Sang Nila Utama

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Statue of Sang Nila Utama on the Singapore River in Singapore

According to legend, Sang Nila Utama was a prince from Palembang , the then capital of the Srivijaya Empire, and founder of the Kingdom of Singapura in 1299 - and thus the namesake of modern Singapore . He was the son of Sang Sapurba and was married to Wan Sri Brini on his travels to expand his influence, making him the Raja of Bintan .

history

According to the Malay Annals , one during the 15th and 16th centuries. A collection of stories about the Sultanate of Malacca written in the 19th century , he saw Temasek ( "sea town", derived from the Malay word tasik "sea") from a hill while hunting for Bintan . During the crossing, the ship came into a severe storm and threatened to sink. After throwing off the luggage did not bring any improvement, Sang Nila Utama decided to throw his crown into the sea, whereupon the storm subsided. Upon arrival, he discovered an animal in the jungle that he was told was a lion. Impressed by the encounter, he decided to call the place “Lion City” from now on - composed of the words Singha (सिंह siṃha “Lion”) and Pura (पुर pura “City”) from Sanskrit . He also decided not to return to Bintan, but instead to build a new settlement. In this course he took the name Sri Tri Buana , which can be translated as "Lord of the three worlds" - the heaven of the gods, the world of men and the underworld of demons.

His remains are said to be buried on what is now Fort Canning Hill - formerly also known as Bukit Larangan ("forbidden hill" from Malay). He had two sons, the elder of whom ascended the throne as Sri Wikrama Wira after his death . His descendants ruled Singapore up to the regide of Iskandar Shah , the fifth Raja of Singapura, who was later expelled from there and founded the Sultanate of Malacca.

Remarks

  • Today it is proven that lions never lived in this region, so it must have been a different animal.
  • The symbol of Singapore has been the Merlion , a mythical creature with a lion's head and a fish body , since 1964 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Sang Nila Utama. Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved December 17, 2019 (eresources.nlb.gov.sg)
  2. ↑ John Leyden: Malay Annals. translated from Malay. London 1821, pp. 20-39. (books.google.de)
  3. ↑ John Leyden: Malay Annals. translated from Malay. London 1821, pp. 40-45. (books.google.de)
  4. ↑ a b John N. Miskic: Singapore & the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800. NUS Press, Singapore 2013, ISBN 978-9971-69-558-3 , pp. 147-151. (books.google.de)