The Origin of Name `Melaka`

Melaka (Malacca) is one of the cities located in South of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Having many historical records, the city is then called by the society Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah (Historical Great Malacca). “The Malay Annals”, a history book written by Tun Sri Lanang (1565 A.D), contends that Melaka, formerly Sungai Bertam, was populated by people of Seletar. By then, a nobleman named Parameswara, accompanied by his followers, came to the region. He fled from Palembang Kingdom that were being attacked by Batara Tamavill, King of Java. The king acclaimed to be the Mjeura. [1]  

According to Tan Sri Langan, before reaching Sungai Bertam, together with his followers amounted for thousands and more, Parameswara arrived at Singapore. However, since he murdered the deputy of King Siam, Tamagi, he was evicted by the Siam Kingdom. Afterwards, he continued the escape westward to the Semenanjung [2] Melayu, seeking for asylum. Finally, he arrived at Sungai Bertam and decided to settle the region. The poeple of Seletar, native of Sungai Bertam, persuaded Paramweswara to lead them and be the king. As the time went by, Parameswara, who was once Hindu, embraced Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Iskandar Syah (about 1406 A.D)

One day, King Iskandar Syah went to the jungle for hunting. On his way, he witnessed an amazing event that impressed him a lot, making him alter the name of Sungai Berta to Melaka. What kind of event King Iskandar Syah had experienced, inspiring him to chose another name than Sungai Bertam? Do you want to know the answer and more about the story? Find out in the story of Asal Mula Nama Melaka (The Origin of Name “Melaka) below!

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Once upon a time, in a region, present day Malaysia, established a kingdom led by a king known of his wisdom and justice. His name was Muhammad Iskandar Syah. Good at throwing spear, and using bow and arrows, King Muhammad Iskandar Syah was famous for his predilection for hunting the animals. It was not merely his hobby, but his expertise as well. He could detect the presence of animals, trace them, and predict the place where the animals usually gathered and sought for food. Therefore, he had never been back to the palace in an empty hand. Every time he used to go for hunting, he was accompanied by several agile dogs that helped him in catching the preys. 

In a sunny day, King Iskandar Syah and his guardsmen went hunting in a forest. In the middle of the forest, King Iskandar made a stop and descended from his horse and hobble it to a big tree. In a full concentration, he sat down beneath the shade trees, crossing his legs, detecting the presence of animals. Few moments afterward, he looked very serious, his ears straining to hear what were coming. It seemed that some animals were approaching and walked to their stance. Then, King Iskandar opened his eyes slowly.

“Hey you all my guardsmen!! Let the hunting dogs search for the animals, release them!” uttered King Iskandar Syah.

“Yes Your Majesty, it is done,” answered the guardsmen altogether.  

King Iskandar saw all his trained dogs scattered, went along the edge of Bertam River, nearby the place the King and his guardsmen stood. Those dogs scampered anywhere, barking, sniffing the animal traces. King Iskandar and the guardsmen followed where the dogs walked, carrying weapons, lances and spears. Unlike his guardsmen, King Iskandar was armed with a deadly and magical arrow.

Arriving at the edge of the river, they found some pelanduk[3] and deer eating the green grass.  Slowly, King Iskandar pointed his bow toward one of the pelanduk, and fired a shot directly across the body of pelanduk. However, the pelanduk could escape from the Iskandar‘s arrow. “ I have never missed even a single shot,” said Iskandar angrily. He took one bow and made a shot once again toward the same pelanduk. For the second time, the pelanduk could run safely from the deadly bow. Feeling irritated, the King made a try for the third time. Still, he missed the shot. Not only the King, but also the guardsmen could not shoot either pelanduk or deer.

“The deer and pelanduk in this jungle are very agile and smart,” appraised the King Iskandar.

“That‘s true Your Majesty. They can easily run from our weapon, “ said a guardsman, acknowledging those animals‘ dexterity.

The pelanduk and deer, after running from the King and his guardsmen, walked to the dense bushes inside the jungle. King still tried to catch them, but they run fastly and disappeared from the King‘s view.

At the mean time, from the sloping riverbank, it was heard the loud barking of a dog. 

“My Guardsmen, do you hear the sound of dog that comes from the sloping riverbank?” asked the King.

“Yes My Majesty. It seems that the dogs are hunting for some animals,”  answered one of the guardsmen.

“Then, what for we are waiting here. Let‘s go there,” ordered the King Iskandar to his guardsmen.

“We are ready My Majesty!” convinced the guardsmen. “We are here for hunting,” said guardsmen together. Together, they continued the hunt and walked to the source of the dog‘s sound, carrying the remaining weapons.

Arriving at the location, they saw a white and beautiful pelanduk jumping; it was attacked by overwhelming numbers of hunting dogs. With its adroitness, the pelanduk could jump and run from the grid of those fierce hunting dogs. 

“The more you move, the more my bow will catch you....,” murmured the King Iskandar in full of confident.

When he was about to shoot the bow, he saw the pelanduk jumping from one side to another as if it practiced the intricate silat (martial art) movements. Looking at such strange actions, he decided to forgo the hunt and let the pelanduk go freely. He was so amazed with the movements of the pelanduk. Together with the guardsmen, he just only watched the jumping pelanduk from a far distance.

Those hunting dogs kept attacking, while the pelanduk kept avoiding the onset. Jumping up and down, the pelanduk made those hunting dogs tired. When the moments came, the pelanduk folded its leg and unfolded it rightward to the face of those dogs. Some of them tossed aside and some plunged into the river. The dogs were trying to attack the pelanduk again, but the pelanduk run fast to the bushes and disappear.

The King Iskandar Syah was so impressed with what he saw before his eyes. He was startled and didn‘t belief his eyes.

“What an energetic pelanduk. I have been hunted for years, but it is my first time I cannot catch a single animal,” expressed King Iskandar Syah disappointingly.

Before leaving the jungle, the King Iskandar Syah and his guardsmen decided to take a rest beneath the shady tree after being tired of walking a whole day for hunting. The King Iskandar Syah then stopped and sat while some of his guardsmen take care of the horses. The incredible occurrence, he witnessed just now, left a deep impression and always flashed in his mind. While taking rest, the King Iskandar Syah ordered his guardsmen to sit down in front of him to talk about an important issue.

“Sit down here, my guardsmen!! All of you. Few of you, keep an eye of the horses” ordered the King Iskandar Syah.

“The pelanduk and deer in this jungle are very smart and brave. They always fight for their freedom. Hmm........ do you think it will be better idea to have a kingdom in this place?” asked the King Iskandar.

“I am sorry My Majesty! Don‘t we already have a palace and kingdom?” opposed a guardsman with slow voice.

“What you have said is true my guardsman! But don‘t you think that this place is very quite, very suitable to be a kingdom. Besides having many hunted animals, it is a fertile land where we can plant any kinds of plants,” said King Iskandar convincingly. “If it is so, how about our kingdom over there?” asked another guardsman.

“Leave it. We have been there for a long time. I think we need something new. How about if we move the central government to this place,” said the King clearly.

“What is your opinion? Do you agree with me? To make it our next place to stay,” King Iskandar requestioned his guardsmen.

“We agree, My Majesty!” said the guardsmen loudly.

“But..., what name should be given to this place?” asked the King Iskandar wonderingly.

The guardsmen were silent, hearing the King. For a while, the ambience became so quiet, no one spoke or gave the recommendation about the appropriate name for the place. Amidst the stillness, the King Iskandar stood and faced the tree behind him, and suddenly walked toward the guardsmen.

 “What is the name of the tree where I am standing right now?” asked the Sultan Iskandar.

“Tree of Melaka, My Majesty!” answered one of his guardsmen who knew the name of the tree.

“Melaka..., Melaka..., Melaka...,” The King Iskandar repeated the name several times continuously.

“Hmmmm... that‘s the beautiful name, I think! Then, how about if we name this place as Melaka,” said the King Iskandar to his guardsmen standing before him.

Hearing the decision made by the King Iskandar, the guardsmen nodded their heads, showing their agreement to the name. After that, established a Kingdom called Melaka (Malacca) Kingdom leaded by King Muhammad Iskandar Syah, the first King of Melaka. Under his rule, the people of Melaka lived in peace, prosperous and justice.

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That is the whole story of “Asal Mula Nama Melaka” (The Orgin of Name Melaka) from the negeri jiran (neighbooring country), Malaysia. The story is one of moral stories that convey moral messages can be used as everyday guide for all of us. One of the things that are very important is the significance of musyawarah (discussion) for mufakat (a common consensus). This thing is obviously shown by the King Iskandar Syah who had involved his guardsmen in establishing a kingdom. Though he was a King with full authority, he still consulted the decision with his men. This action constitutes a noble characteristic of a leader, preferred by the Malayans. This special characteristic has been said in tunjuk ajar Melayu (Malay Guides) like below:

apa tanda Melayu beradat,
berunding tidak memilih tempat

wahai ananda ingatlah pesan,
duduk musyawarah engkat utamakan
di situlah kebenaran engkau dirikan
di sana keadilan engkau tegakkan

(HQ/ter/104/03-08)

References :

• The content of story is adapted from Puteh, Othman and Aripin Said. 2004. Himpunan 366 Cerita Rakyat Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: PRIN-AD SDN. BHD.
• Anonim. “Kesultanan Melaka: Parameswara”, (http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesultanan_Melaka#Parameswara, retrieved on Januari 17th 2008).
• Anonim. “Melaka”, (http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaka, retrieved on Januari 17th 2008).
• Anonim. “Semenanjung”, (http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semenanjung, retrieved on Januari 17th 2008).
• Effendy, Tenas. 2006. Tunjuk Ajar Melayu. Yogyakarta: Balai Kajian dan Pengembangan Budaya Melayu in cooperation with AdiCita Karya Nusa

Photo Credit : 366 Cerita Rakyat Malaysia

[1] Mjeure means the brave man.

[2] Semenanjung is a ground or a piece of land piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with the mainland by an isthmus.

[3] Pelanduk or mouse deer  (tragulus javaicus) is a kind of mammal animal similar to deer but with small size of body.

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