Same as almost everything else in this part of the world, the waves are also subject to the direct influence of countless supernatural forces.

  It is wise then, for surfers in this area and any other person who wants to penetrate the waters around Bali and Java, specially, to understand a bit about the mythology and mysticism that surround and energize Indonesian’s oceans.

  The following story is about Nyai Loro kidul or “Ratu kidul” (Queen Kidul) as she is also known, the most beautiful and powerful goddess of Indonesia’s southern seas.

  According to the legend, Nyai Loro Kidul was the mortal daughter of a powerful ruler-king of west Java. This king’s concubines jealous of her beauty would have used black magic to turn her into an ugly and old witch. (Other stories say it was a bad stepmother who cast a spell to give her leprosy) In anyways, because of her ugliness, she was forced to leave the palace when she started to wonder through the forest without direction. When she finally got to the ocean, she stopped to rest and fell asleep. She dreamt that she would be cured of her ugliness if she entered the water and drowned herself. She did it ant then became the powerful goddess of the Indonesia’s southern seas.

  Following the tradition, her favorite color is green and she is attracted to those who wear this color inside her marine kingdom. Besides that, this beautiful but sometimes evil goddess has a particular interest in surfers, not only because she has got absolute power and control over the waves of Indonesia’s southern seas but also for been known to take young men and turn them into her slaves or lovers.

  Both Javanese and sundanese people avoid wearing green when they go to her beaches and very often mothers lock their sons at home in nights when a sacred dance in homage to Nyai Loro Kidul is performed.

  Even for those who are not superstitious, it is always good to be careful. There are recorded stories about surfers and other people who ventured in her waters wearing green and afterwards were troubled by some disgrace.

  In one story published in “The Jakarta Post” in September 1995, a man who challenged this taboo wore a green t-shirt at one beach o the coast of Cilacap on west Java. “he can not look backwards now, because all he sees are monsters.” reported the post.

  In another occasion, in December 1991, a huge fire burned completely the “Grand Bali Beach Hotel” in Sanur, Bali, leaving only 5% of the hotel undamaged. Only one room, room 327, stayed untouched by both the flames and smoke. Coincidentally room 327 was a “private” room that has always been specially reserved for the legendary sea queen.

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