The Origin of Pekalongan
Once upon a time, there was a man named Joko Bahu Rekso. He was the son of Ki Agung Cempaluk. One day, he was commanded by his uncle to serve Sultan Agung, the king of Mataram. Joko Bahu Rekso got a duty from Sultan Agung to accompany Princess Ratnasari's trip from Kalisalak Batang to the palace.
When he got a duty from Sultan, he fell in love with the princess but one of Sultan’s server knew about it. Finally, he received a punishment from Sultan Agung. He was ordered to secure the north coast which was being attacked by Chinese pirates.
Joko Bahu Rekso got a duty from Sultan Agung to prepare a fleet of troops and to make a boat which was then used to attack enemies in Batavia, but he failed. Finally, he decided to do ngalong meditation
(hanging like a bat) in the Gambiran forest. When he did this, no one could disturb him, including Dewi
Lanjar, known as the Queen of the North Coast. The only person who could disturb him was Tan Kwie
Djan. Joko Bahu Rekso died on September 21, 1628 in Batavia in a battle against the VOC.
From the origin of the ngalong meditation emerged the name Pekalongan. The emergence of the name
Pekalongan was in the 17th century in the era of Sultan Agung. The Pekalongan people has a variety of views on the place where Joko Bahu Rekso did his meditation, some of them believe that Wiradesa,
Kesesi, Slamaran, and Ulujami were the places where he did the meditation.