sungkai --- the land of the mystics.

Sungkai has been known to be the land of the mystic.  The villages around  Sungkai town bear names that relate to fables and folklore that are handed down from generations.Take for instance, the village called Kampong Tiang Bertarah or in the English equivalent " The village of the totem Pole" .The village is about 15 minutes drive from Sungkai town and situated on the banks of the Sungkai river .
                    According to the local folklore ,once upon a time Sungkai was populated by a community of  orang bunians or the 'fairies'. The orang bunians lived like ordinary human beings and  had their own cultural ways and own practices of law and order.

                       On one fine day some of the orang bunians saw a newborn baby floating down in a pool of bubbles in the Sungkai river . It was a beautiful baby girl.The villagers quickly took the baby girl to their chieftain , known as Panglima Hitam .Panglima Hitam immediately took the new born baby into his family's care and named her "puteri buih" or " the bubble princess "
                      The spot in the river where  Puteri Buih was found was permanently marked with a huge pole that was neatly and intricately carved almost like a totem pole or " Tiang Bertarah" .Soon the village became known as  Kampung Tiang Bertarah.
                        .In time Puteri Buih grew to be the loveliest in the land .The orang bunian community looked up to her  and saw in her their future their queen. .Her beauty and fame soon spread quickly throughout the land and reached the palace grounds of the sultan of Perak .The Sultan then decided that Puteri buih be part of the Perak Royal Family. A Royal dispatch was sent to Sungkai to meet with Panglima Hitam who was told of the Sultans wishes . The Panglima was unprepared but had no choice but to agree. He reluctantly agreed but on two conditions.Firstly,that no descendant of the Perak Royal Family be allowed to drink any water that is sourced from the Sungkai River .Secondly,on a visit to Sungkai no member of the Perak Royal family should step on Sungkai soil without a piece of of yellow cloth spread over  it.
                        The conditions were agreed by the Sultan and soon after Puteri Buih was married to a member of the Perak Royal family who eventually became the Sultan of Perak .
 .                       It is said that to this day no member of the Perak Royal family would dare drink any water that is sourced from the Sungkai river and no member of the Perak Royal family would come to Sungkai unless given the royal welcome  of the "yellow cloth ."