Silvery Lutung
Trachypithecus cristatus
Status: Vulnerable. Much of the Silvery lutung's range is threatened by logging and palm oil plantation development. They are also hunted for meat and for the pet trade.
Lutung Kasarung, is a Sudanese sacred folktale, and has been told in many forms: epic poem, song, dance, and dramatic performances.
Guru Minda was the son of the noble mother goddess Sunan Ambu, and he dreamt of a human princess. He fell in love with her, and upon waking expressed the wish to marry her. Sunan Ambu, the noble mother goddess, consulted with her sages on how her son's desire could be fulfilled, for Guru Minda was not earthly but of the heavens.
There was an old prophecy that spoke of how one day a son of heaven would descend to the earth disguised as a lutung, and in this form cast blessings upon the people. And so he went to the earth as Lutung Kasarung. In the forest, he found Princess Purbasari. She lived in a humble shack. Her throne and status had been stolen by her jealous sister Princess Purbakrang. The ape and kind-hearted princess became companions and aided each other.
Malicious Purbakrang, who thought of Lutung Kasarung as nothing more than an unruly and ugly ape, ordered the gentle Purbasari to marry him, who submitted to her fate. Lutung Kasarung wished to make his bride happy, and so he appealed to his mother, and when they awoke the next morning the couple found themselves in a beautiful palace.
The jealous sister was made all the more furious by this good fortune, and subsequently attempted to rid herself of Purbasari by assigning impossible tasks and labors, only to be infuriated and foiled each time. Finally the wicked princess succeeded by ordering a beauty contest between her own handsome human husband Indajaya, and Lutung Kasarung. As the ape lost, Purbasari's life was forfeit. Lutung Kasarung sprang to her defense, and when he was killed by Indajaya, his disguise fell away and Guru Minda stood before Princess Purbasari, as a human. The two of them went on to live happily.
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