Detail of Lelaki Melayu (pencil and acrylic on canvas, 2015) by Anton Subiyantos, on display in Spice Select 2015: South East Asian Mythology and Folklore at Pace Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.
What the Javanese princess wanted to really say was no thanks – but that’s not the stuff that legends are made of. So when her father’s killer asked for her hand in marriage, the conditional offer she made was no less dramatic than that demanded by our feisty Puteri Gunung Ledang.
“Dig me a well,” she said, and then valiantly attempted to murder the man by burying him alive with stones when he climbed into it.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
