Malaysian Legends and Folklore that Could Rival Disney’s Best Tales

1. The Malaysian Legend Of Mahsuri (A Woman Wronged)

The story begins with this total babe Mahsuri, a ravishing maiden who lived more than 400 years ago. She was the most stunning woman in all of Langkawi.

Mahsuri captured the heart of Mat Deris, the son of the ruler of Langkawi, and they wed. Not long after, he had to go to war against Thailand (then Siam). So, he left his beautiful wife behind to toil and wonder if she’d ever see her hubs again.

It didn’t take long for her to make friends with a traveling minstrel named Deramang. The town didn’t take kindly to her hanging with this new guy, and rumors started flying.

Mahsuri’s own mother-in-law instigated those rumors out of jealousy. Oh, and also because she thought her hubs wanted a little Mahsuri side-action. So, the jealous bitch started rumors that Mahsuri and Deramang were having an illicit affair.

When Mat Deris’ dad got wind of Mahsuri’s adultery, he ordered her death. (Smart way to throw his wife off the scent, huh? Screams of guilt to me.)

Mahsuri pleaded her innocence, but no one listened. She was tied to a tree and stabbed repeatedly.

“Wait. Don’t stab me with that. Go get the death blade.”

Regardless of all the stabbings, she remained unscathed and alive. But she was exhausted from the ordeal and knew that the villagers wouldn’t let her go. She decided to put herself out of misery.

She told them where to find the proper death blade. And so, they fetched the sword and stabbed her to death.

But…

Wait for it.

Her blood flowed white, which signified her innocence.

With her dying breath, she cursed the island for seven future generations.

Apparently, the gods were listening to her curse because shortly after her death, Siam invaded Langkawi.

In not the brightest of moves, the island leader ordered the locals to burn their rice paddies. Better to destroy the food then let those lowly Siamese eat it. ((Psst…hey leader, ya ding-a-ling – that’s your food too.)

But it didn’t matter because he was killed by the Siamese, and soon, the islanders were faced with starvation.

Now Langkawi is thriving (the curse ended in the ’80s), and you can visit Mahsuri’s tomb. A shrine, a Malay house, and a museum showcase her jewelry and the sword that killed her.

2. Puteri Gunung Ledang (A Sultan Scorned)

There was a beautiful fairy princess (Puteri) who lived on Gunung Ledang, a mountain near Malacca. Tales of her beauty and mystical powers reached the Sultan of Malacca. He was all over her like a monkey on a banana.

Just like any Sultan who wants something, he ordered his fave warrior and wingman to go get her. Hang Tuah and his warrior buddies had to explain how wonderful the Sultan was and that he wanted to marry her.

The Sultan, being a sultan, assumed he would get what he wanted. I mean, who in their right mind would turn down a sultan?

Well. Guess who? This badass princess.

She could have just said no, but where’s the fun in that?

The princess decided to make a list of seven demands. The Sultan needed to fulfill each one before she would agree to marry him.

I could just see how this convo went down…

Hang Tuah: “You must marry the Sultan. He’s super cool. You’ll love him.”

Princess: “Hmmm. I kind of like my life up here.”

Hang Tuah: “But he really loves you.”

Princess: “Really? Well ok. But first, have him prove his love by doing these seven small favors for me. Okay?”

So, she didn’t give him a “No.” She gave him a “Maybe later?”

But first…

Build her a golden walkway from Melaka to her mountain (Gunung Ledang)

Build her a silver walkway from Gunung Ledang to Melaka (why walk on anything less than silver and gold?)

Bring her seven trays filled with mosquito hearts (even back then, those buzzy bastards sucked – get it? see what I did there?)

Bring her seven trays of the hearts of germs (trying to eradicate disease?)

Bring her seven barrels of young betel nut juice for her to bathe in (bathe in, year right. Doesn’t that stuff get you kind of high?)

Bring her seven barrels of virgin tears also for her to bathe in (it’s sweltering in Malaysia – a girls gotta stay clean)

And last but not least,

7. Bring her a silver cup with the blood from the Sultan’s son

The Sultan tried his damnedest to fulfill her demands.

He achieved six out of the seven but stopped short of the mosquito hearts. He just couldn’t catch those little bastards.

Ha! Just kidding.

He couldn’t bring himself to sacrifice his son, his only child, and heir to his kingdom — what a wuss. I mean, hello, haven’t you heard of bloodletting?

Anyway, legend has it that the Sultan was too proud to recognize that the princess made those conditions unobtainable, as a not-so-subtle way of rejecting him. Or, I think, he was just a clueless dude with a thick skull.

Either way, no cup of blood meant no princess booty (yeah, I went there).

He drove his kingdom into ruins trying to get the girl. And she said, “Thank you, next.”

The End.