Ch. 8–1: How the Siamese Were Fooled

The chapter begins in Siam, a kingdom known in ancient times as Syahrun-​Nuwi (and which we read about in Chapter 6–2). All the regions below the wind are subject to Siam, and its Raja’s name is Bubunnya. When Bubunnya hears that Melaka is a big kingdom that is not subject to Siam, he sends a letter to Melaka demanding a pledge of loyalty. But Sultan Muzaffar Syah of Melaka refuses to do such a thing, and this pisses Bubunnya off. The king of Siam commands his troops to invade Melaka for its recal­citrance. The head of his military delegation is named Awi Cakra. Word reaches Sultan Muzaffar Syah of this large-​scale invasion, which consists of an uncountable (“tiada tepermenai”) number of soldiers travelling overland to Ulu Pahang.

Sultan Muzaffar Syah orders all men of the nearby districts to assemble and come upriver to Melaka. And so they all gather in Melaka. Tun Perak brings not only the men from Kelang, but their wives and children too. The men of Kelang go to the sultan and and say, “The other districts brought only men, but Tun Perak has brought our women and children with us.” Sultan Muzaffar Syah listens and tells one of his heralds, Sri Amarat: “When Tun Perak comes to the palace, tell him what the men of Kelang just said.” This man Sri Amarat is from Pasai, and is known for being quick-​witted and eloquent. He uses a heavy stool (“suatu mangkabumi”) that the king had made for him, and which is placed near the king’s knees. Then Sri Amarat would stand with his sword on his shoulders and proclaim any of the king’s commands.

Tun Perak comes to see the king, and Sri Amarat says, “Tun Perak, the men of Kelang have told His Majesty that you have asked their women and children to accompany them to Melaka, while all the other districts sent only men. What gives?” Tun Perak does not answer even when the question is repeated. It is only after the third prompt that Tun Perak says, “Sri Amarat, the king has given you a sword, so make sure it does not rust or lose its sharpness. As for me and the other men who work with me, what do you wish to know? Even the King has his queen with him, and everything he requires. Do you think it’s right for the men of Kelang to come all the way here by themselves? If something bad were to happen to Melaka (and the men were alone), why should we give a toss? That is why I brought the women and children along so that the men will have extra motivation to fight. For they will fighting not so much for the king, but to protect their wives and children!” When Sultan Muzaffar Syah hears this, he smiles and says: “Tun Perak is right.” And he offers sireh from his bowl to Tun Perak, and says, “You’re too good to stay in Kelang. Come live in Melaka.”

The Siamese forces arrive and do battle with the men of Melaka. The fighting goes on for some time and many Siamese soldiers are killed, but Melaka shows no sign of surren­dering. So the Siamese decide to retreat. On the way back, they fling to the ground the rattan they had used to tie their belongings. The rattan takes root and grows, and this plant is until today known as “rotan Siam (Siamese rattan)”. The wood they used as fetters (“kayu pasungan bara”) also takes root and apparently still exists in Ulu Muar; as do the wooden rests that the Siamese used for cooking (“tungku Siam, bekas menanak”) . After the Siamese leave, the men from the surrounding districts of Melaka go back home. But the king won’t allow Tun Perak to leave, and so he stays in Melaka.

Now there was a man from Kelang … but before we get to him, check this out:

The Jawi writing of the original manuscript says either “ada seorang Kelang, diamnya di Kelang” (there was a Kelang man who lived in Kelang) OR “ada seorang Keling, diamnya di Kelang” (there was an Indian who lived in Kelang). This is because Keling and Kelang are both spelled the same way (كلڠ). But let us proceed.

This man feels he had been slightly mistreated (“teraniaya sedikit”) by Tun Perak, and he conveys this complaint to the king. Sultan Muzaffar Syah hears him out and then tells Sri Amarat to tell Tun Perak to explain himself. Once again, Tun Perak waits until the poor Sri Amarat has to ask three times before he replies. And his reply is: “Sri Amarat, you should take care of that sword; treat it with acid so it doesn’t lose its edge. As for those of us who administer duties of the state, what would you like to know? We have to administer everything, even if the area is the size of a coconut shell. The king will not be concerned with the nitty-​gritty of how the admin­is­tration is done; he just wants to see results. But if the king wishes to cast aspersions on my conduct, let me be dismissed from my job before action is taken against me. Do you think this is the best thing to do, merely on account of the words of a man who is no better than my slave (“sakai hamba”)? ” Well, well. His answer doesn’t bode well for government trans­parency, I’ll say that. But Sultan Muzaffar Syah thinks this is a terrific reply and promotes Tun Perak, giving him the title Paduka Raja, which has the same rank as Seri Nara Diraja.

Seri Nara Aldiraja (whom you will remember from Chapter 7) is now an old man. His wife didn’t bear him any children but by a mistress or secondary wife (“gundik”) he has a son named Tun Syahid Madi, whom he does not acknowledge. But when Tun Syahid Madi is grown up and has children and even grand­children of his own, something happens. One day, Seri Nara Diraja is in the hall, receiving visitors, when Tun Syahid Madi walks by. Seri Nara Aldiraja calls the man to him and makes him sit on his lap. (This must have been a weird sight as the younger man is already a grand­father by now.) And Seri Nara Diraja says to everyone there: “This is my son.” And they reply: “We all know. But since you never acknow­ledged him, we were too afraid to say who he was.” And Seri Nara Aldiraja smiles.

Meanwhile, Baginda Mani Purindam (remember him?) dies. He is replaced by his son Naina Madi with the title of Tuan Bijaya Maha Menteri.

Once Paduka Raja (a.k.a. Tun Perak) becomes powerful, there is a split in the Malay population, with half supporting Paduka Raja and the other half supporting Seri Nara Diraja, because they are both so distin­guished. (So you see, the Team A and Team B of Malay political parties dates back at least to the 15th century.) Sultan Muzaffar Syah gets wind of the rivalry and wants the men to kiss and make up. So he calls Seri Nara Aldiraja to him. The sultan asks: “Do you want a wife?” And Seri Nara Aldiraja says, “If Your Majesty can find me one, I’d be happy.” The sultan asks: “Do you want Tun Kemalu?” But Seri Nara Aldiraja replies, “Err, no thanks.” The sultan asks: “Do you want Tun Bulan, the daughter of Orang Kaya Hitam?” But Seri Nara Aldiraja replies, “Err, no thanks.” The sultan proceeds to mention the daughters of many other chiefs, but in each case Seri Nara Aldiraja replies, “Err, no thanks.” Finally Sultan Muzaffar Syah asks, “Would you like (my wife), Tun Kudu?” And Seri Nara Aldiraja actually replies: “Long live Your Majesty!”

Tun Kudu, a sister of the Paduka Raja, the daughter of Bendahara Sriwa Raja, is then divorced by the sultan. (This is an extremely selfless gesture by the sultan, just so that his two main chiefs could get along by being brothers-​in-​law. But what does Tun Kudu herself feel about this? We are not told.) She is sent to her brother Paduka Raja’s house. But people say to Seri Nara Aldiraja: “How could you take such a young wife? You’re so old that your eyebrows are white.” And Seri Nara Aldiraja replies: “Who says I’m old? If you think so, my father got a raw deal when he bought chula for me in India, which he paid a kati of gold for!” Chula is obviously an early form of:

After the customary iddah has passed, Seri Nara Aldiraja marries Tun Kudu. And the two chiefs, Seri Nara Aldiraja and Paduka Raja, become bosom buddies (“menjadi berkasih-​kasihan”). Seri Nara Aldiraja even suggests to the sultan that Paduka Raja become the Bendahara, and the sultan agrees.

As Bendahara, Paduka Raja becomes famous throughout the region. He is as respected as the chiefs of the two other great kingdoms nearby, namely Aria Gajah Mada in Majapahit and Raja Kenayan in Pasai.

After some time, the Siamese come to attack (again). This time, the military commander is Awi Dicu. The sultan of Melaka gets wind of this (as he would) and instructs his new Bendahara to deal with it. The Bendahara gets a man named Seri Bija Aldiraja as his war-​chief. Seri Bija Aldiraja is a Malay who was born from the vomit of a cow ( the second time someone in this manuscript is born this way). He is known as Datuk Bongkok (The Chief who Stoops), because that’s how he normally walks. But when he hears an enemy approaching, he would straighten up and become a fearsome warrior; and this is why he is the main war-​chief of Melaka. When the fleet is ready, the Bendahara, together with Seri Bija Aldiraja and the rest of the war posse, sets out to fight the Siamese. The Siamese have by now almost reached Batu Pahat. (As this is south of Melaka, the Siamese obviously sailed down the East coast of the Malay peninsular and then up the West coast to reach them.)

Seri Bija Aldiraja has a son, Tun Umar, who is very brave and reckless (“gila-​gila basa”). The Bendahara instructs Tun Umar to recon­noitre the scene. Tun Omar goes on a boat way out into the sea by himself. When he encounters the Siamese ships, he manages to crash into and sink two or three of them! Then he goes in another direction and attacks even more ships, also sinking two or three. On the way back, he sinks two or three more ships. Then he goes back to shore, leaving the Siamese gobsmacked.

At night, Awi Dicu’s ship approaches the shore. And the Bendahara Paduka Raja orders small torches (“puntung api”) to be place on every available tree by the coastline. When the Siamese see so many little lights in the distance, their war-​chiefs say, “There are too many well-​equipped Malay vessels there! If they reach us, we’re doomed. Even the lone boat earlier managed to sink a few of our ships.” And Awi Dicu says, “You’re right. Let’s get outta here.” So the Siamese fleet returns. The Bendahara chases them back as far as Singapura.

The Bendahara Paduka Raja then returns to Melaka and relates to Sultan Muzaffar Syah what happened. The king is so thrilled that he bestows robes of honour on the Bendahara; as well as other gifts and titles to Seri Bija Aldiraja and the other war-​chiefs. I hope the plucky Tun Umar got something, too; perhaps one of those violent computer games to sharpen his reckless skill!

Aug 25, 2010 – 11:59 PM | By Amir Muhammad | Posted in Blog Post | Comments (937)

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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