Face to Face with Badang

Mention the name ‘Badang’ and the older generation Malays will picture a huge and muscular strong man, somewhat akin to the more popular Hercules. According to the story, Badang was a poor young man who made a living from fish he caught in his fishtrap that he laid every evening. He was thin and weak but dreamed of becoming strong. One day all his catch were eaten up and all that was left were fish bones. Badang was devastated and was determined to catch the culprit. The next morning, he secretly kept watch on his fishtrap and it turned out the culprit was a hungry genie. Badang was ready to beat him up after he caught him but the genie begged to be let go while promising to grant Badang any wish. Badang wished to be stronger than any man but had to fulfill an unpleasant condition; he had to eat up what the genie threw up.  True to the genie's words, after downing the genie's vomit, Badang became strong and was able to uproot a tree effortlessly. 

Recently, the search for the modern day Badang was initiated by the Padang Rengas Tourism Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. An event called ‘Badang Malaysia’ was held at Lubuk Merbau in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.