Legend has it that the 16th-century religious figure Nirartha, deeply influenced by Hinduism, travelled through Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa spreading his teaching, and on the way spent a night on this rock in the sea. The founding of Tanah Lot is attributed to him, and today he himself is worshipped there.
Myths and legends
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Southeast AsiaStories rooted in place
Japanese folklore says a giant catfish (Namazu) lives underground and causes earthquakes whenever it thrashes. In 1653 Hội An's Japanese residents added a small temple to the covered bridge, said to be meant to pacify this catfish. The temple is guarded by a pair of monkey statues and a pair of dog statues — in Japanese folk tales, the monkey god and the dog god are the very deities who can subdue the giant catfish.
Legend says a monk from Sukhothai, Sumanathera, was guided in a dream to find a relic of the Buddha. The king of Sukhothai doubted the relic was genuine and told him to keep it himself. In 1368 the monk took the relic north to Lanna, where it split in two: the smaller piece was enshrined at Wat Suan Dok, and the king placed the other on the back of a white elephant and released it into the forest. The elephant climbed Doi Suthep, then called 'Sugar-cane Elephant Mountain', stopped, trumpeted three times and fell dead. Taking this as a divine sign, the king immediately ordered a temple built there.