day, the Adipati bought them for a cheap price, and
every time Sunan Kalijaga slipped a 5 cents coin between the grasses before he left.

After his servants repeatedly found the coin, Adipati Pandanarang became curious. Sunan
Kalijaga told him that he didn’t need money because he could dig gold in a single swing of his
hoe. He dug a hole to prove his words, and sure enough, they found gold buried in the dirt. He
then told Adipati Pandanarang that his identity and remind him that worldly treasures never last.

Later, Adipati Pandanarang told his wife that he wanted to learn under Sunan Kalijaga.
He said she could come with him as long as she leave their wealth behind. She refused, saying
she didn’t want to part with them. So when he went first, she hid her jewelries in a bamboo stick.

In the middle of their journey, Adipati Pandanarang and Sunan Kalijaga was stopped by
burglars. Sunan Kalijaga told them to wait for the woman who would come after them, because
she brought gold hidden in her walking stick. Sure enough, when Nyai Pandanarang came, the
burglars immediately attack her and took her jewelries away.

“If you want to take me as your mentor, then you would have to leave your wealth
behind. So really, this incident was your own doing,” Sunan Kalijaga said. “There were three
parties who made mistakes here: Yourself, your husband, and those burglars.”

To remember the incident, Sunan Kalijaga named that area Salah Tiga, Indonesian for
three mistakes. Over time, the pronounciation was slurred until Salah Tiga became Salatiga,
which was the term we were familiar with.