The Legend of Mahsuri

Once upon a time, in Malaysia, on the island of Langkawi, a beautiful young woman had come of age. Her name was Mahsuri. Being such a beauty, she had many suitors, her parents had no trouble finding a fine husband for her....a warrior in her village. The newly wedded couple had a child and lived happily for some time, until Mahsuri's husband was called upon to defend their village and chase off the attackers.

The village headman was enamoured of Mahsuri, that he tried to take full advantage of her husband's absence. His wife was not amused and plotted to have Mahsuri punished and done away with. The jealous wife accused Mahsuri of being an adulteress, an offense punishable by death.

Despite her parents' pleas and the cries of her child at her skirts, Mahsuri was dragged away and tied to a tree. Vehemently protesting her innocence, she begged for mercy, but the villagers, under the influence of the headman's wife, gave her no quarter. The people really should have believed her when all the spears that they threw at her fell harmlessly at her feet. They were baffled but still convinced that Mahsuri was guilty of wrongdoing. They would not release her, no matter what.

Finally, Mahsuri, having resigned herself that only her death would appease them, told them how they could kill her. She would only die by the blade of the ceremonial sword kept at her home. Someone was sent to fetch it and legend has it that the sky became overcast and there was thunder and lightning as Mahsuri was fatally stabbed.

It is believed that Mahsuri bled white blood, symbolising her innocence and purity, and with her dying breath, she laid a curse on Langkawi and its inhabitants, proclaiming that they would know no prosperity nor progress for seven generations.

Soon after her death, Langkawi was attacked by the Siamese. To prevent the invaders from getting the upper hand, the villagers poisoned their wells and burnt their rice fields, which effectively put an end to their food supply and means of income for the coming year.

The evidence of this burning can still be seen today, two hundred years later, as charred and blackened rice grains surface from the ground especially after it rains heavily.

Some things have to be seen to be believed. 

Rural landscape near Mahsuri's Village - Langkawi, Malaysia