The Legend
The most famous of these has it that several
hundred years ago, a beautiful and kind-hearted
princess of the Sultanate of Malacca fell
in love with a fisherman from Sumatra. When
the fisherman had to return to Sumatra, he
promised the princess that he would return
to marry her.
A
few months later, misfortune was to befall
the happy couple when the boat the fisherman
was on, capsized on its way to Malacca after
being caught in a raging storm. The young
fisherman was to go down with the ship.
All
this time, the princess had been waiting
patiently for the fisherman's return. She
was soon to discover that she was pregnant.
Hearing no news and in total desperation,
she threw herself into the sea. Legend has
it that her body miraculously floated to
the site of her lover's capsized ship and
remained there. This is said to account
for the shape of the island of Pulau Besar.
Another
legend is about the shrine of the seven
princesses The seven maidens were said to
have been on their way to Pulau Besar from
India in order to deepen their mysticism.
Alas, their ship was also to sink along
the way. The graves of the seven princesses
were buried on the island and can still
be seen until today.
Getting
There
Lying
5 km off the coast of Melaka. To reach the
island, visitors can embark on air conditioned
ferries from Melaka Quayside.
Another
way is to take a bumboat or speedboat from
Umbai village, eight kilometres south of
Melaka Town.
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