To the balinese this was a clear message that the had not yet done enough work to please her majesty. Soon after they understood this sign, priests quickly start making religious offerings and prayers to prevent and calm down possible future hysterical attacks.

  Since then the hotel has been rebuilt and room 327 has been redecorated with a lot more generosity and luxury.

  In another similar account, in 1966, the then sultan Hamengku Buwono was expected for the opening ceremony of the Sumudra Beach Hotel in west Java. The night before the hotel’s grand opening, he was visited by an old man (ancient). According to Jeffrey A. McNelly and Paul Spencer Wachtel (authors of the book “Soul of the Tiger”, 1988) “The old man told the prince that he had a dream the previous night in which an old lady said she wanted her offerings. She was dressed in green.”

  “The sultan thanked the man but explained that he would not make an offering since he was attending the hotel opening in his civilian capacity as minister of defense and he wanted to separate affairs of state from the mystical duties of the palace.”

  Shortly after the ancient left, there was a huge roar at the hotel, “like ten locomotives were coming towards the beach front terrace.” Out of nowhere came a 10 feet high wave from a previously calm waters, sweeping away the hotels buffet table, soaking the guests and taking out a couple of trees.

  Soon after came the offerings and today, as at the Grand Bali Beach, the Sumudra Hotel has a special room for Nyai Loro Kidul.

  Despite such negative incidents, the sea goddess is not always bad. According to the authors McNeely and Wachtel “She divides her time between land and sea, and appears as a youthful nymph in the first half of the month and as an ugly hag in the second half. Javanese believe her demeanor is at times bitter and malevolent, and that she can only be propitiated by strict observance of complex rituals. Yet with the fickle nature so typical of both Asian women and Asian gods, when treated properly she can also bestow great favors, such as ensuring a good catch to a fisherman.” Or even produce perfect waves for a group of surfers?!

  The Javanese also believe that every ruler-king of Java must compulsively accept Nyai Loro Kidul as his wife and make homage to her every year with proper offerings that usually are made of parts of women’s clothes and pieces of hair and nails of the sultan.


  Until the present days fishermen from Java and Bali make a ceremony every year in her honor. They believe this help to prevent disasters. They also believe that before entering the waters she rules, everybody should ask her permission otherwise something bad can happen.

1  2