Ch. 12–1: Why the Horny Prince of Mengkasar Goes on a Destructive Spree

The chapter begins with the story of Semerluki, the prince of Mengkasar.

There is a city in Mengkasar named Balului, and it is so powerful that all the other cities (of Mengkasar) fall under its dominion. The king of Balului is named Keraeng Mejukok and he is married to seven sisters, all daughters of Keraeng Di Tandering Jokinak. All seven are his wives, but the youngest is the prettiest. His oldest wife gives birth to a son, who is named Keraeng Semerluki by his father. After some time, Keraeng Semerluki grows up to be a strong and brave warrior with no match in the whole of Mengkasar. Then he starts to get the hots for the youngest of his father’s seven wives! Keraeng Mejukok finds out about his son’s desire, but refuses to give his youngest wife to him. Instead, Keraeng Mejukok tells Keraeng Semerluki: “Hey, son! If you want a wife as hot as your youngest step-​mother, go plunder all the way to Hujung Tanah and find a girl like her!”

Keraeng Semerluki therefore prepares a fleet of 200 ships of various types. When everything is ready, he sets forth with the aim of conquering every land below the wind. First he goes to Java and ravages much of its territory. In every place he goes to, there would be no one brave enough to repel him. He then sails to the sea of Hujung Tanah, and he wrecks the coastal areas of Melaka. Word is brought to Sultan Mansur Syah, who is told: “The coastal areas of Melaka are being destroyed by that prince of Mengkasar named Semerluki!” When the king hears this, he orders the Laksamana to deal with Semerluki by inter­cepting his ships; and so the Laksamana readies his own fleet.

Once the Laksamans’s fleet is out at sea, the Mengkasar fleet enters Melaka’s waters and a battle commences. The ships crash against one another, and arrows and darts fall like heavy rain. When the Laksamana gets close to Keraeng Semerluki, the Mengkasar prince hurls a flying anchor (“sauh terbang”) at the Laksamana’s ship. No, it does not look like this:

Anchor Steam

The flying anchor takes hold on the Melakan ship and Keraeng Semerluki orders his men to wind it in, but the Laksamana cuts off the rope. Many of Semerluki’s ships get sunk by the Laksamana’s army, but many of the Melakan men are killed by darts, because they had no antidote for the poison that was made from the sap of the ipuh tree.

Keraeng Semerluki then sails to Pasai and also wreaks havoc on many of its provinces. The Raja of Pasai orders his chief Raja Kenayan to oust the troublesome Keraeng Semerluki. Raja Kenayan duly gets a fleet ready and leads it out to sea. When he meets the fleet of Keraeng Semerluki at Teluk Terni, the battle begins. Keraeng Semerluki’s ship gets close to that of Raja Kenayan, and Keraeng Semerluki orders for a flying anchor to be hurled. It hits Raja Kenayan’s ship and takes hold, and Keraeng Semerluki orders his men to wind it in. And Raja Kenayan says, “Come and get me! The moment I am near you, I will jump onto your ship with my heeled sword (‘jejawi bertumit’)!” Keraeng Semerluki then panics and tells his men: “Cut away the rope!” When the rope is cut, the two ships are separated. And Keraeng Semerluki says, “Raja Kenayan is certainly more badass than the Laksamana (of Melaka).”

Keraeng Semerluki sets sail back to Mengkasar, which means he needs to pass through the waters of Melaka. He is chased by the Laksamana, who manages to sink any Mengkasar vessels that are separated (“terpencil”) from the main fleet. Keraeng Semerluki loses many ships. When the prince reaches Ungaran, he takes a rock that is used to ballast (“tolak baranya”) his ship and hurls it into the Ungaran Straits, while vowing: “Only when this rock floats will I return to Hujung Tanah!” This is how the place got the name Tanjung Batu (Cape of the Rock), and the rock still exists today.

Keraeng Semerluki goes back to Mengkasar. And the Laksamana returns to Melaka and presents himself to Sultan Mansur Syah, who is so pleased that he presents robes of honour to not only the Laksamana but everyone else who was on that mission.

Sep 7, 2010 – 5:05 AM | By Amir Muhammad | Posted in Blog Post | Comments (707)

Previous Chapters

  • CH 15–2: How Kampar Got Steamrolled by Melaka
  • CH. 15–1: How a Melakan Warrior Had to Wait Before Kicking Haru Asses
  • Ch. 14–5: Why the Bendahara Mentions Royal Horniness on His Deathbed
  • Ch. 14–4: How Melaka Delivered a Smackdown to Pahang
  • Ch. 14–3: How the Sultan of Melaka Turned into a Kick-​ass Vigilante
  • Ch. 14–2: How a Grandmother From Hell is Stopped from Committing Regicide
  • Ch 14–1: How the People of Campa Ended Up in Melaka
  • Ch. 13: How the Pasai King’s Uppity Words Lost Him a Valuable Ally
  • Ch. 12–3: How the Sultan of Melaka Got Cock-​Blocked
  • Ch 12–2: How The Pasai Philosopher Answers (or Not) a Riddle from Melaka
  • Ch. 12–1: Why the Horny Prince of Mengkasar Goes on a Destructive Spree
  • Ch. 11: How a Game of Sepak Raga Turned Deadly
  • Ch. 10: How the Raja of China Cured His Skin Problem
  • Ch. 9–5: How the Sultan of Melaka Got His Elephant Back
  • Ch. 9–4: How the Raja of China’s Daughter Came to Melaka
  • Ch. 9–3: How Hang Tuah Killed Hang Kasturi
  • Ch. 9–2: How the Melakans Responded to the King of Majapahit’s Practical Jokes
  • Ch. 9–1: How the Queen of Majapahit Chose Her Husband
  • Ch. 8–2: How Melaka Became Siam’s BFF
  • Ch. 8–1: How the Siamese Were Fooled
  • Ch. 7: Why The Bendahara of Melaka Committed Suicide
  • Ch. 6–3: How Melaka was Founded, and Then Became Muslim
  • Ch. 6–2: How a King’s Horniness Got Him into Trouble with His Brother
  • Ch. 6–1: How Islam Came to the Malay World
  • Ch. 5: How Eating Vomit Can Make You A Superman
  • Ch. 4: How Singapura Repaid Majapahit’s Insult
  • Ch. 3: How Singapore Got Its Name
  • Ch. 2: How China Saved Itself
  • Ch. 1: Alexander?

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