Posted on 03/04/2007 10:49:01 AM PST by blam
Treasuring Brunei's past
By Jon Tampoi
The tomb of the 5th Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, a historical monument situated at Kota Batu's hillside. - Photos: Jason Leong
Shards of pottery from business activities with China in the past. Brunei has a rich history of trade, and often received tribute.
Many of the great civilisations in our world's history had marine origins, whether they evolved in Europe, the Americas or Asia. The kingdom of Brunei Darussalam is no exception, as historical evidence lends veracity to this claim. Relics of Bruneian culture have been found around river estuaries and ancient settlements, as proven from recent archaeological finds in Kota Batu, Tanjung Batu, Limau Manis and several other areas. The powerful and opulent kingdom of Brunei Darussalam was first mentioned in various accounts of contemporaneous Asian civilisations in the 14th century. As local legend has it, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar (or Alka Betara as recorded in Hindu accounts). His move from Garang to the Brunei river estuary led to the glorious discovery of Brunei.
His first exclamation upon landing on the shore, as the legend goes, was "Baru nah!" (which in English, translates into "This is it!") and thus, the name "Brunei" was derived from his words.
Another version of the etymology of "Brunei" recalls that the early Bruneians, who were fishermen or sea-loving people, were known as "Varuna" in the Sanskrit language, which means "people who live by, and on the water". This gradually became the name of the country.
Brunei Darussalam was a port town bustling with people, and hundreds of families lived by the river. The palaces of the kings and the houses of the nobles were situated on a hillside, which gave rise to the colloquial term "orang bukit", which refers to exclusive upper-class folk, that is still in use today. The capital rapidly established itself as a centre of business, with its geographical defences against natural disasters.
The clearest description of Brunei at the time was by the Chinese; a Ming Dynasty account mentioned a place called Po Luo, also described as Wen Lai in several other accounts, which was a nation that sent tribute to the Emperor Gao Zong of 650 - 654 AD, and Emperor Yong Le of the 1400s. It described Brunei as a Buddhist country, where the eating of pork was forbidden, and the king wore brocade, wrapped around his torso and around his head.
Although the account was vaguely written, a clear picture of Brunei's past was also chronicled in other accounts under the names of Kutai, Po Lo, and Puni. After Brunei's conversion to Islam, its recorded history became much more detailed. Some historians even believed that Marco Polo, the famous Italian traveller, even mentioned Brunei as a great kingdom with rich resources that traded with China.
The capital of Brunei was wonderfully settled along the rivers of Brunei in the Kota Batu area, and was also protected by mangroves. These mangroves have yielded shards of ceramic pottery, as well as coins that date back to the Chinese Tang Dynasty of 618 - 907 AD, the Sung Dynasty of 960 - 1127 AD, and reinforced the fact that Brunei was a successful commercial port centre during the Ming Dynasty of 1368 - 1643 AD.
The city of Brunei Darussalam was further protected with the building of forts at the river estuaries that connected Pulau Cermin to the mainland, around Pulau Keingaran, and at Tanjung Kindana. Pulau Cermin (which translates to "glass island") got its name when His Majesty Sultan Abdul Mumin built a palace decorated with coloured glass from China, which was believed to be bigger than the one built by the Sultan Mansor Shah of Melaka at that time.
Sadly, the island became a prison for the king and his family during a 12-year civil war.
The other relic of Bruneian history that remains even now is the man-made island of Tarendak. This island was created for a special purpose, and was connected to the mainland by means of a bridge. Parts of the island can still be seen today from the Kota Batu area, but the bridge is long gone with only a few pillars remaining. The island of Tarendak was constructed by piercing hard wooden pillars into the soft soil. This was done in layers and was continually piled with soil until compact.
The process was continued until the desired size was achieved. Although it seems like a simple process now, it was considered an engineering marvel at the time, and the island proved its worth when it enabled Brunei to become a successful business hub at its peak.
It is said that the Italian traveller, Antonio Pigafetta, who arrived in Brunei in 1521, was so astounded by his first view of the capital of Brunei that he sat in the second foremost seat of his vessel, just behind the captain, in order to see more of Brunei.
There is also a story told by many great-grandparents of the inhabitants of Brunei, detailing the opulence and wealth of the country in the past. There once was a king, who built a ship ornamented with the surplus gold and jewels from his treasury. It was so big that it could fit 500 people on board, and was topped with sails made from fine silk that had been perfumed with rich fragrances.
There was wisdom behind this display. At the time, the whole island of Borneo and several other places in Asia had been under Brunei's rule. In order to announce the arrival of the king and therefore give his subjects enough time to be prepared, the king of Brunei used this ship to alert their senses: they would have been able to smell the perfumes on the sails carried by the wind, their eyes would be dazzled by the sparkle of the jewels on the ship, and they would have heard the music played by the court musicians aboard. The ship was finally sunk at a river estuary, and it is said to be protected by the "orang halus" (fairies), whose signature is the scent of the jasmine flower, in order to prevent a foreign pillage that led to the Kastila War. The area is called Sungai Bunga, in honour of the fragrance of the flowers (that were actually never planted in that area).
The rise of the capital of Brunei was later assisted by the fall of Melaka, when Muslim merchants chose another well-located port city for selling their wares and other business transactions. This enabled Bruneian culture to entrench itself, influencing the lifestyles of the Bruneian communities, which were later inherited by today's communities. As time moved on, so did the capital. It crept further up the river to reside in the area known today as Bandar Seri Begawan. As history shows us how glorious Brunei's past has been, it is hoped that Brunei's future will be even brighter.
Guess we should hope there is no 'SADDAM of Malaysia' to claim it is their 19th province?
Interesting. Thanks.
Sultan of Brunei is the richest man in the world.
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The photo in Post #5 of the King and Queen of Brunei has been reproduced many times in news accounts concerning world monarchies. If it wasn't for their monarchy, I would know nothing about Brunei.
I don't think so anymore. He allowed his brother dosome investing for him.
Wow, cool collection of cars. Too bad you can't take 'em with you when you head for the Pearly Gates (in spite of what's depicted in the Monty Python film, The Meaning of Life, where Death leads a caravan of luxury automobiles and their owners toward Heaven.)
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