Folklore of the Sultan of Perak Proposing to Puteri Buih
Sungkai is quite famous for the folklore of Puteri Buih. It is said to be closely related to the lineage of the Sultan of Perak. According to local elders, in the past, there was a baby girl drifting at the mouth of the Sungkai River. There were bubbles surrounding her on the river, and the local villagers who spotted the baby took her in.
The story of finding a baby girl, believed to be a child of the 'bunian' (supernatural beings), spread throughout the Sungkai area, and the villagers named her Puteri Buih. As fate would have it, after many years, the Sultan of Perak wished to propose to Puteri Buih. However, there were certain constraints or issues because the villagers believed that Puteri Buih was descended from a family of bunian. The Sultan of Perak then consulted with
his Panglima Hitam (Black Commander)
and a decision was reached with conditions set to respect Puteri Buih's origins. There were two conditions established. The first condition was that the Sultan could not drink water sourced from the Sungkai sub-district, and the second condition was that the Sultan could not step on the soil in Sungkai without a yellow cloth as a base. The Sultan agreed to these two conditions, and they were married.
There are various versions of this Puteri Buih folklore, but they all seem quite similar. Naturally, the story has been passed down orally from generation to generation, so by the time it reaches the present day, the delivery is certainly not the same as the original story. What is told in the paragraphs below is another version from a reader of orangperak.com for all our loyal readers.
Laksamana Raja Tua was said to often sail the seas. One day during a voyage, Laksamana Raja Tua's ship was said to have become stuck on a pole located near Kampung Tiang Bertarah. Laksamana Raja Tua examined the condition of the pole and his ship that caused it to be stuck, and he tried to pull out the pole to free his ship.
While Laksamana Raja Tua was persistently trying to pull out the pole, he noticed a kris (dagger) on the pole and pulled it out. Immediately after Laksamana Raja Tua pulled out the kris embedded in the pole, his ship suddenly moved and broke free. Laksamana Raja Tua then continued his voyage with his ship. The kris he found was kept as a memento of the event. Laksamana Raja Tua then sailed home to his family and met his wife. While Laksamana Raja Tua was resting at home, his wife was busy washing clothes at the river mouth. While she was busy washing, there were clumps of bubbles around her. She just swished them away to get rid of the bubbles. Laksamana Raja Tua's wife did not pay much attention to it as it had just happened. Then, the clumps of bubbles appeared again, but this time there were more. Laksamana Raja Tua's wife was puzzled and swished them away again to get rid of the bubbles.
Once again, the clumps of bubbles appeared near Laksamana Raja Tua's wife, and this time she covered the bubbles with her hands and placed the clump of bubbles onto her raft. Laksamana Raja Tua's wife was shocked to find a cute baby girl inside the clump of bubbles, crying from hunger. Without wasting any time, Laksamana Raja Tua's wife prepared herself and brought the baby she found home. When she arrived home, the wife asked her husband about what he had brought home during his voyage the other day. Her husband showed the kris he had found and told his wife the story of his ship getting stuck. Then, her husband was puzzled because he heard the sound of a baby crying and asked whose baby his wife had brought home. His wife replied, a bunian child. They both raised the baby until she grew up and named her Puteri Buih.
After Puteri Buih grew up, she was destined to be with the Sultan of Perak. So, Puteri Buih married the Sultan of Perak with the conditions set by
his Panglima Hitam,
namely that the Sultan could not drink water sourced from the Sungkai sub-district, and the second condition was that the Sultan could not step on the soil in Sungkai without a yellow cloth as a base. If these conditions were not followed, storms and disasters would strike. A message for everyone from us at orangperak.com, especially for those who like to question the authenticity of stories, especially those related to the bunian. Do not question this narrative; understand the meaning of the word 'folklore'. In the old days, there was no entertainment, so stories like this served as a form of entertainment for them. This storytelling is merely for your knowledge, and if you still do not understand, consult your parents or teachers at a nearby school.
