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.
