The eagles came to nest on the hills above the valley.
In a village, where thatched roofs faced the open sky,
springs gushed free and well-waters were never dry,
Mahsuri lived in this land where beautiful eagles flew,
On Langkawi Island, where casuarina trees grew.
The eagles, they spread their wings, reigning free,
The people below watched, with joyous simplicity.
The people below watched, with joyous simplicity.
A maiden so
fair, she took your very breath away, Many a warrior would have braved a tiger, to slay,
Betrothed to a fearless headman whom she did adore,
Alas! He was sent off to Siam to win his king a war.
The eagles above screamed aloud in screeching discord,
They tried to warn of treachery, of a blood-red sword,
Mahsuri was left alone, to await her hero’s return,
He had promised her his eternal love and protection.
A minstrel strolled by the village, his voice full of emotion,
He sang of man’s heroic deeds, she stayed behind to listen.
The eagles watched from the hills, the scene below,
Of impending disaster, their instincts told them so.
A kinswoman found Mahsuri’s beauty a massive threat,
which would end, she knew, with this maiden’s death.
Summoning the elders, she announced the heinous crime,
Proof of Mahsuri’s infidelity, was her lost track of time.
The ’langs saw burning fields and impending woe,
They needed to flee from the island, they had to go.
Mahsuri and her lover were dragged to a public square,
Bound, and accused of a union they didn’t share.
She declared her innocence, but no-one heard her cries,
The swordsman, he, nonchalantly sharpened his knives.
No-one knows what happened to the eagles that day,
The helangs started to leave their nest, to fly away.
As
the keris plunged in, Mahsuri cursed in hopeless anger,“This land will rot and burn for seven generations or forever”,
As blood gushed out, it shocked the onlookers at the site,
As proof of her innocence, it spurt out pure-white.
As she breathed her last, the lone eagle screamed up high,
No birds could be seen flying above, in the blood-red sky.
The land was strewn with horrific wars, strife and decay,
Rice fields and beaches were left to burn, the enemy to delay.
For seven generations, gloom settled
on the eagles’ land,
sea waters remained clear, no footprints on the black sand.
These were bad times for the people there, sad to say
The helangs disappeared, they continued to stay away.
sea waters remained clear, no footprints on the black sand.
These were bad times for the people there, sad to say
The helangs disappeared, they continued to stay away.
Seven generations have passed, Langkawi is coming alive,
Machines grind on the hills, the land is starting to thrive,
Beaches are criss-crossed with footprints of smiling people,
Stalls and malls side by side, shopping made simple.
Good
times have come to this land, glad to sayThe eagles are returning to the island, to stay.
30 July 2008
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