Gunung Ledang (Mt. Ophir)
By David Wong. Last update: 22nd Sept 2006
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The Fairy Princess of Gunung Ledang |
According to Malay folklore, there was a beautiful fairy princess, Puteri Gunung Ledang (Princess of Mt. Ledang in Malay) who lived in this mountain. The princess fell in love with the Prince of Gunung Rundok and they were eventually married and went on to stay on Pulau Besar (Big Island) at the Straits of Malacca.
One day while the Puteri was sewing, her husband sneaked playfully from her back to give her
a surprise. She was shocked and accidentally poked the needle into her husband's hand, killing
him on the spot. As it turned out, the Prince was carrying a curse that he would die
when poked by a sewing needle.
Devestated, the Princess returned to Gunung Ledang and vowed never to marry again till the day she dies.
Meanwhile, the beauty of the Princess of Gunung Ledang had spreaded to the ears of Sultan
Mahmud, the ruler of Malacca, and the Sultan decided to make a marriage proposal to her. A team
led by Tun Mamat and consist of Malacca's legendary heroes
Hang Tuah and Hang Setia,
was sent to Gunung Ledang. But at the foot of the mountain, the party encountered a heavy storm
and could not proceed further no matter how hard they tried, and Hang Tuah aged. Tun Mamat went
alone through the dense forest and tough terrain, and finally reached the top of the mountain
after much difficulties.
There he was greeted by an old lady who was a servant of the Princess, and Tun Mamat told her
the marriage proposal. After disappeared to consult the princess, she returned and said:
"The Princess agrees to His Majesty's proposal, provided that His Majesty will build a bridge
of silver and gold from Malacca to Gunung Ledang, and grant the Princess the following wishes:
seven trays of mosquito's heart, seven trays of mite's heart, one barrel of tears, one barrel
of pinang juice, one bowl of His Majesty's blood and one bowl of His Majesty's son, Raja
Ahmad's blood. "
Tun Mamat returned to Malacca with Hang Tuah and Hang Setia and presented the requests to the Sultan. His Majesty granted all the wishes except the last, as giving a bowl of blood from his young son would mean killing him, and so the marriage was called off.
The wishes were just the Princess' excuses for not accepting the Sultan's marriage proposal, as she still deeply loved her late husband. The locals believe that the Princess is still living on the mountain today, and can only be seen by the Malay medicine man or the poeple who lost they way in the forest, as the kind hearted Princess will come out and assist these people.
Copyright © David Wong. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without prior permission from the author. To email me, remove the "_spamaway" from the following address: kalohimal_spamaway@yahoo.com.sg