The name Hang Tuah is one that keeps cropping up as you travel around Malaysia. He is a historical folk hero but some people question whether he ever really existed.
Perhaps like Robin Hood, his legend may be based on a real person but his supposed exploits have been embellished with fantasy over the centuries.
According to information posted at his burial site, he was said to have migrated from Bintan, Indonesia, to Melaka in the early 1400s as a child.
He grew up in the village of Kampung Duyung a few kilometres outside of Melaka city. A well, claimed to have been dug by Hang Tuah himself, can still be seen today.
As youths, Hang Tuah and his relatives Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu became accomplished practitioners of silat, Malaysia’s highly effective form of martial arts.
They used these fighting skills to fend off pirate attacks and resist incursions from Siam, thus gaining recognition and gratitude from Sultan Mansoor Shah of Melaka (1456-1477).
The Sultan duly appointed Hang Tuah as Laksamana (Admiral) and Shahbandar (Harbourmaster).
Melaka prospered during this period and Hang Tuah is said to have coined the phrase ‘Malays will never vanish from the face of the earth’.
One colourful tale recounts how Hang Tuah, by this time an old man, was commanded by the Sultan to seek Puteri Gunung Ledang’s hand in marriage.
The princess laid down conditions that her dowry must comprise of a 40 kilometre long golden bridge from Melaka to the top of Mount Ophir (Gunung Ledang), seven trays of mosquito hearts, seven trays of germ livers, seven jars of virgins’ tears and a bowl of Raja Ahmad’s blood (the Sultan’s son).
Needless to say, Hang Tuah was unable to comply with her demands.
Hang Tuah and his group became entangled in various intrigues at the palace. Hang Jebat eventually ran amok, slaying several palace officials, before the Sultan ordered Hang Tuah to kill him.
Hang Tuah himself was, by some accounts, murdered by his own brother Hang Kasturi though other versions have Hang Tuah dying of old age.
Both Hang Kasturi and Hang Jebat’s tombs can be found in Melaka. Hang Tuah’s mausoleum is located at Tanjung Kling, just outside Melaka.
At the peak of Gunung Datuk in Negeri Sembilan is an indentation in the rock that is said to be Hang Tuah’s footprint.
Another “footprint” can be found at Cape Rachado in Tanjung Tuan, Melaka’s enclave near Port Dickson.
This article first appeared in ThriftyTraveller