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Legends of Ubin

The traditional story of Ubin's formation tells of a Frog, a Pig and an Elephant that challenged each other to a race from Singapore to Johor across the Straits. Anyone that failed would be turned into a rock. The frog failed and turned into Pulau Sekudu or Frog Island, which has a large frog-shaped boulder. The Pig and Elephant also failed and turned into Pulau Ubin.

The story seems curious as Ubin appears to us as one island today. So why the Pig and the Elephant? According to one account, Ubin was originally two islands divided by the Jelutong River. When prawn farming took off on the island, mud banks (called bunds) were used to dam the river and thus eventually joined the two halves.



The Frog Rock on Pulau Sekudu.

Back to exploring Ubin

Links References
  • Chua Ee Kiam, Pulau Ubin: Ours to Treasure, Simply Green, 2000

 


the ubin stories blog



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