CH 15–2: How Kampar Got Steamrolled by Melaka

The chapter continues with the news that Sultan ‘Alauddin orders the conquest of Kampar (in Sumatera), with Seri Nara Aldiraja as his war commander. When everything is ready, Seri Nara Aldiraja goes forth with Sang Setia, Sang Naya, Sang Guna and the war-​chiefs; Ikhtiar Muluk comes along, too.The Raja of Kampar is named Maharaja Jaya, who is from the royal family of Pagaruyung, and his city is Pekan Tua. When he hears that Seri Nara Aldiraja is coming to attack, he orders his chief minister Tun Demang to assemble the troops. So Tun Demang goes to the people and gathers an army, and equips them with weapons. Then Seri Nara Aldiraja arrives and the men of Melaka come to shore. Maharaja Jaya goes forth on his elephant, with the spear-​wielding Tun Demang marching beside him. The men of Kampar then fight the men of Melaka: some use spears, some hack with battle-​axes (“berte­takkan cipan”), some shoot with arrows, and many men from both sides are killed, and lots of blood flows on the ground.

The men of Kampar are forced to recede. When Maharaja Jaya and Tun Demang see this, they run forth and attack the men of Melaka, leaving a trail of corpses (“bangkai bertimbunan”) in their wake. The Melakan men flee to the sea-​side, leaving only Seri Nara Aldiraja and Ikhtiar Muluk who stand their ground. Maharaja Jaya and Tun Demang and the Kampar men continue their attack, showering down weapons like rain. And Seri Nara Aldiraja says to Maharaja Jaya, “Your Majesty, I ask that you give me this piece of ground that I stand on. If you persist in trying to wrest it from me, I will present this spear (to kill you) from your royal elder brother (the king of Melaka).” Tun Demang then stabs Ikhtiar Muluk through the shoulder with his spear. Ikhtiar Muluk then takes his head-​cloth and says to Seri Nara Aldiraja, “Chief, I have been wounded.” And so Seri Nara Aldiraja bandages the wound (“dibebatnya”).

Ikhtiar Muluk, who is armed with a Persian bow, shoots right at Tun Demang’s temple (“pelipisan”), making him gush blood (“meleleh”), and Tun Demang collapses beside the elephant of Maharaja Jaya. When Maharaja Jaya sees Tun Demang is dead, he steers his elephant straight at Seri Nara Aldiraja. And Seri Nara Aldiraja uses the spear in his hand to stab Maharaja Jaya straight through the chest, and the king collapses on his elephant. And so Maharaja Jaya dies.

When they see Maharaja Jaya and Tun Demang are dead, the men of Kampar run like hell, but they are hounded by the Melakan forces who kill them, and then go into the fort. And the Melakan men go on a looting frenzy. After this, Seri Nara Aldiraja returns with the spoils.

After a journey of some time, they arrive in Melaka and Seri Nara Aldiraja presents himself to Sultan ‘Alauddin, who is pleased as punch at the conquest, and gives rewards to Seri Nara Aldiraja and Ikhtiar Muluk. And Kampar is handed to Seri Nara Aldiraja, who estab­lishes a governor (“Adipati”) in Kampar.

The king commands Seri Nara Aldiraja to go to Kampar and install his son Raja Munawar Syah as king, with Seri Amar Aldiraja as the Bendahara. And so Seri Nara Aldiraja goes and does just that, after which he returns to Melaka to present himself to the king.

After ruling for 33 years, the king falls sick. When he realises he’s about to die, he calls for his son Raja Mamat as well as his chiefs, and they all come to him. The king asks to be propped up (“disandar”) on the female attendants (“dayang-​dayang”), and he asks for five men to approach him.: the Bendahara, the Penghulu Bendahari, the Temenggung, Kadi Munawar Syah and the Laksamana. And he says: “Dear fellows, my end is near. If I die, make my son Raja Mamat the new king. Cherish and love him the way you cherished and loved me. If he makes dumb mistakes (‘khilaf bebalnya’), you need to forgive him as he’s just a boy.”

When they hear Sultan ‘Alauddin’s words, all the men weep buckets. And they say to him amidst their tears, “Your Majesty, we pray that God prolongs your life, because we simply can’t get enough of being ruled by you (‘belum puas diperhamba’). But if, God forbid, the flower in your grasp should wilt, we will carry out your orders, for never will be obey (the descendants of) another Raja.” And the king is mighty pleased to hear this.

The king then looks at his son Raja Mamat’s face and says, “Hey son, let it be known that nothing in this world is permanent. Every living thing will die; only faith (“iman”) is forever. My dying instruction to you is to serve God with all your heart. Don’t take anything from another person without just cause, because God’s servants have been entrusted to you. If your subjects are in difficulty, you must help them at once. If they are victims of injustice, find out about it so that in the afterlife you will not be burdened by your wrong-​doing. In the words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), ‘All those who tend (‘mengebala’) will be questioned about that which they tend’ — meaning that all kings will be questioned as to whether they tended their subjects well. So you need to be always fair, so that you will be protected by God when you are in the next world. You need to always consult with your ministers and chiefs, for even the wisest king will not be able to rule fairly if he does not consult with his officers. A king is like fire, while his chiefs are like wood, because fire without wood will not produce a flame. Also, the subjects are like roots, while the king is like a tree; if there are no roots, a tree cannot stand, and that’s how it is with kings and their subjects. However grievously a Malay does wrong, do not punish him unless it is in accordance with God’s laws, because all the Malays are like your clay (“ketuhaanmu”), for as the Prophet said, “The slave is the clay of the master.” If you kill a subject who did no wrong, your kingdom will be destroyed. Hey son, mark my words if you want you kingship will be blessed by God.”

After this, Sultan ‘Alauddin dies, and he goes from a temporary (“fana”) world to one that is permanent (“baqa”).

Sep 30, 2010 – 2:21 PM | By Amir Muhammad | Posted in Blog Post | Comments (890)

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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