Radin Mas Ayu

According to the legend, Radin Mas Ayu was a princess from Java, born from a secret marriage between a prince named Pangerang and a troupe dancer.^[1][2][3] When the ruling Sultan found out about the secret marriage, he ordered the execution of Pangerang for marrying a lowly commoner, which resulted in the widowed Pangerang and his daughter escaping to Temasek and starting a new life there. It is said that later on he took a new wife of royal blood, whom despised Radin Mas Ayu.^[1][2][3][4] The stepmother and her nephew, Tengku Bagus, planned to assasinate Pangerang, which was foiled by a prince named Tengku Cik.^[3] During an armed confrontation at Mount Faber, Tengku Bagus thrust a dagger at Pangerang, but Radin Mas Ayu jumped between them and shielded her father from the blade, resulting in her ultimate demise.^[1][2][3][5]

Another version of the story, published by The Straits Times, relates that Pangerang married a daughter of one of the Temenggongs of Johor, hence setting this story in the 19th century CE, which was the time period of Temenggong rule.^[6] The Temenggong connection is further explored in a later story, which states that Radin Mas was a Shi'ite woman who converted to Sunni Islam to marry Temenggong Abdul Rahman, but was not allowed to be buried in his royal burial ground upon her death due to the fact that she had Shi'ite origins.^[7]

The mausoleum of Radin Mas Ayu sits at the foothills of Mount Faber and is regarded as a keramat.^[8][9][10] It is painted in yellow to signify the royalty of the entombed.^[8][9] The date of construction is unknown and the mausoleum first appears in pictures dated to the 1880s.^[8] It was also part of a cemetery that is seemingly no longer extant. The building was completely rebuilt in 2002 at the behest of Pak Daeng, the current caretaker of the place.^[11]

Due to an increase in practices at the site that are deemed un-Islamic by the caretaker, the mausoleum is partly managed by the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura who have printed signs at the grave asking that visitors be mindful of the Islamic religious practices at graves.^[8][9] Security cameras have also been installed at the gates to deter grave robbers and paranormal investigators from breaking in and disrupting the sanctity of the site.^[8]

Radin Mas Ayu is the namesake of the Radin Mas neighbourhood, as well as the Radin Mas Constituency, in Bukit Merah.^[12][13] A mosque in Telok Blangah was named after her, Masjid Radin Mas, until it was demolished in 2001 and replaced by a larger mosque, Masjid Al-Amin, also located in the same area.^[14] In 1926, the Radin Mas Boys School was established, which later evolved into the secular nongendered Radin Mas Primary School in 1984.^[15]