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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