Kota Mahsuri tour by Anytime Holidays Langkawi

Mahsuri’s Tomb at Kota Mahsuri is the final resting place of the legendary maiden Mahsuri…

Located in the village of Mawat, 12km from Kuah, it is also known as Makam Mahsuri.

Langkawi is full of interesting legends… and one legend stands out… it is none other then the tale of Mahsuri, a pretty maiden who lived in Langkawi between 1762 and 1800.

So we were at the Kota Mahsuri to learn more about the tragic maiden whose beauty got her accused and murdered just because of another evil and jealous b***h… (sorry about my language)…

Mahsuri who was the daughter of Pandak Mayah and Cik Alang, grew up to be a kind hearted and beautiful young woman of marrying age….

Dato Pekerma Jaya heard about her and wanted her as his sister (yeah right… but who am I to judge, in another tale it was said he wanted to marry her but of course his wife would not allow it… and that would explain her bitter jealousy) ..

Mahsuri was then finally betrothed to Wan Darus, the younger brother of the village headman Dato Pekerma Jaya…

One day when Wan Darus left to fight against the invading Siamese army… Mahsuri was then taking care of her baby when a young wandering minstrel named Deraman came to seek a glass of water, and stayed a while to chit chat and also calm Mahsuri’s baby…

The village headman’s wife Wan Mahora, who was always jealous of Mahsuri’s beauty, took the opportunity to accuse Mahsuri of adultery in the absence of Wan Darus…

Mahsuri protested her innocence but the Dato Pekerma Jaya decided she was guilty and sentenced her to death by stabbing (over jealous? So jealous he cannot even be bothered to give her a fair trial)…

Mahsuri was taken to the forest and tied to a tree… Repeated attempts to kill her failed… until Mahsuri herself offered that she should be stabbed by her father’s keris..

However when she was finally stabbed..white blood oozed out of her body proving her innocence….She died in the year 1819…

With her dying breath, Mahsuri cursed the island with seven generations of bad luck.

It began with the Siamese conquering Kedah and invading the island – the inhabitants of Langkawi were forced to set fire to their staple crop and poisoned their wells in order to halt the advance of the invaders… Legend has it to this day traces of burnt rice can be seen in nearby Padang Matsirat (The Field of Burnt Rice) especially after torrential downpours…

The final resting place of a beautiful maiden. Mahsuri’s Tomb or Makam Mahsuri is a shrine to one of the most beautiful women to have ever lived on the island. Legend has it that she was accused of adultery and executed by stabbing. It is then that white blood flowed from her, proving her innocence.

Mashuri’s Tomb is one of the very few that does have deep connection with the historical roots of the island and the owner of the place is believed to be Mahsuri’s descendant…

Mahsuri’s Tomb (the site where Mahsuri died) was converted into a historical site: it includes Mahsuri’s shrine, a fenced-in white slab of marble that stands alone in a shady garden. Besides that, there is a reconstruction of a traditional Malay house, a theatre and a ‘diorama museum’ which houses some of Mahsuri’s jewellery and the weapon that killed her….

At the diorama museum, performers act out parts of the story of Mahsuri…. the temporary stage is kind of ghastly woth disco lights and all (and I really hope the theatre is done with repairs soon and opens up again… but the story is touching and sad and worth a watch)