Princess Santubong and Princess Sejinjang
A long time ago, when the world was just beginning and wonders filled the skies, two princesses lived high above the land. Their names were Santubong and Sejinjang, and everyone who saw them loved them, for their eyes sparkled like stars, and their voices were soft and lovely like birds greeting the dawn.
These two princesses were bound together by friendship stronger than the bonds of blood, and they did all things in harmony. Princess Santubong was skilled in the weaving of cloth, and with threads of gold and silver she made fabrics so beautiful that they seemed to capture the very light of the sun and moon. Princess Sejinjang was mighty in her work, and with pestle and mortar she pounded rice to feed the people of the earth below, and her labor was a blessing to all mankind.
For many years they worked together in perfect accord, and their friendship was a joy to behold. But as time passed, pride began to grow in their hearts like a poisonous weed, and each began to think herself the fairer of the two.
One day, as they sat at their work in the celestial garden, Princess Santubong lifted her head from her weaving and spoke thus: “Behold, dear sister, how gracefully I sit at my loom, and how slender my waist remains from this gentle labor. Surely when the princes of heaven look upon us, they will choose me above all others.”
Then Princess Sejinjang looked up from her pounding, and her face grew dark with displeasure. “Do you truly believe that beauty belongs to you alone?” said she. “See how tall and strong I stand, how shapely are my limbs from honest toil. My beauty comes not from sitting idle, but from noble work.”
And so their words grew bitter, and each princess began to boast of her own beauty while scorning that of her companion. Their friendship, which had been like a golden thread, began to fray and break.
“My fingers are soft and delicate,” cried Santubong, “while yours are coarse from your rough work.”
“Better strong hands that serve others,” retorted Sejinjang, “than weak ones that serve only vanity.”
Their voices rose ever higher, until the very heavens trembled with their anger, and the clouds gathered dark and threatening overhead.
At last, Princess Sejinjang could bear no more. In her fury, she raised her heavy pestle and struck Princess Santubong upon the cheek with such force that the sound echoed through all the sky realms.
Princess Santubong cried out in pain and rage, and seizing her sharp weaving rod, she struck Princess Sejinjang upon the head, wounding her grievously.
Both princesses screamed in their pain and wrath, and in that moment the heavens opened, and lightning flashed, and thunder roared, and a great wind arose that swept them both away.
When the storm had passed, the two princesses were nowhere to be found. But where Princess Santubong had fallen to earth, there rose a great mountain, and upon its side was a deep cleft, marking the place where the pestle had struck her cheek. And where Princess Sejinjang had stood, the earth was broken into many small islands, scattered like fragments of her shattered heart.
The people of the land below looked upon these mountains and islands, and they knew that the two princesses had been transformed by their own pride and anger. And they sang this song in memory of what had befallen:
“Princess Santubong, weaving fair, Princess Sejinjang, strong and tall, Once were friends beyond compare, Pride and anger caused their fall.”
And so the mountains stand to this day, a reminder that even the most beautiful and gifted may be brought low by pride, and that friendship once broken by bitter words may never be mended. For it is better to lift up one’s companion than to tear her down, and those who would be truly beautiful must first be beautiful in their hearts.
Sometimes, when the wind blows soft across Mount Santubong, the people say they can still hear the sighing of the two princesses, lamenting their lost friendship and the folly that destroyed their happiness forever.