There are many myths which explain the origin of the dance, which generally have either an account of a meeting with an Indic deity (Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Indra, or the Buddha), or the meeting of Kangjeng Ratu Kidul, the Goddess of the South Sea, meeting with a founder of the Mataram dynasty, either Sultan Ageng or his grandfather, Senapati. In the former, the nine dancers were the creation of a deity, who were brought to life, and offered the dance to their maker in gratitude. In the latter, the dance was created when Kangjeng Ratu Kidul fell in love with the sultan, and danced the bedhaya for him; the nine dancers in the modern dance represent the spirit of the goddess.