7 Legendary Malaysian Princesses Who Prove That Women Are More Than Just Magical

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Nicknamed "Puteri Lindungan Bulan" (princess hidden by moonlight), Puteri Zaleha's story involved her sister, a prince, and blood.

Puteri Zaleha and Puteri Mariam were the daughters of Sultan Sulaiman of Kedah. Both sisters were incredibly beautiful, but Puteri Zaleha's beauty was intensified due to her blood being white instead of red. When news of Puteri Zaleha's unique condition spread across the land and caught the attention of the prince of Acheh, he threatened war onto Kedah unless he got her hand in marriage.

Taking advantage of the fact that the prince did not know what Zaleha looked like, Mariam took her place instead as his bride, but the truth was revealed when Mariam pricked her finger, and exposed her scarlet blood. When war waged in Kedah, Sultan Sulaiman hid Zaleha in an impenetrable — not even moonlight could shine upon it — bunker that only he could access.

Unfortunately, since Sultan Sulaiman perished in battle, Puteri Zaleha possibly starved to death in the bunker and was never found. 

Her tomb is located on a small hill in Kampung Siputeh, Jitra, Kedah, and has two sets of tombstones; one for Puteri Zaleha, and the other for Sultan Sulaiman. Legend has it that to this day, the moon still refuses to shine upon that spot. 

Che Siti Wan Kembang's story is as badass as it gets because she was technically not just a princess, but a queen that reigned for over 30 years after claiming the throne at just 25 years old. 

Considered the first "Wonder Woman" of Malaya, Che Siti Wan Kembang was the epitome of a warrior queen; wielding swords, performing martial arts, and riding horses into battle with an army of female horseback riders. After the death of her father, Raja Ahmad, when she was just four years old, Raja Hussein of Johor took over as the Regent of Kelantan. Following his passing later on, Che Siti eventually became queen. 

One of her most notable contributions to Kelantan that is still around today is the establishment of the kijang (deer) as a symbol of the state. Although there are many versions as to how the animal became the emblem of Kelantanese culture, many people agree that the animal was the queen's favourite pet, which is why she had it inscribed onto the coins of her country. The kijang was most likely a gift of offering by Arab merchants to let them stay and trade in her territory.

Che Siti Wan Kembang never married during her lifetime, but adopted another princess, Puteri Saadong, who succeeded her. Legend has it that Che Siti Wan Kembang never died, but instead 'disappeared' into mystical realms and reappears from time to time.

Regardless of what happened to her, Che Siti Wan Kembang remains a powerful part of history and a symbol of female strength throughout time.

Prior to being the badass queen of Melaka, Tun Fatimah's rise to power came from quite the tragedy.

She was the beautiful daughter of the chief minister to Sultan Mahmud Shah (the man responsible for the colonisation of Melaka in the 16th century), and was married to Tun Ali in an auspicious wedding. At her wedding, the Sultan became enamoured by her beauty and grew enraged that her father, Bendahara Tun Mutahir, had hidden his daughter from him. He became determined to take her as his fifth wife, but of course, she refused.

The jealousy towards the Bendahara grew, and a false rumor was spread saying that Tun Mutahir was planning to steal the throne. Sultan Mahmud then ordered the execution of Tun Mutahir and all his male relatives, including Tun Fatimah's husband. With all the males in her family, even her husband, out of the picture for good, the Sultan could finally marry her.

How convenient.

During her reign, she was said to have never smiled and had three miscarriages, possibly due to the emotional damage she suffered, or perhaps as an act of revenge upon the king for massacring her family. She also took advantage of her position to execute the three men who conspired against her father.

She fiercely led the Malay army into battle against the Portuguese and knew how to wield the keris and lembing (spear), earning her the title Srikandi, a title meaning female heroine or a woman whose actions and stature make her equal to a man.

Over 500 years later, Tun Fatimah's story and her strength to push through serves as a reminder for girls to stand their ground and to never surrender, no matter what happens along the way.

Puteri Gunung Ledang isn't the only legendary princess from Johor.

Puteri Gunung Banang of Batu Pahat is a lesser-known princess, and only Johoreans may know her story. There are sources that say that Puteri Gunung Banang and Puteri Gunung Ledang are related, and Puteri Gunung Banang was also a bunian princess, or a mythical princess who cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The story of Puteri Gunung Banang follows a poor, old man with a 'heart of gold' who encountered a beautiful, magical woman who sits atop Mount Banang. With the help of a magical root gifted by her, he transformed into a young, handsome man, and was told by her that he was one of the lucky ones to be chosen for such a reward.

Overcome with jealousy over the man's transformation, his brother demanded the princess to do the same for him. Upon receiving the powers, he became greedier and decided to double-cross the princess. 

Lo and behold, Puteri Gunung Banang zapped him into stone, and then into a monkey. 

Historians are leaning towards the probability of Puteri Gunung Banang's tale being a mere myth, but whatever the evidence may prove, there's a valuable lesson to be learned here: don't mess with a bunian princess.

The story of Puteri Bidasari is quite similar to the famous story of Snow White. Based on a romantic Malay poem called Syair Bidasari that was popular around the 18th and 19th centuries, the story takes place in the ancient Inderapura kingdom.

A couple spotted a baby on a raft that belonged to royalty, floating down the river accompanied by a goldfish. The husband curiously took the goldfish out of the water, and the couple noticed the baby stopped breathing immediately. Upon putting the goldfish back, the baby resumed breathing and the couple then understood that the two were co-dependent. They adopted the infant and raised her as Bidasari.

As she blossomed into a beautiful maiden, the queen felt threatened and did whatever she could to eliminate Bidasari, even by humiliating her as a palace servant. When she found out about Bidasari's bond to the goldfish, she captured the animal and kept it out of water. Without the goldfish by her side, Bidasari fell unconscious and was sent back to her parents where she was hidden away in her father's garden, deep in the forest.

But then, after some time, the queen mistakenly released the goldfish back into water, waking up Bidasari to her Prince Charming, whom she told all that had happened that caused her to be this way. After getting the goldfish back, Bidasari and the prince got married, and lived happily ever after.

Classic fairytale.

If you're into stories of forbidden love and mystical powers, Puteri Naga Bari's tale is the one for you. 

The benevolent spirit of a beautiful Iban princess named Naga Bari dwells around Bukit Aup, Sibu, Sarawak. Her divine powers, as the Ibans believe, are said to be able to cure infertility.

According to The Rakyat Post, the story began when a few bunian princesses came down to the mortal realm for a relaxing bath in their favourite lake. The king of the bunian princesses (their father) forbade from assisting anyone but their own kind. However, one day, when a mortal man was drowning in the lake, one of the princesses saved him. The man introduced himself as Bari, and soon after, they fell in love.

Obviously disproving of the romance, her father cursed Bari into a dragon and forbade his daughter from returning home to heaven. The princess pleaded for her father's forgiveness and asked him to reconsider his punishment. In order to receive his forgiveness and eventually be allowed to come home, he gave his daughter one condition: fulfil the wishes of mortals who come to the lake seeking assistance.

He also enchanted the lake to never dry up even during draughts, and magically enough, the lake is still full to this day.

The legend has led the Ibans to believe that the lake in Bukit Aup is a good prayer spot to seek assistance from the princesses, by performing miring, the ritual of making offerings to express their wishes and showing devotion at the hill's peak.

If you're familiar with the traditional Ulek Mayang dance, you ought to know the story behind how it came about.

The tale tells of a group of fishermen who got lost at sea, with one of them catching the attention of the youngest of seven sea princesses. Immediately enamoured by him, she dragged his soul into the ocean to be with her, leaving his physical body unconscious. His worried friends called upon a shaman to help revive him.

The shaman tirelessly performed every ritual he could to wake the fisherman up, but it ended up upsetting the princess, who asked her sisters to help her battle against the spells. After some time, the eldest and wisest of the sea princesses descended from heaven to resolve the dispute by saying, "let those who came from sea return to sea, and those who came from land, return to land."

Simple as that.

To show gratitude for her help, the villagers prepared peace offerings of coloured rice for the princesses. The Ulek Mayang dance, prior to the Islamisation of Malaya, was done as a ritual to appease the spirits and as an omen of protection for those going out to sea.

Nowadays, the dance is not ritualistic, and is instead done on artistic and cultural grounds. Legend has it, though, that if you sing the original version up to the name of the seventh princess, the spirit of the princess will haunt you forever. 

Do with that information what you will.