PUTERI SAADONG : FACT AND LEGEND

Puteri Saadong is a figure who exists in the space between historical fact and legend.

While there is strong evidence that she was a real historical queen who ruled Kelantan in the 17th century, her life story has been heavily romanticized over hundreds of years through Malay oral tradition and literature (specifically the Hikayat Seri Kelantan).

1. The Historical Fact

From a historical perspective, Puteri Saadong is recognized as a legitimate ruler of the Jembal Dynasty in Kelantan.

• Timeline: She is believed to have reigned as the Queen of Kelantan from approximately 1667 to 1671.
• Lineage: Her real name was Mariam. She was the daughter of Raja Loyor, the ruler of Kota Jembal, and the granddaughter of Raja Sakti.
• Succession: She was the third female ruler of Kelantan, succeeding her father and her adoptive mother, the famous Cik Siti Wan Kembang.
• Physical Evidence: Several sites in Kelantan are tied to her history, most notably Bukit Marak (her childhood home) and the Tomb of Raja Abdullah (her husband) in Padang Halban, which still exists today.

2. The Legend

The "Legend" aspect comes from the dramatic and supernatural elements added to her biography. According to folklore:

• The Sacrifice: When the King of Siam (King Narai) demanded her hand in marriage due to her legendary beauty, she supposedly surrendered herself to him to save her husband and her kingdom from a Siamese invasion.
• The Curse/Illness: Legend says that while in Siam, she refused to let the King touch her. When he tried, he was struck by a mysterious, incurable skin disease (scabies) that only she could heal. She eventually cured him in exchange for her freedom.
• The Tragic Return: Upon returning to Kelantan, she found that her husband, Raja Abdullah, had broken his vow to wait for her and had remarried. In a fit of rage and betrayal, she is said to have killed him with her hair pin (cucuk sanggul) before disappearing into the forest.

To summarize whether Puteri Saadong is fact or fiction, it is best to view her as a historical figure wrapped in folklore.

The Historical Fact (Reality)

• A Real Queen: Mariam (Puteri Saadong) was a real 17th-century monarch. She ruled Kelantan from 1667 to 1671.
• The Jembal Dynasty: She was the daughter of Raja Loyor and the successor to the famous Cik Siti Wan Kembang.
• Geographical Evidence: Locations like Bukit Marak and the Tomb of Raja Abdullah (her husband) provide physical links to her life.

The Fiction (Legendary Elements)

• The Healing Magic: The story that she cured the King of Siam of a magical skin disease in exchange for her freedom is considered a legendary dramatization.
• The Lethal Hairpin: While she may have killed her husband for his betrayal, the detail that she did it with a single "poisoned" or "magical" hairpin is a staple of Malay oral tradition.
• Mystical Disappearance: Instead of a recorded death, legends say she "vanished" into the spirit world at Gunung Ayam, a common trope in Malay mythology for great figures.

Final Verdict: Puteri Saadong is FACT in terms of her existence and political reign, but FICTION in the supernatural details and romanticized tragedies that have defined her legacy in Malaysian culture.

Google Gemini AI

18 January 2026: 6.10 p.m