OCCASIONAL NOTES, 



THE PUTRI OF MOUNT OPHIR. 



The Dato' of Johol states. Putri GANDARIA lives on Mount 

 Ophir, but she often visits other territories, such as the water- 

 shed of the Gemencheh River. 



She is seen by mankind under the following circumstances. 

 Boatmen going down the stream will see a very ugly old 

 woman on the bank. She has with her a cat, and slung over 

 her shoulder is a small bag containing saffron. 



The old woman shouts to the boatmen to stop and take her 

 with them down stream. The boatmen seeing that she is old 

 and ugly take no notice of her. In a moment the boat 

 grounds on a sand-bank and the boatmen cannot get off again. 



The old woman then cries " Let me get into the boat and all 

 will be well." The boatmen agree, and the old woman gets 

 into the boat. No sooner has she got in than the boat glides 

 off down stream. They travel together for some time when the 

 old woman 'says she wishes to land. The boatmen draw up to 

 the bank and she lands, at the same time giving them each a 

 piece of the saffron from her bag, which the instant it touches 

 their hands turns into gold. At the same time the ugly old 

 woman and her cat disappear. 



This is how Putri Gandaria is seen by men, and to meet her 

 does not forbode misfortune, but on the contrary is the signal 

 of rare good luck. 



She can transform her cat into a tiger, and people are afraid 

 to hunt her out and molest her. The tradition is that if she 

 is sought for or disturbed, she will certainly order her cat to 

 assume the shape of a tiger, who will avenge her by devouring 

 such obtrusive persons. Putri GANDARIA does not live on the 

 very summit of Gunong Ledang. I never heard of any one 

 living there. 



