Langkawi Legends
Langkawi legends are fascinating and nicely sprinkled with some senses of humour too. For some people
they're unreasonable, but hey ... what do you expect? They are "legends", right?
Langkawi legends are stories told from one generation to
the other, and like other world famous legends & fairy tales ... their facts and fictions got mixed up along the way.
If you want to save time in learning about the legends, you can spend some time browsing through
Langkawi legends at
Lagenda Park which is situated near the Kuah jetty.
The twenty-hectare garden is built on reclaimed land and showcases the rich history of Langkawi.
Besides the famous folk tales mentioned above, the park also portrays lesser-known tales like the
legends of Pulau Hantu (Ghost Hill), Pandak Mayah's spear and the Mermaid's Golden Ball.
Pulau Dayang Bunting
(The Island Of The Pregnant Maiden)
One day, Mat Teja saw her, and was struck by her beauty. He fell in love at first sight, and used to follow her around the island... unseen.
He was afraid to reveal his love for he fear that Mambang Sari might not reciprocate his love.
One day, he met Tok Diang, a medicine man from the village and told Tok Diang his dilemma. Tok Diang advised Mat Teja to get the tears of a mermaid and to wipe them on his face the next time he saw Mambang Sari.
He followed Tok Diang's advice, and Mambang Sari fell in love with him. As time goes by, they became more intimate, resulting in Mambang Sari's pregnancy.
She wanted to give birth to her child on the island, and stayed there during her last months of pregnancy. Unfortunately, their child died after seven days.
A heart-broken Mambang Sari threw her child's body into a lake on the island, Tasik Dayang Bunting. Some people believe that drinking the water from this lake will help barren women bear children.
Pulau Dayang Bunting (The Island Of The Pregnant Maiden)
The shape of the island looks like a sleeping pregnant woman.
Island's Name
Langkawi legends also evolved around the names of the islands surounding it.
One version has it that Dayang Bunting was a giant guardian spirit that kept watch over the islands.
The lady's defenses include her pet lion and poison from the tuba root, potent weapons for her protection.
Hence, the two islands closest to
Pulau Dayang Bunting, whose silhouette resembles that of a reclined pregnant giant,
are named
Pulau Singa Besar (Big Lion Island) and
Pulau Tuba (Poisonous Root Island). The story goes that, a group
of rude merchants failed to pay the obligatory respects to Dayang Bunting as they passed by the islands. Rudely
awakened by the intrusion, she summoned her pet lion to dispatch the trespassers. She roused the spirits of wind
and water, stirring up a tropical storm that unleashed its fury on the incoming fleet of sailors.
The howling winds and tossing waves threw and dashed vessels on Pulau Jong (Junk Island), hence the remains of wrecked vessels.
In the stormy affair, a cargo of black and white water buffaloes escaped to Pulau Gubang Darat (Land Stable Island) and
Pulau Gubang Laut (Sea Stable Island) while the white buffaloes sheltered at Pulau Balar (White Water Buffalo Island).
Yet other boats, laden with rice, was stranded at
Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island).
In another story, a prince once ate half cooked rice during a wedding feast. He suffered indigestion and farted at two spots
now known as Pulau Kentut Besar (big Fart Island) and Pulau Kentut Kecil (Small Fart Island)!
Gunung Raya & Gunung Mat Cincang
(Raya Mountain & Mat Cincang Mountain)
These are two mountains in the main island of Langkawi, with a small hill called Bukit Sawar separating the two.
These two mountains were believed to be giants named Mat Cincang and Mat Raya, who ruled long ago.
The story was said to begin when Mat Raya's son wanted to marry Mat Cincang's daughter, much to the dismay of Mat Cincang. This is because the boy is said to be of bad character.
Despite his opposition to the union, the marriage did take place. During the wedding feast, a violent fight broke out with pots and pans flung at one another.
A big pot containing gravy was broken, and its contents spilt onto the ground. This spot is now known as Kuah (gravy in Malay), the capital city of Langkawi.
The spot where a jug of hot water fell onto the ground is now known as
Telaga Air Panas, where hot springs appear.
The fight continued for days and weeks until Mat Sawar, a respected village elder mediates and successfully ended the feud. The marriage turned out to be a prosperous one, for Mat Raya's son turned over leaf and became a devoted husband.
As for the two giants, they were turned into the mountains of stone, Gunung Mat Cincang and Gunung Mat Raya, and Mat Sawar who tried to mediate between them was transformed into the hill which now separates the two mountains.
Another version as how and why Mat Raya and Mat Cincang were turned into mountains is by the curse of Gedembai. She was unrelated to the family but she went to witnessed the fight and found out that the fight was so boring she cursed them into two mountains.
Gunung Mat Cincang (Mat Cincang Mountain)
The Ancient Tomb
There is an ancient tomb with mysterious background at Padang Matsirat, Langkawi. The origin of this grave remains unknown until today. Some believed that this grave might be that of one Tun Jana Khatib. He was a man of Arab descent who came from Pasai, Sumatra. He was highly skills in the arts and magic. Local residents believe that his skills were more of the sleight of hand varieties rather than that of the black arts.
Tales has it that in 1200 AD, he went to Singapore and performed in the palace ground of the Singapore's King. He didn't know that it was the palace nor that his main audience was the Queen. The King, on seeing that the Queen was so delightful, became jealous and began to suspect that Tun Jana was attempting to seduce the Queen. He had Tun Jana arrested and executed. As life ebbed from his body, strangely the body suddenly disappeared. It is believed that it suddenly appeared in Langkawi as the island is a land of fairness and will not tolerate injustice.
The Seven Wells
The Seven Wells or
Telaga Tujuh are actuarially a series of seven large wells where fairies found it delightful to bath in the cool waters which are supposed to possess soothing healing properties. A mountain prince who once lived near the wells tried to capture one of these fairy maidens, but until today, they have remained elusive.
Sang Gedembai
In the saga of wedding brawl between Mat Raya and Mat Cincang, boiling pots and cauldrons were
flung kilometers away. These could only have happened by giants. However, there is belief that there
was an even bigger giant, known as Gedembai. Gedembai was a giantess and she stalked the island. The
islanders believed she had the deadly power of being able to curse and petrify anyone who displeased here,
this including Mat Raya and Mat Cincang whom she cursed into two mountains. She was believed to live in
Gua Cerita -
one would be identified that limestone formations are resembled to a family that has been cursed to be stones by her.
Local said that her footprints can be found today in
Pulau Tuba.
The disappearance of her is connected to the arrival of Garuda, giant eagle. It is said that the eagle decided to take
the cave to build his palace. Being more powerful, Garuda ousted Gedembai from the cave. Another version relates her
disappearance to King Solomon. The story said that during this time all people, animals and the other creatures had
to pay homage to King Solomon as he is a wise king and a prophet of Almighty. Gedembai, however, refused to do so and
instead tried to turn the King into a stone. Out of fear after she failed to do that, she fled into another world.
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