Who discovered Singapura?
March 13, 2012
While walking along Jln Parameswara, we had this conversation:
Parameswara sounds familiar.
He's the fella who came to Singapore and beat the lion, remember?
Isn't that Sang Nila Utama?
Subsequently, I realised my confusion between the two names was valid. In lower secondary school we were taught that Sang Nila Utama saw a lion on an island and decided to name the place Singapura which means lion city. I remember this story clearly because I used to feel a little uneasy pronouncing the last word of the prince's name as it sounded rude in Chinese. When I went on to university, I wrote an essay on heritage tourism in Singapore using Fort Canning Hill as a case study. In Fort Canning Hill, I learnt of the keramat (or sacred resting place) of Iskandar Shah, the 14th century ruler of Singapore who was also known as Parameswara. That was my last contact with Singapore history which explains why in my memory, it was Parameswara who founded Singapura.
According to this article, Sang Nila Utama was also known as Parameswara who was also known as Iskandar Shah. Whether Sang Nila Utama, Parameswara and Iskandar Shah refer to the same person, no one really knows. The different sources were rather consistent with two points though (i) Parameswara went to Singapura first then to Melaka and (ii) the founder of Melaka was Parameswara. I'm amazed that it took just a walk along an ordinary street in another country to piece together my own country's beginnings. Sang Nila Utama is a legendary figure. Parameswara and Iskandar Shah may be fictitious characters. The truth is, no one really knows who discovered Singapura.
Parameswara sounds familiar.
He's the fella who came to Singapore and beat the lion, remember?
Isn't that Sang Nila Utama?
Subsequently, I realised my confusion between the two names was valid. In lower secondary school we were taught that Sang Nila Utama saw a lion on an island and decided to name the place Singapura which means lion city. I remember this story clearly because I used to feel a little uneasy pronouncing the last word of the prince's name as it sounded rude in Chinese. When I went on to university, I wrote an essay on heritage tourism in Singapore using Fort Canning Hill as a case study. In Fort Canning Hill, I learnt of the keramat (or sacred resting place) of Iskandar Shah, the 14th century ruler of Singapore who was also known as Parameswara. That was my last contact with Singapore history which explains why in my memory, it was Parameswara who founded Singapura.
According to this article, Sang Nila Utama was also known as Parameswara who was also known as Iskandar Shah. Whether Sang Nila Utama, Parameswara and Iskandar Shah refer to the same person, no one really knows. The different sources were rather consistent with two points though (i) Parameswara went to Singapura first then to Melaka and (ii) the founder of Melaka was Parameswara. I'm amazed that it took just a walk along an ordinary street in another country to piece together my own country's beginnings. Sang Nila Utama is a legendary figure. Parameswara and Iskandar Shah may be fictitious characters. The truth is, no one really knows who discovered Singapura.
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