Batu Jantan & Batu Perempuan

Batu Jantan (pictured here) & Batu Perempuan, Air Itam (7 January 2018)


Batu Jantan (GPS: 5.40358, 100.2795) and Batu Perempuan (GPS: 5.40476, 100.27993) are two boulders in Air Itam, Penang. These are separated by Jalan Air Itam. The male rock lies to the south of the road while the female rock is on the north side of the road. (Curiously, it is not "Batu Jantan" and "Batu Betina", or "Batu Lelaki" and "Batu Perempuan".) Of the two, Batu Perempuan is very much bigger than Batu Jantan. There are small shrines built in front of Batu Perempuan, whereas Batu Jantan is without any shrines, but is located right across the road from the Ayer Itam Maha Mariamman Temple. Each rock has a road named after it. Jalan Batu Perempuan passes beside the Batu Perempuan rock, while Jalan Batu Jantan is 140 meters from the Batu Jantan rock.

As would be expected, when rocks are given names, there would be a story behind the name. In the case of Batu Jantan and Batu Perempuan, there is a legend that pre-dates Jalan Air Itam itself. It is said that a long time ago, when people first arrived to settle in Air Itam, there was a local belief that the two rocks would come together at night for romantic liaisons. The British pooh-poohed the legend, and to put an end to local superstitions, they built Jalan Air Itam right between the two rocks, permanently separating them.

Batu Jantan, Air Itam (7 January 2018)


Batu Perempuan, Air Itam (7 January 2018)


Shrines in front of Batu Perempuan (7 January 2018)


A peek at Batu Perempuan, from beside the shrine. (7 January 2018)

Batu Perempuan is and Batu Jantan is on the Map of Jalan Air Itam, Penang