Singapore, My Homeland.

Monday, April 2, 2007

To get a clearer picture of what we are trying to say, we uploaded some pictures. Enjoy ! (:

- Hang Nadim, the boy who helped to give the idea on how to stop the swordfish attacks.

- The swordfish.

- Badang, the strongest man.

- The Singapore Stone. (Credits to the Singapore Paranormal Investigators)

THE END.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Long, long time ago, when Singapore was just a small Malay fishing village under the reign of a king, a terrible crisis had befallen upon the island. Without any warning, swarms of swordfish with long and sharp upper jaws emerged from the waters and thrust themselves at the many fishermen working at sea. Villagers roaming along the coast were not spared, as more swordfish mercilessly leapt up upon the beach and attacked their targets.

Bright red blood stained the once pristine white sands of the beach. Numerous lifeless bodies of humans and swordfish were strewn all about the area.
"Singapore is attacked by swordfish! Singapore is attacked by swordfish!" yelled stunned witnesses who were saved from these attacks, running frantically into the village center. No one dared to go near the waters. No one knew the reason the creatures attacked.

The king of Singapore was taken aback by the news of the attacks. In his anxiousness, he went to the beach himself to find out if it were true. At a safe distance, he could not believe his eyes of the grotesque sight of blood and death on the beach. He was saddened that so many of his people had been sacrificed in the attacks.

"Singapore is in danger! I must do something about this," thought the king. The king thought up of a plan. Thinking that it would save Singapore, he then passed a command to his people via his messenger.

"Hear all! Hear all! His highness commands all male villagers, warriors and fishermen alike, to prevent further swordfish attacks on Singapore by using their shanks as barriers along the coast."

It was the only thing that the king could think of in order to rid the swordfish, and his advisors could not think of any better way to defend the island.
Although reluctant, the villagers were very loyal to the king. The men set off with hopes that they would defend the village and their loved ones. They wield any weapons they had, all prepared to hack the creatures coming their way. And so, a human fence lined the coastline, valiantly facing the sea.
They were in fact, facing death.

No matter how long the courageous men tried to endure, the swordfish kept coming and piercing themselves into the men's shanks, thighs and abdomens. Even more people died. The swordfish were persistent. Without a doubt, the king's plan had failed.

A boy by the name of Hang Nadim knew that the village would meet its doom if this continued. The intelligent boy had a plan to dispose of the threat. Without hesitating, he went to face the king.

"Forgive me, your highness, thousands of forgiveness. I have come to plead you to stop your people from using their shanks as a barrier, for even more of them would die if this goes on," explained Hang Nadim calmly as he faced the troubled king in his palace.

"What boy? Do you have a better plan?" asked the king of Singapore.
"Yes, your highness. Instead of using your peoples' shanks, we could use the stems of banana plants to build a wall of barrier along the coast. When the swordfish attack, their upper jaws would get stuck into the stems, and that way, your people would be able to slash these trapped swordfish dead," suggested Hang Nadim.

The king was impressed that the boy could come up with such a brilliant plan. The boy's plan was carried out immediately. Villagers began cutting banana plant stems and then planting them onto the ground side by side along the coastline to make a barrier. As planned, the attacking swordfish got themselves stuck in the stems and they were killed. In the end, the menace was totally wiped off.

The king was so grateful to Hang Nadim for coming up with the idea that saved Singapore. For this, Hang Nadim was given a special token of appreciation. He became known as the savior of Singapore.

However, the tale doesn’t end here.

There was a conspiracy among the king’s advisors. Knowing how smart Hang Nadim was at such a young age, the advisors were worried that he would grow up to be an even smarter man who would be appointed to take over any of their places as a new advisor. They want Hang Nadim dead.

“Hang Nadim cannot live, or our positions would be at stake! I will convince the king to dispose of him!” said one of the advisors.

So the advisor went to the king and tried to convince him that if Hang Nadim lives, he would grow to be smarter than the king, and that he would then overthrow the king and take over the throne. The king was doubtful of killing Hang Nadim at first, but after a while, he saw some truth in what the advisor said and gave in.

It is said that there are two versions how Hang Nadim died. One was that he was given a death sentence by the king. The king had Hang Nadim’s hands and feet bound with heavy metal chains and then had him thrown into the sea. The second version was that he paid his men to murder the boy by slitting his throat with a dagger while the innocent Hang Nadim was asleep in his hut.

A story was told that there lived a Siamese boy (his age varies from teens to young adulthodd) called Badang in a place called Saluang in Aceh. Badang was a slave. His master was Orang Kaya Nira Sura. Badang did not mind working hard. Badang spent his days working in the fields and clearing the jungle. When he was not working in the fields or clearing the jungle, Badang liked to go fishing. He cast his nets along the sea bed every evening and gathered the net the following morning.

The story goes that one morning Badang saw that there was only fish bones and heads in his net. He threw away the fish bones and heads. He took the net home, cleaned and dried it ready for the next day.

That evening he cast his net along the sea bed again. The next morning he went to gather his net. The net felt very light when he pulled it. When it was all out of the water there was only fish bones. Badang was very angry. Badang decided to sleep on the beach that night to catch the thief. He took a small log of wood for his head, a mat to sleep on and an old sarong to cover himself. He also took a broadsword to protect himself. Badang fell asleep quickly. The fresh air and the soft sound of the waves against the rocks lulled him to sleep. Badang had a strange dream. He dreamt that he was very strong. So strong that he could lift a boat with all its load. He dreamt that he lifted a great big rock and threw it into the air. The rock travelled many miles and landed at the mouth of a river. In his dream Badang was very rich. He lived in a palace and had many servants waiting on him. His mother, father and sister wore fine clothes and lived with him in the palace. He also dreamt that he swallowed something that came out of the mouth of an ugly beast. A beast so big and ugly that Badang shook with fear and woke up.

Badang opened his eyes. He could not believe what he saw. There was the Beast in his dream. It was taller than the house that Badang lived in with his family. It had long, matted hair on its head reaching to its waist, a beard that was wide, long and matted covering his hairy chest. There was also hair on his shoulders, arms and legs. The Beast had a pair of horns and tusks. The tusks protruded from its upper jaw. In the dim light its eyes shone like that of a wild animal, flashing and red. (In some versions the demon looks like an old man dressed in white.)

The Beast made its way to where Badang laid out his net. The Beast pulled the net in. The net came through the water easily. It was a good catch. Badang could see from where he was the shinny fishes wriggling in the net. There were some large fishes which would have made his mother very happy. Within minutes the Beast had eaten all there was in the net. The Beast picked the largest fish first. He twisted the fish heads, threw them into the net and tore the raw flesh off the bones and threw the bones into the net too. When all the big fish were gone he gulped the smaller ones in one large mouthful. He gave a big burp and walked off to a nearby knoll and was soon fast asleep. After seeing the Beast stealing his catch, Badang became very angry. His anger overcame his fear. He grabbed his parang and crept up to the sleeping Beast. He used his now empty net as a rope to tie the Beast’s long hair. He secured it to a rock.

With his sword ready to strike Badang woke the Beast. The Beast turned out to be a gentle frightened creature. The Beast feared for its life and begged for mercy. He promised to grant Badang any wish if he spared his life. Badang thought of wishing to be invisible but knew he would be hunted and killed. He thought of asking for riches but knew that whatever he owns belongs to his master. Instead he wished for great strength so that he would not tire during his chores.

The Beast agreed but explained that strength and wisdom came from gems(geliga) he kept in his stomach. If Badang wanted great strength and wisdom he would have to swallow the gems. The Beast gave a small cough and brought up two pieces of red gems like rubies from his stomach. He gave these to Badang. Badang swallowed the gems. (In another version, the beast cough out fish that Badang had to eat.)

True to the Beast’s word Badang gained strength and became very wise. Badang still worked in the fields. He cleared the jungle. With his new strength Badang was able to bring a big harvest to his master. With his wisdom Badang showed his master how to be a very successful farmer. His master was so grateful for Badang's loyalty that he freed him and his family from slavery. He gave Badang some money to start a new life in Temasik (present-day Singapore).

While living in this new home, Badang performed good deeds for the people. News of his great strength and wisdom soon spread. His reputation came to the attention of Seri Rama Wira Kerma, the King of Temasik. Badang was summoned to the court of Seri Rama Wira and was appointed commander-in-chief of the army. The King asked Badang to design a large boat. The King ordered his men to build the boat. When the boat was completed, a thousand men could not push it. The King asked Badang to push the boat. Badang pushed it like a toy into the sea. It was a magnificent boat. The King was proud of it and proud of Badang.

At this time, Badang had become known in other nearby countries as well. The king of India (Java in other versions) heard of him and wanted to test his strength against the champion of India. The Indian champion came to Temasik and had various tests of strength against Badang. In every test, the result was tied. Only in the final trial of lifting up a heavy rock did Badang come out as the clear victor. While the Indian could barely lift it at all, Badang lifted it above his head. This comptetion brought great fame to both Badang and his adopted home of Singapore.

The Singapore Stone

The Singapore Stone was a historical artifact at the mouth of the Singapore River. The Singapore Stone is linked to the story of the legendary 14th century strongman, Badang, who is said to have thrown a stone from the audience hall of the king at Fort Canning Hill to the mouth of the Singapore River. The British blew up the stone in 1843 to make way for a harbour and a few remaining fragments of the stone are now displayed at the Singapore History Museum which will be re-christened the National Museum of Singapore (NAMOS) when it reopens at its original site in December 2006.Until today, the writing on the Singapore Stone has not been deciphered.

Introduction

Early Archeological Evidence

The relatively few archeological remains that have been found in Singapore serve only to add to the sense of mystery concerning its past. Soon after the British arrived in Singapore in 1819, a large stone covered with ancient writings was discovered by the river. Munshi Abdullah, a Malay who was in Singapore when the stone was discovered, later it wrote that it "was smooth, about six feet wide, square in shape, and its face was covered with a chiseled insription. Many learned men came and tried to read it. However, not a single person in Singapore was able to to interpret the words." It was difficult to make out the stone's insription, which had been worn almost smooth by time and weather. Sadly, the great rock was destroyed by a British engineer in 1843 doing work to clear the Singapore River. Only a few small fragments of the "Singapore Stone" remain, one of which is preserved inthe Singapore National museum. It is thought that the writing is probably Javanese, dating back to the days when the Majapahit empire of Java ruled Singapore.

Other clues to Singapore's ancient past were unearthed in 1928, when workers discovered a set of gold jewellery, including rings and armbands, many of which were inlaid with diamonds and rubies. They were found on "Forbidden Hill" (so named because it was thought to be the site of ancient royal graves: later it was renamed Fort Canning Hill) at a place close to what was believed to be the tomb of the legendary ruler Iskandar Shah. The craftsmanship of the jewelry suggests that they are also probably Javanese relics of the Majapahit era.

These few treasures from Singapore's past provide a tantalizing glimpse at what life may have been like there in ancient times. Objects like the Singapore Stone and the old wall prompted scholars such as Thomas Raffles to conjure up romantic visions of a glorious past, when Singapore was a thriving city and center of trade and culture during the heyday of the early Hindu/Buddhist era of Southeast Asia. However, there is little evidence to confirm whether or not ancient Singapore was indeed such an important center of power. The records of early Singapore are scarce and inconclusive. It is only at the dawn of the fifteenth century, when nearby Malacca grew into a mighty kingdom, that we begin to have a clearer picture of Singapore's history.