From the folklore of the Besisi
“We came from a land at the edge of the sky, in the country where the sun comes to life (matahari hidup), beyond the country of Siam, at a distance of more than a man’s lifetime. Thence we went south till we reached Johor, whence, however, we returned hither again, through fear of a cruel Malay Raja. At the edge of the sky (tepi langit) stood one of our ancestors, who was a great giant, and whose duty it was, by order of Tuhan Allah, to guard the pillars of the sky (tongkat langit). By way of food he devoured the clouds which kept falling downwards at the edge of the sky, cutting off the overhanging sprouts with his knife.
In those days were were taller than we are now, and slept in caves of the rocks. The country then was a plain and was called Padang Masah; it had no grass or trees growing on it, as no rain fell there and it contained no rivers. In this country there lived besides of Head or Prophet of our own religion (Nabi Melaikat), the prophets (Nabi) respectively of the White Man, the Chinese, the Indian, and the Malay, but this was a very long time before Mohammed, and even before the founding of Mecca. In the sky there were then to be seen no less than seven suns, seven moons, seven stars, and seven rainbows, but the seven rainbows were only the seven snake-souls of the serpent called Naga Melaikat. This snake lies there with his head reaching to the gate of Heaven. There too were seven birds of the kind called Roc (Geruda), and a solitary elephant of immense size. This latter, however, was not really alive, but only an elephant-soul.
The plain itself did not resemble earth, but shone like silver. The prophets of the different races could, in those days, still understand something of each other’s language, and they all called the earth ‘Menia.’ The prophets who got on best together were those of the White Man, the Malay, and the Jakun; the White Man’s prophet (Nabi Isa) was the elder brother of the prophet of the Jakun (Nabi Malaikat) and protected him accordingly as his younger brother. The Malays were sea-folk and came overseas from Rum and Stambul, Sham (Syria), and Mecca.
The next place we came to was Padang Berimbun (the plain of dew), where the surface of the earth was covered with deep dew, which was bitterly cold. Here also we slept in caves of the rocks. Next we reached the mountains of Keluntong (which were very near the sky, and had no trees or grass growing on them). Here there were the souls of a sheep, a saddle-pony, and a ‘gajah mena,’ as well as the dragon whose head lay at the gate of Heaven and whose tail reached to Keluntong, a distance of about ten years’ journey, reckoning like a Malay. All these animals had seven souls shaped like themselves. From the mountains of Keluntong we next proceeded to the hills of Kelantan and thence to the hills of the Giants (Hunong Gasi-gasi), the Seven Hills (Gunong Mentujoh), Bukit Saguntong Guntang, Ulu Pahang, and finally Johor. And in Johor we first encountered the Malays.
The titles of our chiefs (Batin, Jinang, Jukrah) were first given among the seven hills which lie beyond the country of Siam. Before we came to Johor we passed Ayer Tawar, and there a Raja called Lumba-Lumba Putih (the White Dolphin), who came from Pagar Ruyong, drove out our Batin Siamang Putih (The White Ape); wherefore our chief fled to Sungei Ujong, and there his daughter married and became the mother of the Toh Klana of Sungei Ujong.
From Sungei Ujong we continued our journey to Selangor, where we then settled and have ever since that time remained.
Our language and customs have not changed much since we arrived here, but the Malay Peninsula has greatly altered, the straits extending in old days as far inland as Ulu Klang; Bukit Galah and Bukit Menuwang were both formerly on the sea-coast, and the former took its name from a post to which a Chinaman, named Si Pakong, made fast his boat during a storm which occurred on his way to Riau. At the same time there was dry land where the straits are now.”
Source:
Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, Walter Skeat, Charles Blagden, 1906
Kotharian Lightning 