The legend of Karimunjava is related to Sunan Nyamplungan story. Sunan Nyamplungan was born Amir Hasan, the son of Sunan Muria, one of the Wali Sanga. He was very spoiled by his mother, and is a disobedient child. By his father, he was entrusted to his uncle, Sunan Kudus. After some time being under Sunan Kudus’s upbringing, he became an obedient young man. He was sent back to his parent, only to turn into a disobedient person again. Furious of his constant disobedience, Sunan Muria strove to inculcate in him a certain hard lesson. So one day Sunan Muria drove his son away from home with the warning that he was not to set foot on Java again.

Not willing to disobey his father again, he prepared himself for the journey. In sadness, the son left Mount Muria where they dwelt and moved on to the open seas to the north. He sailed on a boat for many days through stormy weather and amidst huge waves, not really knowing his destination and perhaps with little will to survive. Then one day, his boat landed on the shores of a small, uninhabited island. Meanwhile, from the peak of Mount Muria in Java, the boy’s father was secretly watching over his son clairvoyantly. But for some reason his vision was vague and unclear, and thus lost track of the whereabouts of the boy on that island. In the old Javanese language, the word “vague” is translated as kerimun. Thus the island became known as “Karimun-java.”

The boy continued his journey inland bearing two wooden staffs as walking sticks to assist his journey. He retrieved these from the shore. These two short poles wounded him while his boat was capsized to shore by the sheer power of the waves. In the middle of the forest he poked the two staffs to the ground and started to rest from the tiresome journey. Miraculously, in that very instant the two staffs grew into magnificent trees. In awe of the incident, he named them “Dewadaru” (also known as Nyamplung tree). In the present day, the place where he rested now stands the village of Nyamplungan.

In other version of the story, Amir Hasan was accompanied by two guards and two seeds of Nyamplung fruit with him during his journey. He also brought a mustaka (part of the top of mosque) which is now still residing in complex of Sunan Nyamplungan grave. The place where Amir Hasan resided was crowded with Nyamplung tree. The Dewadaru or Nyamplung tree is still regarded as sacred in the Karimunjawa archipelago.

There are numerous strange stories related to the magical Dewadaru tree or its wood. To the local inhabitants these are no longer a matter of belief but knowledge and conviction gained from day to day experience. Being sacred, the Dewadaru is used only for devotional and protective purposes. One hardly finds the villagers using this wood for the fashioning of furniture or as a building material; and only the courageous would use it in their spiritual activities. The trees are not too numerous on the islands nowadays and therefore they are forcefully preserved.

The Dewadaru is esteemed highly for their traditional and cultural value, and regarded as the totem guardians of the island. Because the occult power of the Dewadaru is well known, many disrespectful outsiders plunder the wood seeking to possess and misuse the power within it for egoic purposes. But it is also believed that Sunan Nyamplungan, the guardian of the island, or his proxy, plays a role in protecting the place from pilferers. Some say that the Adept sometimes appear as a gigantic bat to those who carry-out their negative intentions.

In 1992, the faculty of biology of the University of Gajah Mada conducted some research on the Dewadaru and the report of their analysis states that this tree is quite rare and not easily propagated. There are two species to be found in the Karimunjava islands: the first is Baccaurea sumatrana from the family Euphorbiaceae; the second is Fagraea elliptica from the family Loganiaceae.

The Dewadaru is supposed to be found solely in the Karimunjava islands. Although almost unheard of, there is at least one Dewadaru tree to be found in Java in the area of Mt. Kawi in the region of Malang, East Java. Strangely enough, those living in this area sanctify the leaves rather than the wood.