Mount Ophir legends
This short note by Dr. Mildred E. Staley records three ethnographic observations from the Malacca and Negri Sembilan region, published in the JSBRAS in December 1912 (p. 24).
Summary
The principal section documents the 1912 version of the Gunong Ledang (Mount Ophir) legend as collected from kampongs at the mountain’s base. The mountain is inhabited by a Queen-Goddess or Sorceress (variously called “Bidahari” or “Perempuan Sakti”) who dwells in a cave, attended by air-spirits (Benuas), demons, and a tiger familiar into whom she can project herself. Malays are forbidden to climb the mountain, though English are exempt and Malay guides are tolerated. A narrative recounts how a former Sultan (possibly Ala-e-din) attempted to court the Sorceress by offering marriage, but negotiations failed when she demanded, among other things, a cupful of his own blood. Staley notes that a counter-spell from a village Pawang is considered necessary before ascent, and records the confession of a local Malay who affirmed the mountain’s demonic character (p. 24).
Two briefer sections follow: a note on Salet (orang-laut) descendants still practising javelin fishing from bamboo “water-machan” piers, and an account of a Hindu fakir performing propitiation rites for the smallpox goddess Sitla in a distant kampong, with the author drawing a parallel to the Rg Veda’s statement on the multiplicity of names for the divine (p. 25).