During the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca, there was a belief in the existence of a princess named Puteri Gunung Ledang (princess of Mount Ledang) who resided at the top of Mount Ledang. Located in the state of Johor, Mount Ledang is the highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia.
Puteri Gunung Ledang tells the tale of a princess whose beauty is said to be unmatched. Her existence caught the attention of the then ruler of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud Shah, who was still mourning the passing of his queen. However, upon hearing about Puteri Gunung Ledang, the Sultan sent a group of men to hike the mountain in order to send the princess his marriage proposal.
The climb up to the mountain’s peak was long and winding, coupled with many challenges along the way. According to Malay Literature, the climb lasted seven days. As the group of men got closer to their destination, they were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful garden. They were then greeted by a bent woman (also known as Nenek Kebayan). The men expressed the Sultan’s desire to seek Puteri Gunung Ledang’s hand in marriage. After hearing these words, the bent lady disappeared, creating a mystical path that led the men to an enchanting garden where they met the beautiful princess.
Upon meeting Puteri Gunung Ledang, the men conveyed the Sultan’s marriage proposal but the princess demanded seven conditions in return. The conditions were to build a gold bridge that connects Gunung Ledang in Muar, Johor to Malacca, a silver bridge from Malacca to Gunung Ledang, seven trays of mosquito hearts, seven trays of the hearts of germs, seven jars of the tears of virgin maidens, seven jars of juice from young betel nuts, and a bowl of the Sultan’s young son, Raja Ahmad’s blood. The princess demanded that she would marry the Sultan only if these seven wishes were fulfilled.
Upon hearing Puteri Gunung Ledang’s demand, the men returned to the palace bearing the news. They informed His Majesty about the seven conditions, hoping that the Sultan would give up on the marriage proposal. However, to their dismay, the Sultan immediately began fulfilling the list of demand. He cruelly oppressed his people and forced them to work extremely hard to meet the demands.
Days turned into weeks and soon enough into months. In time, almost all seven requests were successfully fulfilled, leaving the sultan to the final demand – a bowl of his son’s blood. As the Sultan was about to draw his keris to stab his child, the princess appeared and stopped him. She expressed her dismay at the Sultan’s willingness to kill his son to satisfy his desire and stated that she could never marry such a selfish man.
Legend has it that Puteri Gunung Ledang had no intentions of marrying Sultan Mahmud Shah from the very beginning. She set the absurd demands only to diminish his desire in wanting to marry the princess.