Pelabuhan Kesultanan Melayu Melaka

Gambar 1 dan 2 menunjukkan sebahagian dari lukisan bertajuk "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" yang dilukis semula pada abad ke-18 dan dipamirkan di Palace Museum, Beijing. Ia adalah berasaskan karya asal sepanjang 5 meter yang dilukis oleh Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) pada zaman Dinasti Song (960-1127).

Gambar 1

Gambar 2

Lukisan Zhang Zeduan tersebut menunjukkan keadaan diluar kota Bianjing (kini Kaifeng, Henan) semasa perayaan Qingming (Ceng Beng) iaitu perayaan untuk mengingati nenek moyang.  Di dalam lukisan tersebut terdapat jambatan yang digelar "rainbow bridge" yang mempunyai ruang untuk berjual-beli. Jambatan sebenar dalam lukisan asal abad ke-11 (Gambar 3) dikatakan diperbuat dari kayu.

Gambar 3

Ianya tidak mempunyai tiang demi memudahkan laluan kapal dari kawasan pelabuhan ke bandar. Jika diteliti, ianya mempunyai struktur sokongan yang sama seperti "self-supporting bridge" yang dikatakan direka Leonardo da Vinci sekitar tahun 1478 hingga 1519 (Gambar 4).

Gambar 4

Di kawasan tebing sungai terdapat tembok-tembok kayu dan batu bagi mengasingkan kawasan pelabuhan dan kawasan bandar. Lukisan Zhang Zeduan ini juga menunjukkan bahawa tiang layar kapal zaman Dinasti Song boleh dicabut untuk memudahkannya melepasi had ketinggian jambatan tersebut. Ditunjukkan juga cara bagaimana kapal berlabuh dan memunggah barang dagangan dipelabuhan sungai di kota Bianjing tersebut. Lihat video tentang lukisan asal:

Apa yang menarik adalah lukisan ini hampir sama dengan deskripsi Ma Huan tentang keadaan pelabuhan Melaka sekitar tahun 1430an iaitu di zaman pemerintahan Sultan Muhammad Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah.  Ma Huan adalah seorang jurubahasa beragama Islam yang bertugas dibawah kepimpinan Laksamana Zheng He (Cheng Ho). Saya petik terjemahan deskripsi Ma Huan dalam bukunya yang bertajuk Ying Yai Sheng Lan 瀛涯勝覽 ("Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores"):

"There is one large river (the Malacca River) whose waters flow down past the front of the king's residence to enter the sea. Over the river the king has constructed a wooden bridge, on which were built more than twenty bridge pavilions, [and] all trading in every article takes place on this [bridge]"

"Whenever, the treasure ships of the Central Country (China) arrived there, [the Malaccans] at once erected a line of stockading, like a city wall, and set up towers for the watch-drums at four gates. At night they had patrols of police carrying bells; inside again they erected a second stockade, like a small city wall, [within which] they constructed warehouses and granaries; [and] all the money and the provisions were stored in them. The ships, which had gone to various countries returned to this place and assembled; they marshalled the foreign goods and loaded them in the ships; [then] waited till the south wind was perfectly favourable. In the middle of the fifth moon they put to sea and returned home."

Melalui catatan Alfonso de Albuquerque,  pada serangan tahun 1511, Portugis mengalami kesukaran dalam menawan jambatan Melaka yang dikatakan diperkukuh kubu ("stockades"), dipertahan oleh pemanah, istinggar dan meriam; dan juga dikatakan agak tinggi kedudukannya dari paras air. Secara amnya, ianya sukar dicerobohi melalui jong yang digunakan untuk menghampiri dan menawan kedudukan strategik jambatan tersebut. Ini membuktikan bahawa jambatan Melaka ketika itu dibina dalam struktur tinggi bagi membolehkan kapal lalu dibawahnya.

Menurut Kung Chen (1434) dalam Hsi Yang Fan Kuo Chih 西洋蕃國誌 ("Records of the Western Barbarian Countries") orang-orang Cina menganggap kawasan pelabuhan Melaka ini sebagai kawasan khusus untuk pedagang asing (foreign prefecture). Kung Chen merekodkan bahawa kapal dari Champa, Ayutthaya dan Majapahit membawa barangan mereka untuk disimpan di gudang-gudang yang didirikan di pelabuhan Melaka. Ianya kemudian dimuatkan ke dalam kapal-kapal lain untuk ke Parsi, India dan Cina.

Kewujudan pelabuhan entrepot atau 'transshipment port' yang sistematik ini boleh dirujuk silang dengan rekod tempatan di mana pelabuhan di zaman Kesultanan Melaka dikatakan dikawal selia oleh 4 orang Syahbandar. Dicatatkan Syahbandar pertama ditugaskan untuk menjaga hal-ehwal dan pengutipan cukai pedagang dari Gujerat; Syahbandar kedua bagi hal-ehwal pedagang dari Cina, Ryukyu, dan Champa; Syahbandar ketiga bagi hal-ehwal pedagang dari Kalingga, Pegu, Benggala, dan Parsi; dan Syahbandar keempat bagi hal-ehwal pedagang dari Pulau Jawa, Banda, Borneo, Filipina, Maluku, Kalimantan, dan Pasai.

Pedagang asing juga digambarkan oleh Tun Seri Lanang dalam Sejarah Melayu (Sulalatus Salatin) sebagai berdamping rapat dengan pentadbiran Kesultanan Melaka. Ramai di antara mereka adalah saudagar-saudagar Kalingga dan Gujerat seperti Nila Sura Dewana, Kitul, dan Aki Manu Nayan. Ada antara mereka yang amat berpengaruh dan telah dilantik oleh Sultan Melaka sebagai Syahbandar seperti Raja Mendaliar dari Kalingga dan Patih Adam dari Surabaya.

Berbalik kepada deskripsi Ma Huan, selain dari mempunyai jambatan yang mengandungi lebih dari 20 tempat untuk berjual-beli, pelabuhan Melaka sekitar tahun 1430an dikatakan dikelilingi tembok kayu dengan 4 pintu masuk. Berdekatan setiap pintu didirikan menara tinjau yang dilengkapi gendang isyarat di mana ianya dikawal rapi siang dan malam.  Berdasarkan catatan Ma Huan juga, tembok kayu tersebut akan dibuka semula apabila berakhir musim perdagangan. Kepadatan kawasan pelabuhan dan keperluan institusi Istana untuk berhubung terus dan mentadbir kawasan pelabuhan semasa musim berdagang adalah mungkin sebab utama mengapa tiada tembok kekal atau tembok batu didirikan.

Pada pendapat saya, 4 pintu pagar dalam deskripsi Ma Huan mungkin merujuk kepada pintu-pintu bagi setiap bahagian kumpulan pedagang yang dikawal selia setiap seorang Syahbandar Melaka. Seperti sistem "feitoria" dan sistem Canton yang diperkenalkan di pelabuhan-pelabuhan jajahan Portugis, kawasan pelabuhan Melaka ini adalah kawasan khusus bagi pedagang asing di mana tembok kayu dan menara kawalan didirikan mengikut musim pelayaran. Kemungkinan besar ianya terletak di kawasan tebing sungai berhampiran Balai Mendapa Istana Kesultanan Melayu Melaka (kini kawasan Kubu Middleburg). Secara kesimpulan, pelabuhan Melaka ditadbir secara sistematik dan menjadi pemangkin kepada kegemilangan Kesultanan Melayu Melaka sekitar pertengahan abad ke-15.

Rujukan:

1. Blanchard, I., Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages: Vol. 3: Continuing Afro-European Supremacy, 1250-1450 (African Gold Production and the Second and Third European Silver Production Long-cycles) (Stuttgard: Franz Steiner Verlarg, 2005)

2. Groenevelt, W. P., Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca compiled from Chinese Sources (Batavia: Bruining, 1876),

3. Sejarah Melayu diusahakan oleh W.G. Shellabear, Fajar Bakti, (1978).

4. Comentários de Afonso de Albuquerque, (1557), t. A Bailo, Combra (1923).

5. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_System

6. https://pt.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feitorias_portuguesas

7. "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", Palace Museum, Beijing.

Toponymy of Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak

Picture 1: Kuching Town.
Source: Sarawak Tourism Board.

There are many theories pertaining to the toponymy of Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak. The first theory is that “Kuching” may not actually mean the Malay word for “cat” but more to do with similar-sounding names. This includes:

1. That it originates from the word 'Cochin' which is a port in India (now Kochi);
2. That it relates to the old word for Indochina i.e. 'Cochinchina';
3. That it originates from the Mandarin word "shuîjîng" or "kôujîng" which relates to the description of a well that existed around Kuching area;
4. From "Ku"(古) - Old and "Ching"（井) - Well or "old well" (古井) in Chinese. The old well is said to be used to supply clean water to combat the outbreak of cholera in 1888.

The second theory is that it relates to things which are named "Kuching" but not exactly a cat. This includes:

1. A local fruit known as "Mata Kuching" which grew abundantly on a hill known as Bukit Mata Kuching;
2. Taken from the hill named Bukit Mata Kuching;
3. Based on an old river which was named ‘Sungai Kuching’ which have since disappeared due to development.

Thirdly, the theory that it relates to the small feline specie itself. This includes:

1. The Sang Nila Utama-type founder-myth etymology i.e. it came from James Brooke's initial encounter with a cat along Sarawak river in August 1838 which prompted him to name the place in its honour. From the log of James Brook's ship Royalist, "Kuching" was recorded as his transit point on Sept 3 to 24, 1848, and on Nov 6, 1850;
2. The high population of wild cats around Bukit Mata Kuching;

My take: Politically, Sarawak was under the Sultanate of Brunei for the period of more than 500 years. The first and last Sultan of Sarawak (a Bruneian Prince) established his kingdom in Santubong in 1599. Kuching town itself was previously known as Lidah Tanah / Leda Tannah which was said to be established by Datu Patinggi Ali around 1820. In 1827 Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam of Brunei appointed Pengiran Indera Mahkota Mohammad Salleh as Governor of Sarawak wherein Pengiran Mohammed Salleh further develop Lidah Tanah as his capital and renamed it Kuching. James Brooke came, ousted Pengiran Mohammed Salleh, and named the Sarawak capital as "Sarawak Proper" in 1841. It was not until 1872 that Charles Brooke renamed the settlement to "Kuching".

Over the years, Brunei entered a period of decline. See the Palace of the Sultan of Brunei in mid 19th century (Picture 2). The Sultans of Brunei ceded further stretches of territory to Sarawak. In 1877, stretches to the east of the capital were leased (later ceded) to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. Eventually, due to these seizures of territory, which was accepted by the Sultan for annual lease payments, the British occupied the vast majority of the coast of Brunei.

Picture 2: "Paleis van de sultan van Brunei" (Palace of the Sultan of Brunei) by G.R. Lambert & Co. taken in 1890, 4 decades before the discovery of oil and gas by the Royal Dutch Shell. Source: Leiden University Library, Amsterdam. KITLV 91762.

Based on this political control theory, I would agree that the toponym of Kuching is based on the Malay word “Kuching” or “Kucing” which means cat. The word “Kuching” originates from the Western Malayo-Polynesian word "kutíŋ" which is strongly connected with the Ilokano word "kutíŋ", Pangasinan word "kotíŋ", and Toba Batak word "hutiŋ". Hence, it follows that the word Kuching is a locally known word, or perhaps more familiar to the Bruneian overlords than the local populace.

I would further argue that the decision to name the newly developed township "Kuching" is based on the famed golden cats of Brunei i.e. "Kuching Emas" which is part of the Royal Regalia of the Sultanate of Brunei (Picture 3).

Picture 3: Kuching Emas

"Kuching Emas" is also the name given to Bruneian coins / pitis (Picture 4).

Picture 4: Bruneian Pitis 

According to Pehin Orang Kaya Amar DiRaja Dato Sri Utama (Dr) Hj Muhammad Jamil al-Sufri, Head of the Brunei History Centre, a pair of golden cats were presented to the Sultan of Brunei by the Ming Emperor of China in the 14th century (Barret, 1988). See below, the golden cat presently held in Brunei. They are a pair of golden lion-like beast recognizable as Buddhist guardian lions known in Chinese art as 'dogs of fo' and is said to be a replacement of the 14th century pair (Picture 5).

Picture 5: A pair of Golden Cats (Kuching Emas)

This Bruneian Royal Regalia and Bruneian coin popularly known as "Kuching Emas" enforces the argument that the word "Kuching" has been part of the Bruneian Malay vocabulary since the 14th century. It is thus highly probable that the capital of Sarawak was named “Kuching” in honour of the said Royal Regalia which are deemed sacred and symbolic of the supremacy and authority of the Sultanate of Brunei.

Therefore, based on this record, the founder-myth theory as well as the Chinese old well theory are debunked as Kuching town have existed few decades before it was 'founded' by James Brooke and long before the 1888 outbreak of cholera.

Source:

1. http://www.adat-istiadat.gov.bn/SitePages/Alat-Alat%20Kebesaran%20Diraja.aspx

2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brunei

Perahu Bedar 'Singa Betina'

Gambar 1

'Singa Betina' adalah sebuah kapal layar jenis Perahu Bedar (Gambar 1).  Berukuran 33 kaki, ianya dibina oleh tukang-tukang perahu di Pulau Duyong, Kuala Terengganu, pada tahun 1966 (Gambar 2).

Gambar 2

Ianya ditempah oleh seorang juruterbang Perancis bernama Henri Bourdens di mana minat beliau terhadap perahu layar Melayu timbul apabila melihat perahu-perahu layar Terengganu semasa bercuti di Mersing.

Dalam percubaan untuk mengelilingi dunia, tiang layar Singa Betina patah akibat taufan 'Tracey' di sekitar Lautan Banda dan kapal tersebut hanyut dibawa arus ke Indonesia, kemudian ke Lautan Arafura dan akhirnya terdampar di Pulau Bathurst, utara Dawrin, Australia (Gambar 3 & 4).

Gambar 3

Gambar 4

Henri Bourdens dan isterinya Jose kemudian membina rakit (Gambar 5) untuk menyelamatkan diri dan telah dijumpai nelayan setelah 4 hari berada di Lautan Timor.

Gambar 5

Pengalaman Henri dan Jose Bourdens yang hanyut selama 2 bulan tersebut dibukukan dalam "Cruise To A Cruel Shore" (1969) (Gambar 6).

Gambar 6

Singa Betina yang terdampar di Pulau Bathurst telah diperbaiki oleh nelayan dari Selat Apsley dan digunakan sebagai bot untuk memancing dan mengangkut kargo sekitar perairan Darwin. Pada tahun 1977 ia dimiliki oleh Ted Whittaker. Beliau telah membawanya ke Indonesia, Singapura dan kemudian ke Kampung Mukut di Tioman, Malaysia. Ianya kemudian tiba di Pulau Duyong, Kuala Terengganu pada 12.11.1981.

Ianya kemudian belayar semula ke Australia dan dijual kepada Tatooed Tony yang menggunakannya sebagai rumah air. Sekitar 2007, pemilik seterusnya iaitu Jamie Robertson membawa Singa Betina ke Timor Leste di mana ianya dibeli oleh sebuah NGO dibawah United Nations.

Rujukan:

1) Maritime Heritage Association Journal, Vol. 17, No. 4, December 2006.

2) Maritime Heritage Association Journal, Volume 28,  No. 3.  September 2017

3) "Cruise To A Cruel Shore", Henri & Jose Bourdens (1969)

4) Akhbar 'Sinar Harapan', Indonesia. 4.4.1967.