John and Jenny Fulton

Real International Princesses: Malaysian Princess Puteri

By Jenny Fulton

Introduction

My book, An International Princess Alphabet Primer, features princesses from countries and cultures around the world. Each character is named after a real person. These are their stories.

Because the alphabet book was written for young kids, the biographies I’m sharing are short, child-friendly, often rose-tinted summaries.

Malaysian Princess Puteri

Map Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay; Flag Image by jorono from Pixabay

Malaysian Princess Puteri is named for Puteri Walinong Sari, the legendary warrior princess.

Did You Know: the Malay word for princess is “puteri.”

One of the most legendary puteri in Malay mythology is Walinong Sari. She was incredibly beautiful, polite, and kind, respected Malay traditions, and knew a lot about her kingdom’s ancient writings. She could fight better than almost everyone, especially when it came to martial arts and fighting with swords and spears.

Walinong’s dad was the Sultan’s treasurer and was very rich. Many princes and other important men wanted to marry Walinong, but she didn’t want to marry someone who was only interested in her wealth and beauty. She hid her face behind a veil whenever she met them and said no to so many proposals that her dad started to worry. He finally convinced Walinong to let him host a competition. If any man could beat her at archery, swords, and throwing spears, then she must agree to marry him.

Walinong won every contest.

Her dad didn’t know what else to do. When the Sultan of Malacca came and asked him to allow his son to marry Walinong, the treasurer said yes. But he didn’t tell Walinong.

When the princess learned what her dad had done, she became very sad and grew sadder with every passing day.

At the same time, the celestial king heard about this incredible young woman. His name was Raja Mambang Segara and he lived on Mount Tahan. Raja was very curious about Walinong and wanted to learn more about her. So, he disguised himself as an ugly old man and traveled down to meet her.

As she did with the others, Walinong refused to show  Raja her face when he came talk to her. So, Raja challenged Walinong to a martial arts battle. He insisted he was better and would easily win.

Walinong couldn’t resist.

But the fight wasn’t easy for either of them. It lasted three days and three nights. On the third day, Walinong’s veil slipped from her face. Raja was so amazed by her great beauty that he fainted. His disguise disappeared and the princess discovered just how handsome he was. For the first and only time, Walinong fell in love.

This is where the Malay legend becomes different from so many Disney fairytales. Rather than Raja waking up and marrying Walinong so they could live happily ever after, something else happened.

Raja Mambang Segara had a dad who had been secretly watching the fight. The dad was not happy about his son falling in love with a mortal human and was especially angry that Raja had fainted and lost the fight. Angry god dad created a big storm with lots of thunder and lightning. Then he took his son back to their mountain.

When the storm was over, Walinong looked and looked but she couldn’t find Raja anywhere. That night, she dreamed a wise man came to her and told her the truth about who Raja was and where he lived. The next morning, Walinong set out to find him. Nobody ever saw her again.

But maybe we can imagine that Walinong found her king and lived happily ever after.   

Puteri Walinong Sari’s story is still told to children in Malaysia today. The legend is also shared in a well-known folk song, Walinong Sari, which has been sung by famous Malaysian singers.

Other Princess Bios

Works Cited

Chow, Edelyn. “Forget Disney Princesses, Here Are The Puteri of Malaysian Folklore That Kicked Ass – Pt 2.” World of Buzz; May 25, 2020. https://worldofbuzz.com/forget-disney-princesses-here-are-the-puteri-of-malaysian-folklore-that-kicked-ass-pt-2/

Nair, Nitten; “Puteri Walinong Sari : The Warrior Princess.” MythLok; accessed Nov. 2024. https://mythlok.com/puteri-walinong-sari/

Shahirah, Sharifah. “From warriors to queens: Meet Malaysia’s princesses who led battles and shaped history.”SinarDaily; Feb. 18, 2024. https://www.sinardaily.my/article/215557/focus/from-warriors-to-queens-meet-malaysias-princesses-who-led-battles-and-shaped-history

“Walinong Sari.” Wikipedia; Updated July 23, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walinong_Sari

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