Rating IMDB Terbaik Sepanjang Massa

Rangking        Judul        Rating IMDB

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 9.2

2. The Godfather (1972) 9.2

3. The Godfather: Part II (1974) 9.0

4. The Dark Knight (2008) 8.9

5. Pulp Fiction (1994) 8.9

6. Schindler's List (1993) 8.9

7. 12 Angry Men (1957) 8.9

8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 8.9

9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 8.9

10. Fight Club (1999) 8.8

11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 8.8

12. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 8.7

13. Forrest Gump (1994) 8.7

14. Inception (2010) 8.7

15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 8.7

16. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 8.7

17. Goodfellas (1990) 8.7

18. The Matrix (1999) 8.7

19. Seven Samurai (1954) 8.7

20. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) 8.6

21. City of God (2002) 8.6

22. Se7en (1995) 8.6

23. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 8.6

24. The Usual Suspects (1995) 8.6

25. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 8.6

26. Life Is Beautiful (1997) 8.6

27. Léon: The Professional (1994) 8.6

28. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 8.5

29. Spirited Away (2001) 8.5

30. Saving Private Ryan (1998) 8.5

31. Interstellar (2014) 8.5

32. Casablanca (1942) 8.5

33. American History X (1998) 8.5

34. Psycho (1960) 8.5

35. City Lights (1931) 8.5

36. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 8.5

37. Rear Window (1954) 8.5

38. The Intouchables (2011) 8.5

39. Modern Times (1936) 8.5

40. The Green Mile (1999) 8.5

41. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 8.5

42. The Pianist (2002) 8.5

43. The Departed (2006) 8.5

44. Deadpool (2016) 8.5

45. Whiplash (2014) 8.5

46. Back to the Future (1985) 8.5

47. Memento (2000) 8.5

48. Gladiator (2000) 8.5

49. Apocalypse Now (1979) 8.5

50. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 8.5

51. The Prestige (2006) 8.5

52. Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8.5

53. The Lion King (1994) 8.4

54. Alien (1979) 8.4

55. The Great Dictator (1940) 8.4

56. The Lives of Others (2006) 8.4

57. Cinema Paradiso (1988) 8.4

58. Django Unchained (2012) 8.4

59. The Shining (1980) 8.4

60. Paths of Glory (1957) 8.4

61. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) 8.4

62. WALL·E (2008) 8.4

63. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 8.4

64. American Beauty (1999) 8.4

65. Aliens (1986) 8.4

66. Princess Mononoke (1997) 8.4

67. Citizen Kane (1941) 8.4

68. Oldboy (2003) 8.4

69. North by Northwest (1959) 8.4

70. Vertigo (1958) 8.4

71. Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 8.4

72. Das Boot (1981) 8.4

73. M (1931) 8.3

74. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 8.3

75. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 8.3

76. Amélie (2001) 8.3

77. Reservoir Dogs (1992) 8.3

78. Braveheart (1995) 8.3

79. Requiem for a Dream (2000) 8.3

80. A Clockwork Orange (1971) 8.3

81. Taxi Driver (1976) 8.3

82. Toy Story 3 (2010) 8.3

83. Double Indemnity (1944) 8.3

84. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) 8.3

85. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 8.3

86. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 8.3

87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 8.3

88. Full Metal Jacket (1987) 8.3

89. Amadeus (1984) 8.3

90. The Sting (1973) 8.3

91. Singin' in the Rain (1952) 8.3

92. Bicycle Thieves (1948) 8.3

93. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 8.3

94. Snatch. (2000) 8.3

95. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 8.3

96. Toy Story (1995) 8.3

97. The Kid (1921) 8.3

98. Inglourious Basterds (2009) 8.3

99. L.A. Confidential (1997) 8.3

100. Rashomon (1950) 8.3

101. For a Few Dollars More (1965) 8.3

102. The Apartment (1960) 8.3

103. All About Eve (1950) 8.3

104. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 8.3

105. A Separation (2011) 8.3

106. Scarface (1983) 8.3

107. Metropolis (1927) 8.3

108. Inside Out (2015) 8.3

109. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 8.3

110. Yojimbo (1961) 8.2

111. Batman Begins (2005) 8.2

112. Some Like It Hot (1959) 8.2

113. The Third Man (1949) 8.2

114. Unforgiven (1992) 8.2

115. 3 Idiots (2009) 8.2

116. The Hunt (2012) 8.2

117. Up (2009) 8.2

118. Good Will Hunting (1997) 8.2

119. Raging Bull (1980) 8.2

120. Downfall (2004) 8.2

121. Die Hard (1988) 8.2

122. Chinatown (1974) 8.2

123. The Great Escape (1963) 8.2

124. Heat (1995) 8.2

125. On the Waterfront (1954) 8.2

126. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 8.2

127. Sunrise (1927) 8.2

128. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 8.2

129. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 8.2

130. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 8.2

131. The Gold Rush (1925) 8.2

132. Ikiru (1952) 8.2

133. Ran (1985) 8.2

134. The Seventh Seal (1957) 8.2

135. Room (2015) 8.2

136. Blade Runner (1982) 8.2

137. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) 8.2

138. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 8.2

139. The General (1926) 8.2

140. Wild Strawberries (1957) 8.2

141. The Revenant (2015) 8.2

142. Casino (1995) 8.2

143. The Elephant Man (1980) 8.2

144. Howl's Moving Castle (2004) 8.2

145. Warrior (2011) 8.2

146. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 8.2

147. V for Vendetta (2005) 8.2

148. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) 8.1

149. A Beautiful Mind (2001) 8.1

150. Gran Torino (2008) 8.1

151. The Big Lebowski (1998) 8.1

152. Rebecca (1940) 8.1

153. The Deer Hunter (1978) 8.1

154. Gone with the Wind (1939) 8.1

155. Cool Hand Luke (1967) 8.1

156. Fargo (1996) 8.1

157. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) 8.1

158. Trainspotting (1996) 8.1

159. Incendies (2010) 8.1

160. Dial M for Murder (1954) 8.1

161. The Sixth Sense (1999) 8.1

162. Into the Wild (2007) 8.1

163. Finding Nemo (2003) 8.1

164. It Happened One Night (1934) 8.1

165. The Thing (1982) 8.1

166. No Country for Old Men (2007) 8.1

167. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) 8.1

168. Gone Girl (2014) 8.1

169. Mary and Max (2009) 8.1

170. Spotlight (2015) 8.1

171. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 8.1

172. Rush (2013) 8.1

173. The Maltese Falcon (1941) 8.1

174. Life of Brian (1979) 8.1

175. Hotel Rwanda (2004) 8.1

176. Platoon (1986) 8.1

177. There Will Be Blood (2007) 8.1

178. The Wages of Fear (1953) 8.1

179. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 8.1

180. Network (1976) 8.1

181. The 400 Blows (1959) 8.1

182. Stand by Me (1986) 8.1

183. Persona (1966) 8.1

184. 12 Years a Slave (2013) 8.1

185. The Princess Bride (1987) 8.1

186. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) 8.1

187. Touch of Evil (1958) 8.1

188. In the Name of the Father (1993) 8.1

189. Amores Perros (2000) 8.1

190. Shutter Island (2010) 8.1

191. Million Dollar Baby (2004) 8.1

192. Annie Hall (1977) 8.1

193. Ben-Hur (1959) 8.1

194. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 8.1

195. Wild Tales (2014) 8.1

196. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) 8.1

197. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) 8.1

198. Stalker (1979) 8.1

199. Diabolique (1955) 8.0

200. Jurassic Park (1993) 8.0

201. Gandhi (1982) 8.0

202. 8½ (1963) 8.0

203. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) 8.0

204. Donnie Darko (2001) 8.0

205. The Martian (2015) 8.0

206. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 8.0

207. Before Sunrise (1995) 8.0

208. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 8.0

209. Sin City (2005) 8.0

210. Strangers on a Train (1951) 8.0

211. The Terminator (1984) 8.0

212. Rocky (1976) 8.0

213. Twelve Monkeys (1995) 8.0

214. The Truman Show (1998) 8.0

215. Memories of Murder (2003) 8.0

216. Groundhog Day (1993) 8.0

217. Monsters, Inc. (2001) 8.0

218. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) 8.0

219. Jaws (1975) 8.0

220. Infernal Affairs (2002) 8.0

221. The Battle of Algiers (1966) 8.0

222. Barry Lyndon (1975) 8.0

223. The Avengers (2012) 8.0

224. La Haine (1995) 8.0

225. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 8.0

226. Fanny and Alexander (1982) 8.0

227. Throne of Blood (1957) 8.0

228. Prisoners (2013) 8.0

229. Ip Man (2008) 8.0

230. The Imitation Game (2014) 8.0

231. The King's Speech (2010) 8.0

232. La Grande Illusion (1937) 8.0

233. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 8.0

234. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 8.0

235. High Noon (1952) 8.0

236. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) 8.0

237. The Help (2011) 8.0

238. Roman Holiday (1953) 8.0

239. Castle in the Sky (1986) 8.0

240. Catch Me If You Can (2002) 8.0

241. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) 8.0

242. Notorious (1946) 8.0

243. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) 8.0

244. Beauty and the Beast (1991) 8.0

245. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) 8.0

246. Before Sunset (2004) 8.0

247. The Night of the Hunter (1955) 8.0

248. Underground (1995) 8.0

249. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) 8.0

250. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 8.0



Source: Munsypedia

10 Fenomena Aneh Yang Terjadi Dalam Pikiran Manusia

1.Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia adalah fenomena di mana seseorang tidak mampu mengenali wajah-wajah orang atau obyek yang seharusnya sudah dikenal. Orang-orang yang mengalami kekacauan ini biasanya mampu menggunakan perasaan lainnya untuk mengenali orang-orang, seperti bau parfum seseorang, bentuk atau gaya rambut, suara, atau bahkan gaya berjalan mereka. Suatu kasus yang klasik dari kekacauan ini dimuat dalam sebuah buku yang terbit tahun 1998 dan pernah ditampilkan dalam bentuk opera Michael Nyman berjudul “The man who mistook his wife for a hat atau orang yang keliru akan istrinya karena topinya.”

Kita mempunyai beberapa pengalaman akan perasaan, yang datang kepada kita beberapa saat, dari apa yang kita katakan, dilakukan setelah dikatakan atau dilakukan sebelumnya, di suatu waktu yang lampau – dari hal-hal di sekeliling kita, berupa masa lalu, dengan wajah-wajah sama, benda-benda, dan keadaan – dari pengetahuan kita yang sempurna akan apa yang akan dikatakan nanti, seolah-olah kita tiba-tiba mengingatnya! – Charles Dickens

2. Fregoli Delusion

Fregoli Delusion adalah fenomena otak yang jarang terjadi, di mana seseorang mempercayai bahwa orang-orang yang berbeda, sesungguhnya adalah orang yang sama yang sedang menyamar. Hal itu sering dihubungkan dengan paranoid dan kepercayaan bahwa orang yang menyamar itu sedang berusaha untuk menganiaya dirinya. Kondisi itu diberi nama seperti aktor Italia, Leopoldo Fregoli yang terkenal dengan kemampuannya untuk merubah diri secara cepat selama penampilannya aktingnya.


Laporan pertama di 1927 dalam sebuah studi kasus pada seorang wanita berusia 27 tahun yang percaya dia sedang dianiaya oleh dua yang aktor yang sering dilihatnya di sebuah teater. Dia percaya kalau orang-orang ini “mengejarnya terus-menerus dengan berubah wujud seperti orang-orang yang dikenalnya

3. Capgras Delusion

Capgras delusion adalah fenomena di mana seseorang percaya bahwa sahabat karib atau keluarganya sudah berganti identitas seperti seorang penipu. Hal ini berhubungan dengan kepercayaan kuno bahwa bayi-bayi telah dicuri dan digantikan oleh peri penculik anak dalam dongeng-dongeng di abad pertengahan, seperti juga khayalan modern mengenai makhluk asing atau alien yang mengambil alih tubuh dari orang-orang di bumi untuk dijadikan sekutu mereka.

Khayalan ini ditemukan paling umum pada pasien berpenyakit jiwa, tetapi tidak menutup kemungkinan itu juga sudah mengacaukan pikiran anda.

4. L esprit de l Escalier

L’esprit de l’escalier adalah rasa untuk berpikir suatu komentar balasan yang cerdas ketika hal itu sudah terlambat untuk disampaikan. Ungkapan itu dapat digunakan untuk menguraikan tentang komentar balasan yang cepat terhadap penghinaan, atau setiap komentar pintar dan jenaka, walaupun kedatangannya sudah terlambat dan tidak berguna lagi.

Sebuah kata dari bahasa Jerman treppenwitz digunakan untuk maksud yang sama. Ungkapan yang terdekat di dalam bahasa Inggris untuk menguraikan situasi ini adalah “being wise after the event atau menjadi bijaksana setelah kejadian.

Peristiwa itu biasanya disertai oleh perasaan penyesalan karena tidak terpikirkan sebelumnya untuk memberikan komentar balasan yang cepat di saat diperlukan. Tapi mungkin lebih bijaksana kalau kita berpikir bahwa balasan itu mungkin bisa merunyamkan hubungan. Tuhan menyintai orang yang sabar dan menahan diri.

5. Presque Vu

Presque vu sering diungkapkan dengan kata-kata, “serasa sudah di ujung lidah” – merupakan perasaan yang kuat bahwa anda akan mendapatkan petunjuk atau ilham akan apa yang terlupa, tapi tidak pernah datang. Istilah “presque vu” artinya “hampir melihat”. Sensasi presque vu dapat sangat mengacaukan perasaan dan pikiran, dan seringkali orang susah tidur dibuatnya.

6. Jamais Vu

Jamais vu (tidak pernah melihat) digambarkan sebagai sebuah situasi sudah pernah dikenal tapi tidak bisa mengenali. Hal itu sering dianggap sebagai kebalikan dari deja vu dan menimbulkan perasaan ngeri dan takut. Anda tidak mengenali sebuah situasi meskipun anda mengetahui secara rasional bahwa anda telah berada di dalam situasi itu sebelumnya. Secara umum dapat dijelaskan ketika seseorang beberapa saat tidak mengenali seseorang, kata, atau tempat yang sebetulnya sudah diketahuinya. Ini menjadikan orang percaya bahwa jamais vu merupakan sejenis gejala dari kelelahan otak.

7. Deja Senti

Déjà Senti adalah fenomena “pernah merasakan” sesuatu. Kejadiannya contohnya seperti ini : “Kamu merasa pernah mengatakan sesuatu, dipikiran kamu mengatakan, “Oh iya aku ngerti!” atau “Oh iya aku ingat!” tapi 1 atau 2 menit kemudian kamu akan sadar kalau kamu sebenarnya tidak pernah mengatakan apa-apa”.

8. Deja Visite

Deja Visite adalah pengalaman yang hanya sedikit orang mengalaminya di mana melibatkan suatu pengetahuan gaib akan suatu tempat yang baru. Sebagai contoh, anda mungkin pernah mengetahui jalur jalan di suatu kota yang baru anda datangi atau pemandangannya meskipun tidak pernah ke sana sebelumnya, dan anda yakin mustahil mempunyai pengetahuan tentang itu.

Kalau Deja Visite tentang hubungan-hubungan geografis dan ruang, selagi Deja Vecu adalah tentang kejadian-kejadian sementara waktu. Nathaniel Hawthorne menulis tentang sebuah pengalaman seperti ini di dalam bukunya “Our Old Home” di mana dia mengunjungi sebuah benteng yang sudah hancur dan mempunyai pengetahuan lengkap mengenai denah tata letaknya. Ia kemudiannya mampu melacak pengalaman itu dalam sebuah puisi karangan Alexander Pope yang dibacanya beberapa tahun kemudian. Puisi itu menggambarkan keadaan benteng itu dengan akurat persis seperti yang diketahuinya.

9. Deja Vecu

Deja vecu (Dibaca deya vay-koo) adalah apa yang dialami banyak orang ketika mereka berpikir sedang mengalami deja vu. Deja vu adalah perasaan telah melihat sesuatu sebelumnya, sedangkan deja vecu adalah pengalaman setelah melihat suatu peristiwa sebelumnya, tapi hanya di dalam detil yang besar – seperti mengenali bau-bauan dan bunyi-bunyian.

Hal ini juga biasanya disertai oleh suatu perasaan yang sangat kuat akan pengetahuan sesuatu yang akan datang kemudian. Pengalaman yang pernah terjadi – tidak hanya mengenal apa yang akan datang berikutnya – tetapi juga mampu mengatakan kepada orang di sekitar apa yang akan datang itu, dan biasanya itu adalah benar. Ini sangat aneh dan sensasi yang tidak bisa dijelaskan.

10. Deja vu

Deja vu adalah pengalaman tertentu akan sesuatu yang sedang berlangsung di mana anda sudah mengalaminya atau melihat situasi baru itu sebelumnya – anda merasa seolah-olah peristiwa telah terjadi atau sedang mengulanginya.

Pengalaman itu biasanya disertai oleh perasaan yang kuat seperti sudah mengenal dan suatu perasaan berupa kengerian, asing, atau aneh. Pengalaman “yang sebelumnya” ini biasanya berhubungan dengan mimpi, tetapi kadangkadang ada suatu perasaan pasti bahwa itu sudah terjadi di masa lalu.





source: rupadunia.com

Nyai Roro Kidul

Nyai Loro Kidul (also spelled Nyi Roro Kidul) is a legendary Indonesian female spirit or deity, known as the Queen of the Southern Sea of Java (Indian Ocean or Samudra Kidul south of Java island) in Javanese and Sundanese mythology.

According to Javanese beliefs, she is also the mythical spiritual consort of the Sultans of Mataram and Yogyakarta, beginning with Senopati and continuing to the present day.

Names

Nyai Roro Kidul spirit has many different names, which reflect the diverse stories of her origin in a lot of sagas, legends, myths and traditional folklore. Other names include Ratu Laut Selatan ("Queen of the South Sea," meaning the Indian Ocean) and Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Kidul. The royal house of Keraton Surakarta revered her as Kanjeng Ratu Ayu Kencono Sari. Many Javanese believe it is important to use various honorifics when referring to her, such as Nyai, Kanjeng, and Gusti. People who invoke her also call her Eyang (grandmother). In mermaid form she is referred to as Nyai Blorong.

The Javanese word loro literally means two - 2 and merged into the name of the myth about the Spirit-Queen born as a beautiful girl or maiden, in Old Javanese rara, written as rårå, (also used as roro). Old-Javanese rara evolved into the New Javanese lara, written as lårå, (means ill, also grief like heartache, heart-break).

Dutch orthography changed lara into loro (used here in Nyai Loro Kidul) so the word play moved from beautiful girl to a sick one - Old Javanese Nyi Rara and the New Javanese Nyai Lara.

Description

Nyai Loro Kidul is often illustrated as a mermaid with a tail as well the lower part of the body of a snake or a fish. The mythical creature is claimed to take the soul of any who she wished for. According to local popular beliefs around coastal villages on Southern Java, the Queen often claim lives of fishermen or visitors that bathe on the beach, and she usually prefers handsome young men.

Sometimes Nyai Loro Kidul can be spoken of as a "naga", or mythical snake. This idea may have derived from some myths concerning a princess of Pajajaran who suffered from leprosy. The skin disease mentioned in most of the myths about Nyai Loro Kidul might possibly refer to the shedding of a snake's skin.

The role of Nyai Loro Kidul as a Javanese Spirit-Queen became a popular motif in traditional Javanese folklore and palace mythologies, as well as being tied in with the beauty of Sundanese and Javanese princesses. Another aspect of her mythology was her ability to change shape several times a day. Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogyakarta described his experience on spiritual encounters with the spirit Queen in his memoire; the queen could change shapes and appearance, as a beautiful young woman usually during full moon, and appear as an old woman at other times.

Nyai Loro Kidul in a significant amount of the folklore that surrounds her - is in control of the violent waves of the Indian Ocean from her dwelling place in the heart of the ocean. Sometimes she is referred as one of the spiritual queens or wives of the Susuhunan of Solo or Surakarta and the Sultan of Yogyakarta. Her literal positioning is considered as corresponding to the Merapi-Kraton-South Sea axis in the Solo Sultanate and Yogyakarta Sultanate.

Another pervasive part of folklore surrounding her is the colour of aqua green, gadhung m'lathi in Javanese, is favoured and referred to her, which is forbidden to wear along the south-coast of Java. She is often describes wearing clothes or selendang (silky sashes) in this color.

Origin and history

Although her legends mostly linked to 16th century Javanese Mataram Sultanate, the older manuscript traced her legendary origin to the era of Sundanese kingdom of Pajajaran, the legend of ill-fated princess Kadita. However, Javanese and Sundanese anthropological and cultural studies suggests that the myth of Queen of Java's Southern Seas probably originated from older prehistoric animistic beliefs, the pre-Hindu-Buddhist female deity of southern ocean. The fierce waves of Indian Ocean on southern Java coasts, its storms and sometimes tsunamis, probably had raised the locals awe and fear of natural power, and attributing it to the spiritual realm of deities and demons that inhabit the southern seas ruled by their queen, a female deity, later identified as "Ratu Kidul".

The 16th century Javanese legends connects the Queen of Southern Seas as the protector and spiritual consort of the kings of Mataram Sultanate. Panembahan Senopati (1586-1601 AD), founder of the Mataram Sultanate, and his grandson Sultan Agung (1613-1645 AD) who named the Kanjeng Ratu Kidul as their bride, is claimed in the Babad Tanah Jawi.

According to Javanese legends dated from 16th century CE, the prince Panembahan Senopati, aspired to establish a new kingdom Mataram Sultanate against Pajang overlordship. He performed ascetic acts through meditating on the beach of Parang Kusumo, south of his home in the town of Kota Gede. His meditation caused a disturbing powerful supernatural phenomenon in the spiritual kingdom of Southern Sea. The Queen came to the beach to see who had caused this menace in her kingdom. Upon seeing the handsome prince, the queen immediately fell in love and asked the prince to stop his meditation. In return the deity queen, who ruled spiritual realm of southern seas, agreed to help Panembahan Senopati in his political effort to establish a new kingdom. In order to become the spiritual protector of the kingdom, the Queen asked to be held by the prince in hand of marriage, as the spiritual consort of Panembahan Senopati and all of his successors, the series of Mataram kings.

One Sundanese folktale is mentioned about Dewi Kadita, the beautiful princess of the Pajajaran Kingdom, in West Java, who desperately fled to the Southern Sea after being struck by black magic. The black magic was cast by a witch under the order of a jealous rival in the palace, and caused the beautiful princess to suffer disgusting skin disease. She jumped into the violent waves of the Ocean where she finally cured and regain her beauty, and the spirits and demons crowned the girl as the legendary Spirit-Queen of the South Sea.

A similar version of the story above mentions that the king (at the time), having her as the only child, who is planning to retire from the throne, remarries. Having a queen (instead of a king) was forbidden. The king's new wife finally gets pregnant, but, because of jealousy, forces the king to choose between her wife or her daughter. There was an ultimatum. If he chose his daughter, then her wife would leave the palace and the throne would be given to what would later become the queen. If the wife was chosen, the daughter would be banned from the palace and the new, yet to be born child, would be king. The king solves this by ordering a witch to make his daughter suffer a skin disease. The daughter, now banned from the palace, hears a voice that tells her to go to the sea at midnight to cure her disease. She did, and vanished, never to be seen again.

Another Sundanese folktale shows Banyoe Bening (meaning clear water) becomes Queen of the Djojo Koelon Kingdom and, suffering from leprosy, travels to the South where she is taken up by a huge wave to disappear into the Ocean.

Another West Java folktale is about the Ajar Cemara Tunggal (Adjar Tjemara Toenggal) on the mountain of Kombang in the Pajajaran Kingdom. He is a male seer who actually was the beautiful great aunt of Raden Jaka Susuruh. She disguised herself as a psychic and told Raden Jaka Susuruh to go to the east of Java to found a kingdom on the place where a maja-tree just had one fruit; the fruit was bitter, pait in Javanese, and the kingdom got the name of Majapahit. The seer Cemara Tunggal would marry the founder of Majapahit and any descendant in first line, to help them in all kind of matters. Though the seer's spirit would have transmigrated into the "spirit-queen of the south" who shall reign over the spirits, demons and all dark creatures.

Specialities

Sarang Burung are Javanese bird's nests, and some of the finest in the world. The edible bird's nests, in the form of Bird's nest soup or sarang burung, find a ready market in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore are dedicated to Nyai Loro Kidul, mentioned by Sultan Agung in reports.

There are three harvests which are known as the Unduan-Kesongo, Unduan-Telor and Unduan-Kepat, and take place in April, the latter part of August (the largest), and December. The places Rongkob and Karang Bolong along the south coast of central Java are famous for the edible bird's nests, made by the little sea swallows, called Salanganen or Collocalia fuciphaga. The harvests are famous because of the wayang performances which are held, and the Javanese ritual dances which are performed with gamelan music as the traditional ceremony.

This happens in a cave (Karang Bolong) and when these are ended specially prepared offerings are made in a shed in what is known as the "State Bed of Nyai Loro Kidul". This relic is hung with beautiful silk batik kains, and a toilet mirror is placed against the green-coloured pillows of the bed.

Nyai Loro Kidul is the patron goddess of the bird's-nest gatherers of South Java. The gatherers descend the sheer cliff-face on coconut-fibre ropes to an overhang some thirty feet above the water where a rickety bamboo platform has been built. From there they must await their wave, drop into it, and be swept beneath the overhang into the cave. Here they grope around in total darkness filling their bags with bird's nests. Going back needs very precise timing, to avoid misjudging the tides, and falling into the violent waves.

The Dutch and their Javanese legacy

The term wali which is applied to all of the Islam teachers is Arabic (meaning "saint"), but the title "sunan" which they all carry, too, is Javanese. Sunan Kalijaga used to be one of the most "popular" Wali Sanga, and he got deeply involved with Nyai Loro Kidul because of the water aspect (at the beach of Pemancingan of northern Java, kali means river). Panembahan Senopati Ingalaga (1584–1601), founder of Mataram's imperial expansion, sought the support of the goddess of the Southern Ocean (Kangjeng Ratu Kidul or Nyai Loro Kidul) at Pemancinang of southern Java.

She was to become the special protectress of the House of Mataram. Senopati's reliance upon both Sunan Kalijaga and Nyai Loro Kidul in the chronicles accounts nicely reflects the Mataram Dynasty's ambivalence towards Islam and indigenous Javanese beliefs.


source: wikipedia.org