The Mystery of Puteri Gunung Ledang

The Malacca Sultanate of Malaysia had been ruling for more than 80 years by the time Mahmud Shah ascended the throne in 1488. His father’s untimely demise made his succession easier. For the initial 10 years, he was a ruthless ruler and quite an inefficient administrator. Most of the administrative work was carried out by his regent, Tun Perak. In 1498, the regent's death made Mahmud Shah realise he had to be more responsible and take things seriously. Thus began his rule till 1511, before the Portuguese occupied the kingdom. The Sultan’s Queen died, and despite his administrative work, he felt lonely during his leisure hours. He was hoping to get remarried.

   The King was seated in his court one fine day, as an admiral reminded him of his desire to remarry.

 “ Oh, Great Sultan, our land needs a new Queen now, and we can help you find the most suitable bride for you.” The Admiral’s confident voice stirred the Sultan’s enthusiasm once again.

 “ My wise Admiral, do tell me of any such Princess or Noblewoman who would be suitable to be a Queen, whenever you have any news. I would be eager to send my marriage proposal to her.” His eyes twinkled with hope, once again after many days.

 “ I know about such a lady. The most enchanting, the most enigmatic and the most mysterious that anyone had ever written down in history.” The Admiral’s claims sounded convincing, igniting major interest in the Sultan.

 As the Sultan stared with his eager eyes, glittering with curiosity, the Admiral added, “ She is the celestial Princess who lives amongst fairies, who can cast spells and magic. Her abode is atop Mount Ledang, where no men reside.”

 The Sultan, who was listening carefully, now asked, “ I desire a Princess who can surpass the wife of any Prince in this world, and do you think this heavenly Princess would be suitable for that?”

 “ She would be much more than your heart’s desire.” Said the Admiral.

 “ Then today only will I arrange for messengers with a marriage proposal to the Princess. Call Hang Tuah- the bravest and finest warrior of the land.” Sultan Mahmud declared.

 Within the next half hour, the best messenger team was formed with the great warrior Hang Tuah, the wisest general Tun Mamat, and the heroic army captain Sang Setia. They, along with a team of a few of the most courageous soldiers, set out for the mountainous expedition to Mount Ledang. It was not an easy journey. Once they reached the foothills, they faced a fierce storm that stopped them from going further. They were forced to halt. As the winds refused to stop, they realised it was no point in delaying the journey. So, Tun Mamat, along with a few other soldiers, decided to resume moving up the mountains, while Hang Tuah stayed back, along with the others.

Tun Mamat ascended the steep mountains along with his small troupe. As the stories suggested, it was truly magical, with bamboo trees swaying and singing along with the breeze, and clouds surrounding them like chunks of cotton they could catch at any time. After a tedious trek upwards, almost toward the summit, they came across a picturesque garden. Their eyes could not move from the four stunning women in the garden. Were they the fairies everyone spoke about? They were uncertain about it, but they had to find out anyhow.

 Tun Mamat approached one of the women, who seemed to have a commanding presence over the other three. “ My lovely lady, I am a messenger of the Great Sultan Mahmud. Our Sultan wishes to ask the Fairy Princess’s hand in marriage. Would you be kind enough to guide us on how to send this message to her?”

 The woman smiled at Tun Mamat, “ Oh, messenger of the Sultan, you have come to the right place. I am Dang Raya Rani, the guardian of the Fairy Princess, and I will bear the message to her.”

 As soon as she finished her words, all four of the women vanished into thin air, leaving Tun Mamat and the others perplexed.

 It was the onset of evening, and the troupe decided to camp in the gardens for that night. They set up their camp and fed on the numerous juicy fruits from the trees in the garden. The most striking were the Durians. Their pulp was very thick and pungent, almost reminding one of onions and garlic.

The men ate as much as they wanted to stave off their hunger and exhaustion after a very tiring day. Around midnight, as they were about to sleep, they were visited by a very old woman, bent with age and sickness.

 She came near Tun Mamat, “ Oh, messenger, the Fairy Princess has heard the Sultan’s desire. She shows her interest as well; however, certain conditions must be met by the Sultan. Only then will she marry him.”

 Tun Mamat eagerly started listening to the old woman, and as she went on, his eyebrows knitted in a gradual pace, till they almost furrowed into a monoline. The old lady said,

 “ There are 7 conditions that the Princess wants to be fulfilled:

 

1.     She wants a Golden walkway or bridge from the mountains to Malacca, for her to travel to the Sultan

2.     She wants a Silver Walkway from Malacca to the mountains so that she can return from there

3.     Seven barrels of tears of unmarried maidens

4.     Seven barrels of young  betel nut juice from betel trees, so that she can bathe before the marriage

5.     Seven trays filled with hearts of germs

6.     Seven trays filled with hearts of mosquitoes

7.     A bowl filled with the blood of the Sultan’s son

 That is all the Fairy Princess demands of.” The old woman bowed to Tun Mamat before disappearing.

 A worried Tun Mamat could not sleep the night. He led his troupe downhill the next day and met Hang Tuah and the others at the foot of the hills, where they had been waiting eagerly. Upon hearing the almost impossible conditions, Hang Tuah realised this was the princess's polite refusal. He also feared how the Sultan would take it, and what he would do! Well aware of his fragile ego, the concerned Hang Tuah and Tun Mamat set out to return to Malacca.

 What happened next was not clear. Some say the Sultan failed to fulfil any of the conditions. While some say he fulfilled all the conditions, except the 7^th: offering her a bowl of his son’s blood. And the Malacca kingdom’s downfall resulted from fulfilling these almost impossible conditions. So, by 1511, the Portuguese had taken over Malacca, ousting Sultan Mahmud.

 

Dr Deshpande paused. Sunaina knew that was the end of the Malaysian legend. However, she had questions.

 “ Dadi, who really was the Fairy Princess? Was she real?” she asked.

 “ Sultan Mahmud was very real. But the actual existence of the Fairy Princess is still debatable. There are many tales, such as the one about her being once the bride of a brave man called Nakhoda Ragam. One day, as his husband was jokingly tickling her ribs, she was hurt badly. Enraged by this, she stabbed her husband to death. This happened too quickly, but when she realised what sin she had committed, she climbed to the mountaintop and began to reside there. It is said that she started practising magic and vowed never to face any man in her entire life. Some say she gathered a band of followers, all women, who had taken similar vows and began ruling the mountaintop, while other myths suggest that she was the only resident of the area. Her magic skills could turn her into anything, anytime. So, the four women in the garden and the old woman who came as a messenger were all her disguised versions. Thus, she was known as Puteri Gunung Ledang, meaning Princess of Mount Ledang.” She finished her coffee.

 “Wow, what a fascinating tale! I can’t wait to write about it.” Sunaina hugged her grandmother.

 “ Yes, write it; let everyone know. And come back tomorrow for another legend.” Dr Deshpande smiled at her granddaughter.

 To be continued

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.

Check out 

Part 1: Dr Deshpande's Dainty Tales

Part 2: The Buckriders of Limburg