1. The History

The first inhabitants of South Kalimantan are supposed to concentrate in the big villages, coasts around the foot of Meratus Mountains. Slowly the areas developed into harbor cities which had trading network with India and China. In its development, the dwellers spread to the areas along the river of Tabalong. In the 5th century, it seemed that in Tanjung, Tabalong had erected Tanjungpuri Kingdom. After several centuries, many Malay people from Crivijaya moved to this area. They introduced Malay language and culture through trading. Then, they assimilated with the indigenous people from Maanyan, Lawangan and Bukit tribes. As the consequence, the mixture between Malay language and indigenous tribes‘ languanges had formed classical Banjar language.

To know further the history of Banjar, traditional historiography of the local community really helped. One of the most popular sources is Hikayat Lambung Mangkurat or Hikayat Banjar. According to the document, in Banjar had developed a Hindus Kingdom, Negara Dipa, its headquarter was in Amuntai. It was followed by Negara Daha which was centered in around Negara (now). Hikayat Banjar explained that Negara Dipa was the first kingdom in South Kalimantan.

The pioneer of Dipa Kings could be traced back to the descendants of Aria Mangkubumi. He was a rich trader, but not the offspring of king. Consequently, according to the cast system of Hindu, he was impossible to be a king. In fact, he had equal power and authority with a king. After he died, his successor was Ampu Jatmika, who was then the first king of Negara Dipa. To cover his shortcomings affected by his cast, he constructed many buildings, such as temple, hall, palace, and statues to be placed in his temple. All citizens in Negara Dipa were obliged to worship these statues. 

When Ampu Jatmika was dying, he exhorted his two sons, Ampu Mandastana and Lambung Mangkurat not to replace his throne since they were not the descendant of king. Lambung Mangkurat then looked for the successor of the king, he initiated a marriage between a princess of Banjar, Junjung Buih with Raden Putera, a prince from Majapahit. Became a king, Raden Putra used a title prince Suryanata, whereas Lambung Mangkurat became a Mangkubumi.

After Negara Dipa collapsed, Negara Daha rose in Muara Bahan. The king of Negara Daha at the time was Maharaja Sukarama. When he died, he has chosen his grandson, Pangeran Samudra, as his successor. Because he was too young, Raden Samudra failed to compete with his uncle, Pangeran Tumenggung, who was ambitious to be a king. Based on the advice from Mangkubumi Aria Trenggana to save raden Samudra from murder, he escaped from Daha through Muara Bahan River down to Serapat, Balandian. He then hid around Muara Barito. Along this Barito River banks, there were many villages with their leaders. Some of the villages were Muhur, Tumban, Kuwin, Balitung, and Banjar. Banjar was a Malay village with five rivers; Pandai River, Sigaling River, Karamat River, Jagabaya, and Pangeran (pageran) River. All were the tributary of Kuwin River. Banjar village lied in the center of Oloh Ngaju in Barito Hilir dwelling.

People of Dayak Ngaju called Malay-speaking poele as Masih. As a result, they named Banjar as Banjarmasih, while the head man was called Patih Masih. All villages in this Barito River submitted to Daha and were required to pay taxes and tribute to the king. In one occasion, Patih Masih held a meeting with Patih Balit, Patih Muhur, Patih Balitung, and Patih Kuwin to discuss the way to release from the power of Daha, so that they might gain their independence.

They decided to find Raden Samudera, the grandson of Maharaja Sukarama who was hiding in Balandean, Sarapat. They also agreed to move the trading port to Banjarmasih. In turn, under the leadership of Pangeran Samudera, they rebelled against Daha kingdom. The case happened in the 16th century. The rebellion was important since it successfully ended the power of Daha, which means the end of Hindus era. The era was then altered with Islamic era with the rising of Banjar Kingdom.

In that rebellion, Raden Samudera has asked for the assistant from Demak Kingdom in Java. Hikayat Banjar mentioned that Raden Samudera sent a mission to Demak to have military cooperation. The messenger was Patih Balit, an influential leader of Banjar Kingdom. He appeared before Demak Sultan with a set of gifts as a symbol of friendship. They were shoulder of rattan, thousand dishes covers, ten shoulders of candle, thousand pieces of resin, and ten pieces of diamond. The messenger was accompanied by 400 people. Demak welcomed them and agreed to help. However, Demak required the King of Banjar and all his prominent officials to hold Islam as their religion. Supported by Demak, Pangeran Samudera defeated Pangeran Tumennggung, the King of Daha, and won all Daha‘s territory.

His victory brought Pangeran Samudra to accept Islam. After being a Muslim, he used the title Sultan Suriansyah. He hasd other titles such as Panembahan and Susuhunan Batu Habang. He was the first king of Banjar who embracedIslam, and after that, Islam spread fast all around South Kalimantan. Pangeran Samudera‘s (Sultan Suriansyah) submission to Islam was witnessed by a Muslim leader from Demak, Khatib Dayan on  September 24^th, 1526, Wednesday morning at 10 a.m., 8 Zulhijjah 932 H. Khatib Dayan was the messenger from the Muslim leader of Demak, his duty was to witness the conversion of the kings and his followers to Islam. He then, stayed in Banjar Kingdom until his death and was buried in North Kuwin.

Sultan Suriansyah had opened a new era for Banjar Kingdom affected by the spread of Islam in the region. Banjar Kingdom mentioned here is Banjar after the coming of Islam. On the other hand, the era of Negara Dipa and Daha were the grounded era of the rising Banjar Kingdom. Supposedly, Sultan Suriansyah died on 1550. Because of colonialism, Banjar Kingdom was dismissed by the Dutch on 11st June 1860.

2. The Kings of Kingdom

The following list of kings is started from the coming of Islam in Banjar Kingdom:

• The first king was Sultan Suriansyah, the son of Ratu Intan Sari or princes Galuh and Raden Manteri Jaya. Suriansyah was the grandson of Maharaja Sukarama, a king from Daha. Suriansyah‘s title was Panembahan or Susuhunan Batu Habang.
• The second king was Sultan Rahmatullah, the son of Sultan Suriansyah. His title was Susuhunan Batu Putih.
• The third king was Sultan Hidayatullah, the grandson of Sultan Suriansyah.his title was Susuhunan Batu Irang.
• The fourth king was Sultan Mustainbillah.

3. The Kingdom Period

The name of Banjar kings and their ruling period is presented in the table bellow:

King No	Name	Live	Ruling Period
I	Sultan Suriansyah	wafat 1550 M	1526 - 1550 M
II	Sultan Rahmatullah	-	1550 - 1570 M
III	Sultan Hidayatullah	-	1570 - 1595 M
IV	Sultan Mustainbillah	-	-

4. The Territory

After Pangeran Samudera or Sultan Suriansyah defeated Daha kingdom, all the territory of Daha was conquered. The territory was Barito River, Kuwin River, Balabong, and most part of East Kalimantan.

5. The Kingdom Structure

To administer his kingdom, the Sultan has been assisted by Patih, Mufti, and Penghulu (Muslim leader).

6. The Socio-Cultural Live

In terms of social life, social class of Banjar people was divided into pyramidal layers. The top layer consisted of ruler group, the minority. They are the noble people or “bubuhan raja”. The honors attached to them were based on their nobility. They, hereditary, has dignified status and gracious blood. They owned titles such as sultan, pengeran, ratu, gusti, andin, antung, and nanang. The people in this layer had the rights to take the taxes from the crops, and harvests.

The second layer was kingdom officials, ulama (Muslim leaders), mufti and penghulu. This group interacted directly with the lay people. All traded things they buy from the community were paid in cash. The Mufti as a formal administer was responsible for the high class of laws. The Ulama, on the other hand, spread Islamic teachings to the citizens.

The third layer was the largest part of the community, they were ordinary citizens. They live from agriculture and small trading, fishing, handmade industry and carpenter.

The lowest layer was pandeling. The pandeling were those who lost part of their independence because they could not pay their debt. Usually, they operated the businesses of the noble people or the rich traders. This layer has been erased in the end of 19 century, along with the dismissal of the Banjar kingdom by the Dutch.

In terms of culture, some arts and literature have developed in Banjar kingdom era. At the time, it had gamelan which was played tenderly. The literature used Malay Arabic (Jawi) font. Supposedly, a mixture between Malay tonil (play) and the story of thousand nights and one had also been improved. The art of crafting was developed because of the culture of the noble people was to build luxury houses decorated with beautiful craft. Others arts which was strongly influenced by Islam were mahidin and balamut. It showed that in the Banjar Kingdom has developed specialty of culture and arts. (HQ/ter/71/9-07)

References :

• Sejarah Banjar
• Profil Republik Indonesia, Kalimantan Selatan. Jakarta: Yayasan Bakti Wawasan Nusantara, 1992.
• Depdikbud, Komplek Makam Sultan Suriansyah
• Imansyah Mahbara, Kompleks Makam Sultan Suriansyah, DepDikBud Kalsel, 1988

Credit photo : Collection of Mahyudin Al Mudra

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Comment of "banjar kingdom"

20 Okt 2011. Mustafa Mohamed Saya seorang Banjar dan leluhur saya dari Banjarmasin....saya begitu bangga kerana masyarakat banjar adalah masyarakat berpegang utuh kepada ajaran Islam...kalau di malaysia ramai ulamak-ulamak yang berketurunan banjar..di Indonesia pun mungkin begitu jua...kulaan

15 Okt 2012. Dadang Hikmat Ass. Wr.Wb. Perkenalkan, saya adalah salah satu keturunan Pr. Hidayatulloh generasi III. Setahu saya dlm buku Pelajaran Sejarah SD thn '70-an; beliau termasuk 10 pelopor pergerakan islam beserta Pr. Dipenogoro, Teuku Umar, Imam Bonjol dst. Pada Desember 1964 makamnya di Bukit Joglo Cianjur diziarahi oleh Gubernur Kaltim dan rombongan sebagai Pahlawan Nasional. Pertanyaannya apakah ini data sejarah ? Trima kasih. Wassalam.

15 Jan 2013. ilham ulub @Mustafa Mohamed : Sejak dahulu ulama keturunan Banjar sudah terkenal senusantara bahkan sampai ke Malaysia, Singapura, Brunai dan sekitarnya. Diantaranya adalah Syekh Muhammad Arsyad Al Banjari. @Dadang Hikmat : sampai saat ini Pangeran Hidayatullah belum mendapat gelar Pahlawan Nasional, pertimbanggannya adalah beliau dianggap menyerah dengan Belanda, padahal menurut sejarah beliau tertipu dan tertangkap.

24 Feb 2013. Dadang Hikmat @Ilham Ulub : Terima kasih atas perhatiannya. Mungkin boleh jadi tidak terpikirkan oleh beliau untuk jadi Pahlawan. Tapi saya menjadi sangat tertarik setelah membaca informasi dalam dunia maya ini. Pertama, dalam cerita turun temurun di keluarga kami, beliau tertangkap ketika turun gunung untuk menjenguk ibundanya R. Siti yang menyurati bahwa beliau sakit keras tapi ternyata surat palsu siasat rendah kolonial hingga tertangkap dan diasingkan ke Cianjur. Ke-2, saya tidak terbayangkan seandainya benar beliau menyerah kepada kolonial sampai 2 kali lagi, sementara beliau merupakan kepercayaan kakeknya Sultan Adam sekaligus leluhurnya sebagaimana surat wasiat yang diberikannya bahwa anak cucuku,para Raja yang lain dan rakyatku agar 'merajakan' andaroe Pr. Hidayatulloh dst. Wasiat tersebut diawali kalimat tahmid dan syahadat (sumber otentik). wasiat ini sah adanya dan didukung oleh para bangsawan termasuk pamannya Pr. Antasari (Pahlawan Nasional). Kemudian beliau memimpin mengangkat senjata melawan kolonial secara heroik dan didukung a.l. oleh Pr. Antasari dan Demang Lehman. Ke-3, Beliau tidak tercatat sebagai Sultan Banjar, padahal beliau sempat dinobatkan dan mewarisi lahan milik keraton dan pusaka lainnya, cap kerajaan termasuk kursi kerajaan yang sekarang tersimpan di Musium Gajah, Jakarta. Ke-4. Beliau menikah lagi dengan keturunan bangsawan setempat yg bernama Etjoch ( Rt. Bandara istrinya meninggal di Batavia) dan kehidupan beliau dipengasingan inten dalam kegiatan keagamaan bersama ulama setempat sebagaimana kehidupan beliau sejak kecil yang dibesarkan dalam lingkungan pesantren hingga dijuluki Pangeran Berjubah Kuning.

24 Feb 2013. Dadang Hikmat @Ilham Ulub : Terima kasih atas perhatiannya. Mungkin boleh jadi tidak terpikirkan oleh beliau untuk jadi Pahlawan. Tapi saya menjadi sangat tertarik setelah membaca informasi dalam dunia maya ini. Pertama, dalam cerita turun temurun di keluarga kami, beliau tertangkap ketika turun gunung untuk menjenguk ibundanya R. Siti yang menyurati bahwa beliau sakit keras tapi ternyata surat palsu siasat rendah kolonial hingga tertangkap dan diasingkan ke Cianjur. Ke-2, saya tidak terbayangkan seandainya benar beliau menyerah kepada kolonial sampai 2 kali lagi, sementara beliau merupakan kepercayaan kakeknya Sultan Adam sekaligus leluhurnya sebagaimana surat wasiat yang diberikannya bahwa anak cucuku,para Raja yang lain dan rakyatku agar 'merajakan' andaroe Pr. Hidayatulloh dst. Wasiat tersebut diawali kalimat tahmid dan syahadat (sumber otentik). wasiat ini sah adanya dan didukung oleh para bangsawan termasuk pamannya Pr. Antasari (Pahlawan Nasional). Kemudian beliau memimpin mengangkat senjata melawan kolonial secara heroik dan didukung a.l. oleh Pr. Antasari dan Demang Lehman. Ke-3, Beliau tidak tercatat sebagai Sultan Banjar, padahal beliau sempat dinobatkan dan mewarisi lahan milik keraton dan pusaka lainnya, cap kerajaan termasuk kursi kerajaan yang sekarang tersimpan di Musium Gajah, Jakarta. Ke-4. Beliau menikah lagi dengan keturunan bangsawan setempat yg bernama Etjoch ( Rt. Bandara istrinya meninggal di Batavia) dan kehidupan beliau dipengasingan inten dalam kegiatan keagamaan bersama ulama setempat sebagaimana kehidupan beliau sejak kecil yang dibesarkan dalam lingkungan pesantren hingga dijuluki Pangeran Berjubah Kuning.

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