The tale of Princesses Santubong and Sejinjang,
Beautiful princesses in heaven, Kayangan Sakti,
Whose rare beauty was beyond compare,
But Santubong the prettiest of them two.
If love could bring happiness and joy,
So could it bring destruction and death,
The tale of siblings who became enemies,
Over a fight for a prince's heart.
In the kingdom of Kayangan Sakti,
The Dewa ordered Sejinjang to go to earth,
To a place called Land of the Hornbill,
Where there was trouble to no end.
Princess Sejinjang became the rightful ruler,
Her responsibility to bring peace and order,
All her subjects pledged their loyalty,
So in peace they lived but awhile.
The princess loved pounding paddy everyday,
Engrossed in her passion, her duty neglected,
Once again, trouble occured, fighting was everywhere,
Dewa was astonished on seeing it happened.
Since on earth, not a news was from Sejinjang,
The Dewa decided to send Princess Santubong,
To aid her sister to restore peace again,
Down to the magnificient land she went.
The siblings were glad to see each other,
Before long, trouble occured between them,
Both in love with handsome Prince Murud,
So eager, neither wanted to be defeated.
Now, the fight was between the princesses,
Jealousy and hatred seen on their faces,
Prince Murud chose pretty Princess Santubong,
Furious Sejinjang attacked her without mercy.
The Dewa witnessed the whole incident,
Furious, his orders were not carried out,
In anger, he pronounced a mighty curse,
In a flash of lightening, it all happened.
Princess Santubong turned into Gunung Santubong,
Princess Sejinjang turned into Pulau Kera,
Prince Murud turned into Gunung Murud,
A tragic end to a love triangle.
*Puteri Santubong is one of Malaysian popular folktales.
I wasn't able to tell it in details. What I wrote are free verses.
The mountains and island exist in Sarawak.
Some translations :
Puteri = Princess
Dewa = God/Deity
Kayangan = Heaven
Gunung = Mountain
Pulau = Island
Kera = Monkey
Image at flickr photostream. Credit to unsunghero.
hi balqis, only from a sarawakian like you, do i hear the real myth on santubung.
ReplyDeletei used to listen to the lyrics of the beautiful song - puteri santubung, penjaga gunung negeri sarawak. (pricess santubung,takes care of the sarawak mountains)
have a great weekend
It's a popular myth. I think most Sarawakians know about it. The song "Puteri Santubong" tells about it. It's in Sarawak Malay's dialect.
ReplyDeletePuteri Santubong, Puteri Sejinjang,
Penjaga gunung negeri Sarawak,
Manis sik ada dapat dilawan,
Anak dak dewa turun kayangan.
Tranlations:
Princess Santubong, Princess Sejinjang,
The care takers of Sarawak's mountains,
Very beautiful, incomparable,
The dewa's daughters from heaven.
That's part of the lyrics. It's really a very beautiful song. I'm glad that you know about it.Thanks, Wan. Wishing you a great weekend and Selamat Aidil Adha for tomorrow! :)
Hi!:) Maybe am not familiar on this, but reading it here, makes me feel how beautiful it is and so meaningful to all of Sarawakians..:) Thanks for sharing one of Malaysian popular folktales Balqis!
ReplyDeleteSelamat Aidil Adha for tomorrow too!:) Have a great day!:)
It's a folk tale popular here. When you look at Gunung Santubong (look at the picture), it looks like a woman sleeping. Anyway, this is just a tale. Things might happen coincidentally.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments and greeting. :)
Nice story. Enjoyed that.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzy. Glad that you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeletehi balqis, selamat hari raya aidil adha to you and family. have a great day.
ReplyDeletemany thanks for the beautiful rhyming verses
Thank you, Wan. Same greeting to you, Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha. Surely you have many delicious dishes to serve today. :)
ReplyDeleteOh! I was kind of wanting to join in the fun. So, I wrote simple rhyme at your post's comment. You're welcome! :)
Oh God! How merciless, each of them!
ReplyDeleteThe end of love triangle!
Such a lovingly horrible wonder!!
Just like the Bermuda triangle?!!!
Thanks for such a long lovely legend!:)
At Bermuda triangle mysterious things happen, in this tale mysterious things happened, too. What can we say? They failed to carry out their father's order and it's sad that it all ended tragically. A tale is a tale.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suresh. :)
Jealousy and hatred can lead to awful consequences if you are not careful, though I can not help but feel a little sorry for these 3 :(
ReplyDeleteSad to say, it could cause destruction. If only one of the princesses backed off, may be the tragic incident wouldn't had happened. But anyway, this is just a tale. May be we can learn the moral of it. Thanks, Maria.
ReplyDeleteI like this story... and i really enjoy it ..Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Reeca. :)
Delete