Situ Lengkong: A lake of ten thousands water lilies

By Wawan S. Husin

CIAMIS, West Java (JP): If you are tired of big cities, drowning in a sea of paper, or have a headache from the incessant ringing of the telephone and glare of the computer monitor screen please come to Situ Lengkong in the small city of Panjalu. The city is about 130 kms east of Bandung, or about 35kms to the southeast of Tasikmalaya.

Panjalu is a kecamatan (subdistrict) city of about 50,000 people. Downtown is about three square kilometers where people can find a market, public transport terminal (to/from Bandung, Tasikmalaya) and other local routes. Close to the market are some food stalls, shops, bank (BRI), playing field, mosque, post office, local government offices and police station. It is quiet at night.

Situ Lengkong - as the locals call the lake - is a lake of about 7 square kilometers in the heart of the area, about 300 meters from the terminal. Local people come in crowds and enjoy themselves around the lake during Sundays and holidays. Some visitors even come from other cities (Banjar, Ciamis, Pangandaran, Tasikmalaya). People from Bandung, Jakarta and other provinces also spend their weekends there.

The locals are very proud of the lake, and some even think it has a special characteristic that fascinates them. There is no single river flowing into the lake, yet it "...is always full of water even in the dry season," said Ceu Nonoh. She is a local and has been living around the lake since she was born. She takes care of the cemetery of the Pangeran Anom (the viceroy) on the banks of the lake.

There is a beautiful island in the middle of the lake where Raden Borosngora (one of the holy men who took Islam from Cheribon to Kawali, Panjalu) was buried.

His cemetery was a place of pilgrimage for a lot of people from cities in West Java and even from East or Central Java. When I was there, three groups of people visited, from Depok, West Java, Purwokerto, Central Java and East Java. They prayed around the cemetery and Pak Ade (the caretaker of the area) explained about the holy man and his supernatural powers. He then led the prayers. A group of people meditated around the area near or inside the shelter there or waited to pray near the cemetery of the holy man. Books about the story of the old kingdom of Panjalu are available for visitors to buy.

Water lilies

If you want to enjoy the lake, please come very early in the morning when the fog and smoke are still swirling over the surface of the water. You can sit on the papanggon -- rafts of bamboo where the locals wash -- or on the bank of the lake where the dew wets the grass. Sit freely and relax, and if you practice yoga, then it is the place where you can do your asanas. Look at the water surface, the green bushes, bamboos and trees on the island, about 700 meters from bank of the lake. Hundreds of large bats hang from the old trees, asleep. Some can be heard making a "criieekkk, criiieeekkk" noise.

Standing still or sitting by the lake, relaxing your muscles, I would suggest you should start by looking at those water lilies close to your eyes. Or touch them, they are there for you to smell and touch. Touchable, smellable, visible and real. They are blossoming, displaying their pink flowers and greenish-reddish leaves floating on the water. One or two wooden boats are passing by and at a distance locals are catching fish with nets.

Do your breathing exercises and enjoy the sights. Enjoy the fresh aura and the rich ki (Japanese for earth and sky energy). Feel the quietness around, peace and serenity of the island and bushes, and also keep your eyes on the dynamic surface of the water.

Glittering and sparkling.

What can you do in the afternoon? Just go around the lake, powered or rowing boats are ready to take you around. Travel at low speed to make your voyage as enjoyable and comfortable as possible.

Suhara the boatman and his colleagues can take you around the lake. "The cost is Rp 60,000 - Rp 70,000 for one circuit," Suhara says smilingly. What is there to do? See the fauna and flora around the lake, go to the group of dense lilies, say hello to the locals who have a picnic with their families and have lunch on the boat, see birds catching fish or worms among lilies, watch fisherman, touch the dead trees floating near the island, observe bats (through binoculars or the zoom lens of a camera), and above all, enjoy the sound of water, the wash caused by the passage of the boat. Nature lovers can take photos. Then the two-hour journey will be meaningful for you.

In the afternoon? At about five or six, the bats will wake up and will fly here and there. They will leave their tree kingdom and travel far in order to find food. Mother Nature feeds their children. Thousands of bats are flying out of the old gigantic trees, screaming and screaming, they flap their wings while lowering their heads, and then fly around, up, up and away. They will become dots in the sky and disappear into the distance.

At night? Feel the cool breeze and dry wind near the lake. Enjoy the moon far away above the sky. Lie down on the earth and see the universe where millions of stars face you in silence. And the moon is there bright and smiling. Moonlight falls on the surface of the lake, creating a silvery wave of water. Hundreds of crickets and other insects can be heard in the distance, and waves of water wash the soil. Like a dialog between soil and water. Amazing.

At the dawn or early morning? Sit on the papanggon again and observe that the bats are coming home. Moving dots start to appear. Getting bigger and bigger. The black figures are then bats flying in flocks.

Screaming and crying, lullabying the dawn. See them and feel the power of nature. Mother Nature has given them food, for the bats always survive. Prepare for morning meditation, face eastward for surya namashkar (welcoming the sun). Feel the wonder of life, feel to your last breath that life is so wonderful, so meaningful. For Mother Life is so lovely. Close your eyes, and be ready, for within a couple of minutes, the sun will come and awake you with its reflection on the surface of the water. This will give you golden light. It's the very morning of delight.

Lake for visitors

Suprapto Suryosudarmo -- a mover, a spiritualist from Lemah Putih -- has once visited the lake with his group. Among them are Diane Butler, Maureen, Franka, Imo, Kristine, and some Kawali and Panjalu artists like Dadang Kimos, Pandu Radea, Yuyus, Iyan etc. They stayed there for two nights and a day. They meditated in the island, on the banks of the lake, around the cemetery and their main activity consisted of spreading thousands of nener-- small baby fishes of about two cm or less in length - around the lake in a very ritualistic fashion. Praying, chanting, and distributing fish around the lake.

"A fantastic experience," said Imo, himself a psychotherapist from Germany. The group then continued its journey to "Panyipuhan", a natural spring, where they bathed. For Suprapto, modern people tend to be charmed by too many cosmetics and forget this natural spring. A life spring. The spring is about 30 minutes journey from Situ Lengkong. They carried out their "Water and Soil Pilgrimage to the West" in the fourth week of April.

So if you are in West Java, and have one day and a night of free time, or week-end time, please go to Panjalu, and be ready to be impressed by the charm of the Lake of Ten Thousand Water Lilies! Enjoy!