A treasure of gold is buried at the foot of Mount Faber, but it’s not the gold you would expect. Radin Mas Ayu, whose name translates to “Beautiful Golden Princess”, rests under a simple roofed structure that’s guarded by a pair of yellow cloth-wrapped tombstones. But what’s the story behind the golden princess that grew up in a village in Telok Blangah?
Legend of Radin Mas Ayu
Legend has it that Radin Mas Ayu was a Javanese princess, daughter of warrior prince Pangeran Adipati Agung. The warrior prince’s love story is a star-crossed one, as he went against the societal norms to marry a dancer – a commoner.
The king of Java, Pangeran’s brother, plotted to have the dancer killed by sending Pangeran away to handle threats to the kingdom while getting men to set his house on fire.
When Pangeran arrived back home, he was wrecked to find his beloved wife dead. Fortunately, Radin Mas was rescued by a loyal servant and survived the assassination attempt. Pangeran proceeded to sever ties with his brother and the palace and brought his daughter and his faithful servant to Singapore’s shores, where they started afresh.
Warrior Pangeran used his skills to help fend off pirate attacks from the village, which caught the attention of the Sultan of Singapore. The Singapore Sultan invited Pangeran to his palace, and after accidentally hearing of Pangeran’s royal blood, set up an arranged marriage between Pangeran and his daughter. The pair later had a child named Tengku Chik.
Radin Mas’ family situation is rocky to say the least. Her stepmother was envious of Radin Mas’ mesmerising beauty and tight-knit bond with her father. Things worsened when Pangeran took Radin Mas’ side when she was accused by her stepmother of intentionally hurting Tengku Chik after accidentally dropping a plate.
Radin Mas’ stepmother plotted to get Radin Mas out by marrying her to her nephew, Tengku Bagus, who she knew was in love with Radin Mas. Tengku Bagus held Pangeran hostage in a deep well after intoxicating him. Radin Mas was left with no choice but to marry Tengku Bagus in face of her father’s life being in danger.
Radin Mas lied to the officiant that her father died while visiting Java during the solemnization. Tengku Chik, who didn’t get the memo, revealed that he had seen Pangeran in an unused well. Pangeran was later rescued, but came face to face with Tengku Bagus, who tried to attack him by lunging at him with a double-edged dagger, a keris. In a cruel act of bravery, Radin Mas shielded her father from the blade and got her heart impaled by the keris, killing her immediately. Thankfully, retribution was swift as Radin Mas’ stepmother got struck by lightning after her attempted escape.
The legend of Radin Mas Ayu still lives on today, as her memorial is nicely maintained at Mount Faber for visitors to visit!
