Baling may look like a sleepy little town, but delve a little deeper and you'll find some pretty interesting tales about its origins.

According to the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, pre-Islamic Kedah was once ruled by Raja Ong Maha Perita Deria, who was also known as Raja Bersiong (The Fanged King), thanks to his sizeable incisors. He was apparently very fond of human liver and blood, and demanded sacrifice – so his chicken curry could have more oomph, no doubt.

Unable to endure such cruelty, the rakyat finally revolted. On his flight from the palace, the raja's incisors began to hurt, so much so that he twisted them out and flung them away. The place-name Baling (baling means "to fling" in Malay) commemorates the raja's DIY dentistry.

The local version, related by F. K. Phang, is even more entertaining, and was supposedly made famous by none other than Tunku Abdul Rahman himself. The story picks up after the incisors begin to hurt, and ties up with a number of locations in Kedah.

"At Kuala Pegang (pegang means "to hold"), the raja gripped the offending fangs, and at Pulai (which sounds like pulas or "to twist") he dislodged them from his gums," Phang grinned. "At Baling, he flung them towards the north. As the fangs flew through the air, they made a sound like "Weee-inggg . . .". That's how the village called Weng came to be!

"The place where the fangs landed is called Siong ("fangs"). Not long after that, the raja's elephant died, at a place now called Gajah Mati ("dead elephant"). Where they buried it is called Kubur Panjang ("long grave")!"

Given its proximity to the border, another story has it that Baling was originally called Ban Ling, Thai for "monkey village". The Malay and Thai villagers were constantly harassed by a troop of monkeys. Because of the large number of monkeys, the villagers were unsuccessful in their attempts to drive them away. Finally, the penghulu, a man called Nai Sinou, decided that the Thais would hold a worship ritual and implore the gods to rid them of the pests.

The monkeys disappeared soon after, and the kampung was named Ban Ling in remembrance of the event. The name Baling survives as a corruption. – By LEE SIEW PENG

Post your feedback >>