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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Babad Tanah Jawi referred that Raden Patah’s mother was Chinese concubine, the daughter of Kyai Batong (Ma Hong Fu).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Atmadja, N.B.:”Genealogi Keruntuhan Majapahit,” Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta, 2010, p. 7.
- Joko Darmawan, SH, Drs. Chaerudin, MM, M.Si. Ph.D.: “The Power of Sejarah Indonesia,” Indonesia Book Project, Jakarta, 2011, p. 42
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE ARCHIPELAGO 