The Dawn of Maritime Kingdom in the Archipelago

The life of Sriwijaya, spanning over 700 years from VII to the XIV century, demonstrates the extreme stability of the kingdom. It rarely encountered serious uprising that might topple down the monarchy, on the contrary to what happened in Java. In the dawn of this period, the kingdom managed to build mighty armadas capable of conquering the surrounding regions. In 688 CE, an expedition was sent to overcome one of its competitors, Tarumanegara Kingdom. Then they occupied Bangka while controlling Sunda Strait, aiming at gaining tax from ships sailing through the strait. However, most foreign ships loaded with valuable products did not harbor at Sriwijaya’s ports but the western part of Kra Isthmus. From there, the merchandise was transported by caravans across the isthmus to Siam Bay in the eastern part of it, then continued to be delivered to other places by boats. In such a way, the traders evaded from paying the tax to the Sriwijaya Kingdom.

Under such circumstances, the kingdom conquered Kedah and Langkasuka (Malaysia) in the VII century, then went north to Dwarawati (Mon) and Indrapura (Khmer), and lastly, Tonkin (South China), Rha Thang and Phan Rang (Champa) that took place in VIII century. As such, Sriwijaya gained full control over Kra Isthmus, for which its naval troops could force foreign ships to sail passing through Malaka Strait and Bangka Strait. By doing so, the Southeast Asia sailing route was strictly under control, and the kingdom could collect big profits from tax. The nation enhanced diplomatic ties with India and China, the two countries,  avoiding their challenge towards Sriwijaya maritime supremacy.

As the conqueror of those surrounding countries, Sriwijaya was flourished and became a sizeable Buddhist center in the Far East. Many great gurus from India and China, such as Dharmapala, Sakyakitri, and I-tsing, taught students coming from the surrounding regions. I-tsing, who was a good reporter, stayed in the country in 671 CE both as a teacher and scholar deepening his Buddhism knowledge.

The kingdom enhanced the internal security by enforcing penal codes, and punished criminals severely according to regulations stated in inscriptions. Noted figures always taught people that gods would punish them first before the kingdom would do next. Epigraphic Monuments of Karang Berahi and Telaga Batu disclosed that god punished anybody who made lethal crimes against the empire.

Many epigraphic monuments erected in those periods witnessing momentous events among others in Tlang Tuo, Kedukan Bukit, Telaga Batu, Karang Berahi, Kota Kapur, Palas Pasemah, Bukit Siguntang, Amoghapasha, Ligor, Katon, Nalanda, and Grahi.

The Kedukan Bukit Epigraphy, issued in 605 Saka (683 CE), commemorates the inauguration of the first king, Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, at the capital of the kingdom at Musi River bank near Palembang. Those monuments also witness the jurisdiction vastness of Sriwijaya and the trading coverage of various merchandises such as camphor, elephant ivories, perfume, rhinoceros horns, fruits, and cotton traded inter-insularly as well as exported to multiple regions far-and-wide.

During the reign of King Sri Sudamaniwarmadewa, the kingdom had experienced an attack from King Darmawangsa from East Java. However, the soldiers of Sriwijaya successfully thwarted the attack. The frequent invasion of the Cholamandala Kingdom, located in South India, started looming the decline of the empire. The development of Islam in Java accelerated its downfall. By 1225 Melayu-Jambi arose as a new power in South Sumatra and gave the final blow to Sriwijaya though it still existed until the end of the XIV century. The existence of Sriwijaya had been forgotten for centuries before a French historian, George Cœdès, published his research in 1918.

Bubat Tragedy, Gajah Mada’s Machiavellian Ambition

Venue: Bubat Square, time: some days in 1357 CE.  The visitor party led by Linggabuana, the King of the Sunda (Kawali) Kingdom in person, just arrived in Bubat Square. They accompanied Princess Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi, the King’s daughter, and the royal bride of Hayam Wuruk, the King of Majapahit. Before arriving at the wedding ceremony in the capital city of Majapahit, they rested on Bubat Square and welcomed by Vice Emperor Gajah Mada.

Hayam Wuruk adored Princess Dyah Pitaloka very much and wanted to marry her after he saw by chance her beautiful picture displayed before the public while inspecting the capital city. The famous painter named Prabangkara painted the image, and he brought it from Kawali to Majapahit.

Apart from adoring the Princess’ beauty, Hayam Wuruk was longing to make the two kingdoms’ relationship even closer as Raden Wijaya, his grandfather, and also the founding father of Majapahit was descendant of the Sunda Kingdom ^a). Such inter-kingdom marriage would make Majapahit more influential upon the Sunda Kingdom.

But Gajah Mada had a hidden agenda on his own. Long before Hayam Wuruk was installed as a king (1350-1389), Gajah Mada had already become the most powerful warlord of Majapahit. In 1336, he made a famous oath declaring that he would never eat “palapa” before he could conquer all kingdoms in Nusantara (Archipelago). The area included but not limited to those of Sunda, Gurun, Seram, Tanjung Pura, Haru, Pahang, Dompo, Bali, Palembang, and Tumasik (now Singapore).

When Gajah Mada saw the arrival of the royal wedding party, he did his Machiavellian trick to fulfill his unfinished oath. All kingdoms in the Archipelago, but Sunda had surrendered to Majapahit.  Without further due consideration, he told his guest that for him, the Sunda Kingdom was a mere subordinate of Majapahit and, therefore, the princess would not be received as a bride but only as a tribute to the King.

King Linggabuana and his entourages were furious and felt insulted. Although outnumbered, the visitor party bravely launched a battle against Gajah Mada special troops resulting in their total annihilation. King Linggabuana and all his entourage were killed in action while the princess made solemn suicide as a kind of respect to  her noble entourages.

Hayam Wuruk lamented the dead of Dyah Pitaloka and her entourage. He regretted this tragedy and sent Bali delegation, which happened to be in Majapahit to witness the traditional inter-kingdom marriage, to convey an apology to Mangkubumi Suradipati ^b) the acting King of Kawali Kingdom ^c).

Since then, Hayam Wuruk’s relationship with Gajah Mada became tenuous. Gajah Mada faced suspicion and condemnation from the officers and nobles of Majapahit, considering his actions as reckless and careless. He was blamed too sassy with no heed to the wishes and feelings of the Crown, the King Hayam Wuruk.

This unfortunate event also marked the decline of Gajah Mada’s career. Hayam Wuruk bestowed on him a piece of land (now Probolinggo), which was very far from the capital city of Majapahit, as a subtle hint that Gajah Mada should begin to withdraw from the political affairs of Majapahit and ask for early retirement.

Prince Wastu Kancana then nine years old – the younger brother of Princess Pitaloka, who remained in Kawali Palace and did not join his family to Majapahit  – the only surviving of the royal family. He ascended the throne in 1371 as King Niskalawastu Kancana and broke off diplomatic relations with Majapahit applying limited isolation vis-a-vis the relationship between the two kingdoms.

Notes:

a. His father was Rakyan Jayadharma, the King of Sunda-Galuh, and his mother Dyah Lembu Tal was the descendant of Ken Arok, the founder of Singhasari.

b. Since Wastu Kencana was still young, he was represented by his uncle, who was also his future father-in-law as the King of Kawali.

c. Hayam Wuruk instructed his officers to record all these events, called the Hymn of Sundayana (in Bali known as the Sunda Geguritan), to commemorate the sad affair as a lesson learned.

The 7th Century Kalingga University

In 644-645 Hui-ning, a Chinese Buddhist priest, together with Yun-ki, his assistance studied in a famous Buddhist Centre in the Kalingga Kingdom, Central Java ^a). He spent his time there to deepen his knowledge about Buddha teaching. Assisted by Jnanabhadra, a famous professor and priest of the center, he finalized his translation of Parinirwana, one of the Buddha Holy books.

Apart from Buddha religion and philosophy teaching the center also taught the basic geometry, art, and mathematics. Thousands of students learned in numerous buildings having thick walls. The local people around the campus prepared the food for the students and part of them also participated in the studies. Among the famous products of this university’s graduates, ^b) were among other Dieng, Plaosan, Kalasan and Borobudur temples.

Kalingga or Keling spelled as Holing in Chinese was the Hindu-Buddhist Kingdom raised around 618 in Plawangan, Pekalongan, Central Java. founded by Dapunta Selendra ^c). In 674 he was succeeded by Maharani Shima, a famous iron lady for her strong ruling system and absolute honesty.

Folklore told about her indifferent in imposing law and order. Once, she wanted to test her people integrity and put in purpose gold ornaments in a public open place. Nobody dared to touch them but after several days elapsed the gold disappeared. When she knew that the crown prince who had taken the ornaments, with great grief she instructed to cut the hand. of her own son.

Her kingdom had a wide relationship with the neighbor countries indicated by archaeology discoveries of various goods originated from Dong-song and India. During her term, Kalingga’s commerce was flourished spreading out throughout the bigger part of the archipelago and the South China Sea peripheral areas.

For the geopolitical reason, she even promoted inter-kingdom marriages by wedding her daughter Parwati with the crown prince of Galuh Kingdom in West Java named Mandiminyak. The grandson of this couple they got from the marriage of their daughter with the third king of Galuh was named Sanjaya.

Instead of ruling in Galuh, Sanjaya chose to succeed Shima when the latter passed away. He changed the name Kalingga to [ancient] Mataram with Medang Kamulan as its capital. During his flourished ruling time (723 – 746), he built Dieng Hindu temple high on top of mountain range closed to now Sindoro mountain d⁾. The historical records show that Sanjaya Hindu Dynasty lasted for 12 generations until 1016.

Sanjaya Dynasty lived peacefully side-by-side with South Kalingga ruled by Syailendra Buddhist Dynasty. The first ruler and the founder of the dynasty were Sri Indrawarman (752-775). Syailendra Dynasty had a close relationship with Sriwijaya as indicated by Sri Indrawarman’s gesture to make his son Wisnu, who would then become the second ruler in the dynasty (775-782), to marry with Princess Tara the daughter of Sriwijaya king. It was during Wisnu ruling time that Kalasan temple was built to honor Princess Tara as the representation of female Bodhisattva ^e).

Another colossal project which was initiated by Dharanindra (782-812) and intensified by Samaratungga (812-833) was Borobudur temple construction which blueprints are reproduced and shown in Figure 1-3.  But the temple could only be finalized in the time of his daughter, the Queen Pramodhawardhani (833-836) after 50 years of construction and deployment of so many architects, engineers, and skilled sculptors and builders.

Tragically, most of those people who were masters and skillful in construction and art sculptor together with the center of knowledge and the university were almost suddenly wiped out by the volcanic catastrophic Merapi eruption. Most of the kingdom areas were destroyed and buried under the volcanic debris and ashes including Borobudur temple. This happened during the rule of Mpu Sindok (929-947), the 11^th generation of the Sanjaya Dynasty. He was forced to remove his Medang Kingdom to East Java left nothing in the old areas which then covered by dense jungle.

Notes:

a. From I-Tsing, a Chinese traveler and reporter from the Tang Dynasty era.

b. Almost at the same time, a similar university was established in now Muaro Jambi. The center of knowledge was attended by hundreds or even thousands of students and priests from local and neighboring countries enhancing their knowledge on religion, philosophy, logic, arts, and medical science. Its graduates designed and built a hundred temples in the area but only 90 of them were discovered.

c. The name of Dapunta Selendra whose wife named Sampula was written in Sojomerto inscription around the 8th century. It stated that his father was Santanu married to his mother Badhrawati.

d. He also erected a Siva obelisk, southeastward of the future location of Borobudur complex, as written in Canggal inscription (732 CE)

e. Kalasan inscription (778 CE) told that the priest and teacher of the King Tejahpura Panangkarana Mustika (another title of King Wisnu?) had succeeded to convince him to build Kalasan Temple in honor of Prince Tara.

References:

1. Darmawan, J. et al.: “The Power of Sejarah Indonesia,” Indonesia Book Project, Jakarta, 2011.
2. Purwadi, M. et al.: “Babad Tanah Jawi,” Gelombang Pasang, Yogyakarta, 2005, p. 21-25.
3. Adji, K.B.: ”Ensiklopedi Raja-Raja Jawa,” Araska, Jogjakarta, 2011
4. Marzuki, Y. et al.: “Borobudur,” Penerbit Djambatan, Jakarta, 1985.

The Broken Portrait of Raden Wijaya

In 1293 Raden Wijaya established the Kingdom of Majapahit after he was able to attack and defeat Jayakatwang, the king of Singasari, who took over the power from his father-in-law,  the king Kartanegara.

Pararaton called his full name as Raden Harsawijaya or Raden Wijaya ^a), whereas Nagarakertagama called him Dyah Wijaya.  He issued the Kudadu Inscription to commemorate his entitlement as Nararya Sanggramawijaya ^b)  in 1294, acclaiming that he was the founder of the Majapahit Kingdom. In 1305, Raden Wijaya proclaimed himself, written in Balawi Inscription, as part of the Rajasa Dynasty.

But his exact origin was still a mystery.  It was a great surprise to find that the prominent person such as Raden Wijaya, the founder of the Great Majapahit Empire, didn’t have a clear genealogy-line.

According to Pararaton, Raden Wijaya was the son of Mahisa Cempaka (Narasinghamurti), a prince from Singosari. His grandfather was Mahisa Wonga Teleng, the son of Ken Arok, the founder of the Rajasa Dynasty. On the contrary, Nagarakertagama mentioned that Raden Wijaya was the grandson of Narasinghamurti. His father was Dyah Lembu Tal, the son of Narasinghamurti.

According to Babad Tanah Jawi, the founder of Majapahit was called Jaka Sesuruh, who was the son of Prabu Sri Pamekas from the Pajajaran Kingdom situated in Sunda (West Java). Jaka Sesuruh had a clash against his step-brother Siyung Wanara and was defeated by the latter. Jaka Sesuruh fled to the east and established the Majapahit Kingdom. After being quite powerful, he, in turn, launched a counterattack and destroyed Siyung Wanara.

Pustaka Rayjarajya I Bhumi Nusantara pointed out that he was the son of Rakyan Jayadarma from the Sunda Galuh Kingdom who married Dyah Lembu Tal, the daughter of Mahisa Cempaka, a Singasari prince.

The more recent writer of The Power of Sejarah Indonesia¹ takes the version of Pustaka Rayjarajya I Bhumi Nusantara   supporting that Raden Wijaya was the son of Rakyan Jayadarma, the 26^th king of the Sunda-Galuh Kingdom, and Dyah Lembu Tal or Dyah Singhamurti, the daughter of Singhasari, the grandson of Mahisa Cempaka (in line with Nagarakertagama)

The version that Raden Wijaya was the son of a king Sunda-Galuh is not so outlandish as there had been a very long relationship between Sunda and Java Kingdom in Central Java since the 7^th century and subsequently with East Java since the 10^th century.

The oldest Hindu kingdom in Java first arose in West Java. It was called Tarumanegara established at the upstream of Citarum River in the 4^th century, as recorded in Tugu Inscription. The fading out of Tarumanegara, the first Hindu kingdom in Java established at the upstream of Citarum River in the 4^th century,  was marked by the uprising of Sunda Kingdom, in the east of Tarumanegara, founded by Tarusbawa in 670.

Soon after Galuh, another part of the Tarumanegara Kingdom located near now Ciamis ruled by Wretikandayun, proclaimed its independence from Tarumanegara ^c). Maharani Shima, the queen Kalingga, located near Pekalongan in Central Java, whose daughter Parwati was the wife of Mandiminyak, the son of Wretikandayun, supported the proclamation.

Tarusbawa installed as his successor, his grandson-in-law Sanjaya (Rakyan Jamri), whose mother was the daughter of Mandiminyak and Parwati, the princess of Kalingga. Sanjaya had successfully united Sunda and Galuh to become a big kingdom. Still, when his grandmother Maharani Shima died, he chose to succeed her as the king of Kalingga ^d) instead of Sunda-Galuh.

Sanjaya changed the name Kalingga to Mataram which capital was in Medang Kamulan. Mpu Sindok, the 18^th ruler from the Sanjaya dynasty, removed the Medang kingdom to East Java because the violent eruption of Merapi destroyed most of the Kingdom’s areas.

Since then, the relationships of the Sunda-Galuh kingdom spread out to include the East Java kingdoms. The marriage of Rakyan Jayadarma, the 26^th king of Sunda-Galuh and Dyah Singhamurti (Dyah Lembu Tal?), the princess of Singasari, the far descendant of Rajasa (Ken Arok) ^e) marked the relationships.

When Rakyan Jayadarma was poisoned and killed by his entourage, his wife Dyah Singhamurti, together with his son, Raden Wijaya, left Galuh and came back to Singasari.  Later on, Raden Wijaya founded the vast Empire of Majapahit ^f) after defeated and drove the Kublai-Khan troops out of Java.

Ironically, when Hayam Wuruk, the grandson of Raden Wijaya’s was going to marry Dyah Pitaloka, the daughter of the King of Galuh, the Gajah Mada special troops g) intercepted and killed the Galuh visitor groups, including Dyah Pitaloka in their way to Majapahit.

Notes:

a.The title Raden was not popular in the 13-14^th At that time, the title for the noted person was Dyah, instead of Raden. Raden derived from the combination of Dyah with prefix Ra, so that name of Dyah Wijaya became Ra Dyah or Ra Dyan from which the title Raden emerged. It was also possible that Raden came from the term Rakyan usually used as the noble title in the Sunda-Galuh Kingdom.

b. Nararyawas also the noble title, though Dyah was more frequently used.

c. Tarumanegara then split into two kingdoms, the Sunda Kingdom ruled on the west side of Citarum River and the Galuh Kingdom in the east side.

d. As Sanjaya succeeded the Maharani Shima as the king of Kalingga, he changed the name of the latter to become Mataram which capital was in Medang Kamulan. His far descendant was Mpu Sindok, who moved the kingdom to East Java because of the violent Merapi eruption. Airlangga, the founder of Kahuripan Kingdom, was descendant of Mpu Sindok

e. Another close relationship between the Hindu Kingdom in West Java and East Java was the departure of the family and followers of Kertajaya, the King of Panjalu Kediri, to West Java. The exodus took place after Kertajaya was killed by the troops of Ken Arok, the ruler of Tumapel,  in the fierce battle near Ganter village in 1222. His followers fled and installed in the area north of Galuh and east of Galunggung, which they named under their native land, Panjalu. The indirect evidence of the relationship between Galuh – Galunggung, and Kediri appeared in the Galunggung inscription (circa 1194), which specifically mentioned the name of Kertajaya, the king of a faraway land in Panjalu Kediri, East Java.

f. Raden Wijaya dubbed his Kingdom based on the Maja trees he found in Tarik, the original site of Majapahit. The same kind of trees was growing abundantly in West Java, such as now indicated by the names of Majalengka, Majalaya, and Maja sub-regency in Banten.

g. Gajah Mada, the Majapahit Prime Minister and Commander in Chief, had an obsession with uniting Nusantara under Majapahit Empire. He wanted the Sunda entourage to surrender Dyah Pitaloka as a gesture that Sunda kingdom was under Majapahit domination, apparently without Hayam Wuruk’s consent, which was refused by Galuh visitor groups.

References:

1. Darmawan, J. et al.: “The Power of Sejarah Indonesia,” Indonesia Book Project, Jakarta, 2011”.
2. Purwadi, M. et al.: “Babad Tanah Jawi,” Gelombang Pasang, Yogyakarta, 2005, p. 21-25.
3. Adji, K.B.: ”Ensiklopedi Raja-Raja Jawa,” Araska, Jogjakarta, 2011

Nyoo Lay Wa, the King of Majapahit who never was

The year 1400 Saka or 1478 CE marked the downfall of the Majapahit Kingdom, once a vast empire that had united Nusantara. Indonesian people are familiar and used Majapahit as their icon to memorize the past national glory.

But then came a surprise following the new version raised by M.O. Parlindungan, in his book entitled Tuanku Rao, published in 1964, introducing a new mysterious figure named Nyoo Lay Wa, a Muslim Chinese, into Majapahit ruler’s list.

Parlindungan took the version similar to Babad Tanah Jawi, which stated that it was Raden Patah, who defeated Majapahit. But Parlindungan’s version differs significantly from the others, especially in the episode of the installment of Raden Patah’s kinship ^a) named Nyoo Lay Wa as the ruler of Majapahit, after  Raden Patah defeated his father – the then King of Majapahit.

The report informed that the Majapahit situation became more chaotic as the political elite, and the bureaucrats refused to be governed by a Chinese. Ten years after his installment (1486),  Nyoo Lay Wa was killed in turmoil triggered by the elite discontentment. Raden Patah realized his mistake, and he then picked up his brother-in-law Girindrawardhana (Ranawijaya) to replace Nyoo Lay Wa.

According to Parlindungan, the episode was from old chronicles seized in Chinese Sam Po Kong temple in Semarang by Poortman, a Dutch Resident, in 1928. He further stated that the seized documents were so voluminous that Poortman had to load it in three big carts. Poortman then made five copies of those documents. One of them was in the Rijswijk building in the Netherlands.

The controversy has been widespread and becomes a fiery polemic until recently as Slamet Muljana, a prominent Indonesian historian, believed in the existence of what so-called Poortman documents. He recited the version in his book entitled “The Downfall of Hindu-Java Kingdom and the Raising of Islamic States in Nusantara,”  published in 1968. He further concluded that all Demak Sultans and most of “Wali Songo” were Chinese ^b).

This version is fictitious for several reasons:

1. That Majapahit downfall was the result of Raden Patah’s attack is debatable as the Jiyu and Petak stony inscriptions show otherwise ^c). Those inscriptions indirectly stated that it was Girindrawardana (Ranawijaya) who defeated Majapahit and established a new Kingdom in Daha.
2. The Majapahit Kingdom was demolished and ceased to exist as symbolized by the chronogram  1400, which means “Disappeared and Annihilated Kingdom out of the Ground” ^d). Even if Raden Patah defeated Majapahit, nobody might rule anything as Majapahit was erased from the history and replaced by Wilwatika – Jenggala – Daha – Kingdom. The name of this new kingdom appeared in Jiyu and Petak inscriptions.
3. The claim that Girindrawardana was installed by Raden Patah as the ruler of Majapahit is against Jiyu and Petak inscriptions which stated that Girindrawardana was the ruler of  Wilwatika – Jenggala – Daha  Kingdom, not Majapahit.
4. No chronicles support the Parlindungan – Slamet Mulyono’s version. Parlindungan didn’t try to explain why Poortman seized the Sam Po Kong documents. He argued that the Dutch administration didn’t want to let them open to the public being afraid of troubling the Javanese, which is absurd. If the documents indeed existed, the colonial administration would undoubtedly use them to let the Javanese down.

The Jiyu and Petak stony inscriptions are strong evidence to fix these messy versions. Now, if Nyoo Lay Wa was fictitious, then why someone should make up such a dirty “joke”?

Notes:

a. In this version, Raden Patah was claimed as the son of Barawijaya V with a Chinese concubine. Parlindungan might make use of Raden Patah’s mother blood as the basis of his fictitious episode by introducing a Chinese Muslim figure as the ruler of Majapahit, whom he named Nyoo Lay Wa, the kinship of Raden Patah.

b. The book of Slamet Mulyono was banned by the Attorney General in 1971 but was permitted to publish after the fall of the Suharto’s New Era.

c. The defeat of Majapahit by Ranawijaya was recorded in Jiyu and Perak stony Inscriptions in 1486 at the occasion of awarding Trailokyapuri land to Sri Brahmaraja Ganggadhara as a gesture of appreciation to him for supporting in defeating Majapahit. Ranawijaya died in the last battle launched by the Demak Kingdom in 1527, the time when Daha Kingdom (Wilwatika-Jenggala-Daha) was demolished.

d. Literally translated from Sirna Hilang Kertaning Bumi, the Sangsakala 1400.

References:

1. Atmadja, N W.:”Genealogi Keruntuhan Majapahit,” Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta, 2010, p. 12-15.
2. Hamaminatadipura, RT.:”Babad Karaton Mataram,” Intermedia Paramadina, Semarang, 2006, p. 7-17.

Ending the Controversy of Majapahit Downfall

The 1478 CE, which corresponds to 1400 Saka year marks the downfall of the Majapahit Empire known through the famous chronogram written in Kawi as “sirna ilang kertaning bumi,” encodes 0041.  Everybody agrees with this fact, but when it comes to the question of who attacked Majapahit at that very time, then a significant confusion starts to arise.

There are two versions of this significant milestone for Indonesian history, which make it look unclear. Some people, mostly Javanese, believe in what Babad Tanah Jawi narrated that it was Raden Patah, the Sultan of Demak, who attacked and destroyed Majapahit, then under the ruler of Brawijaya V,  Raden Patah’s father ^a).

Others believe that it was Girindrawardhana Dyah Ranawijaya, the ruler of Daha, who defeated the king Brawijaya V. He did that as the retaliation toward Brawijaya V who toppled down his father the then King of Majapahit Singawikramawardhana in 1468.

Ranawijaya succeeded his father, who died in 1474.  After toppling down Majapahit ^b), he declared himself as the king of Wilwatika (Majapahit), Jenggala, and Kediri, in which Daha was as the capital ^c).

The Jiyu and Perak stony inscriptions made in 1486 (10 years after the downfall) verified the fact that Ranawijaya was the ruler of Wilwatika-Jenggala-Kediri. The signatory of the inscription was Dyah Ranawijaya, entitled Sri Wilwatikta Jenggala Kediri. Furthermore, the inscription declared the donation of Trailokyapuri to Sri Brahmaraja Ganggadhara for his support to topple down Majapahit (Brawijaya V).

This declaration proved that the downfall of Majapahit as the result of Ranawijaya’s attack supported by Sri Brahmaraja. The act of Ranawijaya toppling down Brawijaya V was the climax of so many internal conflicts that occurred among the royal family after the death of Hayam Wuruk in 1389, which gravely deteriorating Majapahit Empire.

The writer of Babad Tanah Jawi had certainly confused on picking up one of the fights against Majapahit as the mark of its downfall. There happened several battles against Majapahit, the one of which was that of 1400 Saka (1478 CE) mentioned previously. The others occurred in 1517 through 1527, this time was launched by Demak against Daha after Daha’s had attempted to collaborate with Portuguese ^d), which would endanger Demak sovereign.

After being defeated in the first two battles, under the command of  Adipati Unus, Demak troops launched the last campaign, which was the fiercest and the bloodiest of all. It was a coup de grace for the Wilwatika-Jenggala-Kediri Kingdom and annihilated the Hindu Kingdom’s existence in Java.

All the riches of Majapahit were seized and brought to Demak. Majapahit people who did not want to subdue under the rule of Demak fled away to the eastern tip of Java and Bali. These episodes were recorded and narrated in the historical note of Pigafetta from Italy and by Tome Pires in his famous Suma Oriental.

It was possible that the authors of Babad Tanah Jawi, who wrote it more than 200 years after the events, had lost the detailed information and confusedly identified the Demak’s attack against Daha, the capital of Wilwatika-Jenggala-Kediri in 1527  with that of Ranawijaya’s attack against Majapahit in 1478.

With all of those pieces of evidence, mainly with the discovery of Jiyu and Perak stony inscriptions long after the publication of Babad Tanah Jawi,  it is time for us to stop once for all the Majapahit downfall’s controversy.

Notes:

a. Slamet Mulyana, a prominent Indonesian historian, put forward the same version. He added that after defeating Brawijaya V Raden Patah installed his Chinese entourage, Nyoo Lay Wa, as the Majapahit ruler, the historical fact that people cannot find in any other records.

b. A precise chronicle told that Demak sent the troops supporting Majapahit to fight against Daha but without success.

c. Daha was the city where Singawikramawardhana moved to after Kertabhumi (Brawijaya V) defeated him.

d. Demak had sent an armada to attack the Portuguese position in Malacca but defeated in 1511.

References:

1. Olthof, W.L.:”Babad Tanah Jawi,” (translated by Sumarsono, H.R.), Narasi, Jakarta, 2011
2. Atmadja, N.B.:”Genealogi Keruntuhan Majapahit,” Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta, 2010
3. Adji, K.B. et al.: “Ensiklopedi Raja-Raja Jawa,” Araska, Yogjakarta, 2011.

Who Forged the Origin of Raden Patah’s Mother?

Never before in the history of Nusantara (the old Indonesia) that there occurred a significant confusion about the identity of somebody as the case of the mother of Raden Patah, the founder of Demak Sultanate, the first Islamic Kingdom in Java. There were so many versions about who was Raden Patah’s mother, possibly because of the degradation of the information or purposely falsified.

One of the versions ^a) which is the most logical of all is that of Putri Champa ^b), the wife of Brawijaya V, the king of Majapahit. But the term of Champa had already made a significant confusion as to whether it was a region in Cambodia-Vietnam or Jeumpa, a small region part of Samudra Pasai in Aceh.

Under this version, Raden Patah’s mother named Dwarawati, the sister of Chandrawulan. The latter was the wife of Maulana Malik Ibrahim ^c), known as Sunan Gresik, and bore the son called Raden Rahmat, who later on became Sunan Ampel. Raden Rahmat then married Chandrawati Karimah and got a daughter named Dewi Murtasih, who became the wife of Raden Patah and a daughter named Murtasimah, who became the wife of Raden Paku or Sunan Giri (Figure-1).

The argument that Raden Patah’s mother was Princess Champa referred to the following indirect evidence:

1. Raden Patah, as Sultan Demak, had a very close relationship with Sunan Gresik, Sunan Ampel, and Sunan Giri. It is not so surprising if they were all in one significant family relationship.
2. When Raden Patah was young, he lived with and learned to Maulana Malik Ibrahim, known as Sunan Gresik, who was the brother-in-law of Princess Champa. This event becomes clearer if Princess Champa was Raden Patah’s mother, and he lived, therefore, with his uncle.
3. When Raden Paku, known as Sunan Giri, was young, he was called Joko Samudro. This Javanese nickname indirectly indicates that he was from Samudra [Pasai] ^d). It supports the version that Joko Samudro was the son of Maulana Ishak,  the brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim, who lived in Samudra, a region covering the area of Pasai and Jeumpa in Aceh, thus explains the Raden Patah’s Jeumpa connection.  As the time elapsed, people forgot about the origin of this nickname, and since “Samudro” in Javanese means the ocean. Then romantic lore [similar to Moses in Old Testament] was made that when he was still a baby, his parents put him away to the ocean as, for some reason, he was bringing in a bad omen. The folklore continues telling that he was then recaptured by an old widow and saved him from staying alive.

The most prevalent version on who was Raden Patah’s mother was a Chinese woman taken as one of Brawijaya V’s concubines.  These versions claim that there happened at around that time some significant Muslim Chinese communities flourished and held important positions in the Kingdoms and Sultanates’ noble life as well as in the government structures. They then disappeared after a short period, and none has remained up to the present day.

The followings are some versions:

1. Babad Tanah Jawi referred that Raden Patah’s mother was Chinese concubine, the daughter of Kyai Batong (Ma Hong Fu).
2. The Chinese chronicle from Sam Po Kong Temple asserted that Raden Patah had a Chinese mother, the concubine of Brawijaya V, of which he got Chinese name, Jim Bun.
3. Serat Darmogandul narrated that Raden Patah’s mother was a Chinese Princess. Raden Patah, whose Chinese name was Kao Tiang, was born in Palembang. His father, as consulted by his advisors, gave him a title Babah Patah.
4. Purwaka Caruban Nagari reported that Raden Patah’s mother was Siu Ban Ci, the Chinese concubine of Brawiijaya V, the daughter of Tan Go Hwat, an ulema called Syeik Bantong and his wife Siu Te Yo from Gresik.
5. Banten Chronicle pointed out that Raden Patah, known as Cu Cu, was the son of ex-Prime Minister of China who migrated to Java. He went to Majapahit and worked for the king. He then became Demak regent taking the title of Arya Sumangsang.
6. Tome Pires, unfortunately, wrote in his book Suma Oriental that Raden Patah (Pate Rodin), a grandson of a low-class family in Gresik.

Some of those chronicles written in the early Mataram era around 200 years after the happening might be the result of the degradation of the term Champa to become China. This misinterpretation might have been in purpose.  There were some hard feelings from certain noblemen  Mataram and other Sultanates toward the coastal “pure” Islamic communities, as reflected in Serat Darmo Gandul.

The Chronicle of Sam Po Kong put forward and adopted other versions in which some essential and noble characters were supposed to be Chinese. This chronicle supported that Raden Patah (Jim Bun) was the son of Brawijaya V with a Chinese concubine. It also claimed that Arya Damar was half-Chinese, called Swan Liong, the son of Brawijaya III, with a Chinese concubine.

The Chronicle included the war version between Raden Patah against Majapahit in 1478. It went even further by fabricating a story about Raden Patah installing his close Muslim Chinese entourage named Nyoo Lay Wa as the king of Majapahit after Demak defeated Majapahit not found in any other chronicles. Such versions gave, to some degree, an advantage to the Dutch ruler to support their “divide-et-impera” colonialism strategy.

Due to the question of why there are now no more influencing Chinese Muslim communities, just like in the era of Majapahit downfall, the proponents of the chronicle argue that at that particular time, the Chinese who migrated to Nusantara were from Muslim Yunnan and Swatow, but almost abruptly ceased in around 1500.  The migrants from [non-Muslim] Hokkian replaced them.

Notes:

a. The people legend around the life of Sunan Ampel.

b. The mainstream historians interpreted Champa as a region right at the boundary of Vietnam and Cambodia. This theory got strong support from Dutch historians such as Snouck Hurgronye, Pigeaud, and De Graaf. However, Hikayat Banjar informed that Brawijaya V married with Princess from Pasai (Jeumpa). T.S. Raffles (1815) stated that Champa was not Cambodia-Vietnam but  “Jeumpa,” a region in Samudra Pasai, Aceh.

c. Maulana Malik Ibrahim was also called Ibrahim As-Samarkandy, which indicated that he originated from Samarkand. Before he arrived on Java island in 1404, he lived as a scholar in Samudra Pasai, Aceh, where he married a princess, the sister of Dwarawati popularly known as Princess Champa. His brother, Maulana Ishak, was the father of Raden Paku, then became Sunan Giri.

d. It is common at that time that someone got his name per his native origin. For example, Meurah Noe entitled Maharaja Nuruddin  (1155-1210), was called Tengku Samudera or Sultan Nazimuddin Al-Khamil. He was called Tengku Samudera because his native land was Samudra [Pasai].

References:

1. Atmadja, N.B.:”Genealogi Keruntuhan Majapahit,” Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta, 2010, p. 7.
2. Joko Darmawan, SH, Drs. Chaerudin, MM, M.Si. Ph.D.: “The Power of Sejarah Indonesia,” Indonesia Book Project, Jakarta, 2011, p. 42

 

Who really was the Champa Princess, the Moslem Wife of Brawijaya V?

Nobody is aware that the historians who studied the downfall of Majapahit in around 1400 Saka year (1478 CE) have committed an unparalleled grave error. The problem originated from the failure on the identification of the Champa Princess, called Anarawati or Dwarawati (Darawati), a Muslim wife of Brawijaya V, the Majapahit King reigning in 1474-1478 CE. The Islamic tomb of the Princess of Champa was in Trowulan, near Mojokerto, the site of Majapahit imperial capital.

In Javanese, people spell Champa Princess as Putri “Cempa.” Most people included the prominent Dutch historians such as Snouck Hurgronje ^a), had all done wrong when they identify the princess as coming from Champa, part of what is now Cambodia-Vietnam. And the Indonesian historians have taken it for granted.

At that time,  the vast majority of Champa people were Buddhist, and barely Muslims lived there, not mentioned Muslim Kings and nobles. A lady who was eligible to be the bride of a mighty King such as that of Majapahit should come from the noble or high society family, which was, in fact, never there until 17th-century ^b).  However, if it was the case, there was not even a single record either in Champa or Majapahit on such an essential cross-border dynastic marriage tying royal families of two different sovereign countries.

The Javanese spelling of “Cempa” is more closely to Jeumpa rather than Champa.  Jeumpa was a coastal region near Samudra Pasai (now Bireun), one of the first Islamic cities in Aceh flourished from the around the 7th century. Stamford Raffles supported his geography interpretation of Cempa ^c) but surprisingly none from Indonesian historians.

Jeumpa, because of its very strategic site located at the northern tip of Sumatra island, had long become an important trading and transit port of ships that would set sail to open sea from China to India, Persia, or Arabic Peninsula and vise-versa.

Together with Barus, Fansur, and Lamuri ^d), Jeumpa has rare commodities such as kafur (mothballs) popularly called Kafur [from] Barus, identical with luxury enjoyed by the nobles people from civilized countries such as Arab, Persian, India, and China. Such a commodity catapulted the region as an integral part of civilization advancement.

Many Acehnese were the descendants of the inter-marriage between those foreign “immigrants” and the locals. During the glories of Pasai, the beauty and intelligence of Jeumpa women became a legend among people in Perlak, Pasai, Malacca, even in Java.

And Putri Cempa, named as Darawati, was one of the beautiful Jeumpa ladies whose Brawijaya V loved to marry. When the King met with the princess who came along with her entourage consisting of Maulana Malik Ibrahim ^e) and the nobles of Pasai, he was speechless because of her beauty.

In Hikayat (Chronicle) Banjar dan Kotawaringin ^f)   that the King of Majapahit ordered his minister to propose Putri Pasai (Jeumpa) bringing ten ships to Pasai carrying dowry [and indeed a lot of guard troupes]. As a leader of the Islamic Sultanate, Sultan Pasai reluctantly accepted the King proposal considering the risk and danger if he refused such a scheme.

Notes:

a. Snouck Hurgronje, being an Islamologist who studied Aceh, certainly knew about Jeumpa close to Samudra [Pasai] as the possible origin of Putri Cempa instead of Champa (Cambodia-Vietnam). Or didn’t he?

b. Champa (Cambodia-Vietnam) during that period (1360-1390) was under Che Bong Nga, known as The Red King, the last and most powerful King of Champa. No records that he was Muslim or related him or his royal families whatsoever with Islam.

c. It was true that Islam started making headway among the Cham people since the 10th century, which intensified after the 1471 invasion. However, only by the 17th century that the Royal families of Cham Lords began to turn to Islam. When the Vietnamese made their final annexation, the majority of the Cham people had converted to Islam.

d. Raffles knew well about Jeumpa and Samudra Pasai, the old flourished trading and transit ports in North Aceh, which he aimed to replace with Singapura (Singapore).

e. Under the reign of the Queen Tribuwanatunggadewi, Majapahit expanded its territory throughout Nusantara (the Archipelago). Adityawarman, his cousin, having the blood of Melayu, was sent to conquer the remaining of Sriwijaya and Melayu kingdoms. Later on, he became “uparaja” (vice King) of Majapahit in Sumatra. The territorial expansion was continued under the reign of Hayam Wuruk to include Lamury in the far West and Wanin in the East. Negarakertagama clearly stated that Samudra (Jeumpa), Lamuri, and Barus were under Majapahit’s jurisdiction.

f. He was the brother-in-law of Darawati, Putri Cempa, and the earliest of the Wali Songo (nine great Islamic preachers). He was born in Samarkand and lived for 13 years in Jeumpa, beginning in 1379. He married with a Jeumpa princess, Darawati’s sister, and had two sons, one of them was Raden Rahmat, then entitled Sunan Ampel. Arriving in Ampel (now Surabaya) in 1404, Maulana engaged in small business, treated sick people in the community, introduced a new technique in agriculture, and accepted lower castes people outcasted by Hinduism.

g. The texts, written in 1663, were also known as the Chronicle of Lambung Mangkurat The detail of the story related to Majapahit was not so accurate. Still, at least the story was in line with Raffles’ version that Princess Champa was from Pasai (Jeumpa), not from the region which is now Cambodia-Vietnam. One may believe in the authenticity of the story as Banjar writers were undoubtedly more objective than the Javanese writers (Babad Tanah Jawi, serat Kandha, and serat Darmogandul) who still had an emotional attachment with Majapahit’s glory.

References:

1. Atmadja N.B.:”Genealogi Keruntuhan Majapahit,” Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta, 2010, p. 7.