Melaka where it all began!
Founded some 600 years ago, Melaka (or Malacca as it used to be known)
is where the history of Malaysia began. The city is rich with historical
and cultural attractions and is easy to get to, being located on the main
highway that bisets Peninsular Malaysia, only 120 km south-east of Malaysia's
capital, Kuala Lumpur and 250 km north-west of Singapore.
A visit to Melaka is a must for foreign and local tourists. Places of
interest include mausoleum of the legendary Malay warrior, Hang Tuah, Hang
Tuah's Well, the mausoleum of Tun Teja ( a princess at the centre of the
Hang Tuah legend), the replica of the Melaka Sultan's Palace, A Famosa
(the remains of the Portuguese fort), The Stadthuys (the Dutch administrative
complex), St. Francis Xavier's Church and a variety of Museums.
Chinese who came to Melaka and adopted Malay customs and language were
known as Baba and Nyonya and traces of their heritage (known as Peranakan)
can be seen in Chinatown as well as at the Baba and Nyonya Heritage museum.
The adventurous may visit the well of Hang Li Poh ( a princess from China
who married the fifth ruler of Melaka) and then walk-up Bukit China (Chinese
Hill) to get a panoramic view of the historic city.
Another main attraction of Melaka is the variety of food including Nyonya,
Thai, Chinese, Indian, Chitty and Portuguese cuisine, in addition to the
always delightful Malay cuisine.
To experience heavenly holiday bliss, travellers can also enjoy a tropical
island getaway at Pulau Besar and Pulau Upeh by taking the frequent boat
services to the islands.
Agoda.com/malacca-melakamelakamalaysiatravel.com
A Brief History of Melaka
The refugees settled first at Muar,
Johor, but were quickly driven away by a huge number of monitor lizards
which refused to move. The second spot chosen seemed equally unfavourable,
as the fortress that the refugees began to build, collapsed immediately.
Parameswara and his followers moved
on. Soon afterward, during a hunt near the mouth of a river called Bertam,
he saw a white mouse-deer or pelanduk, kick one of his hunting dogs.
So impressed was he by the mouse-deer's brave gesture that he decided immediately
to build a city on the spot. He asked one of his servants the name of the
tree under which he was resting and, being informed that the tree was called
a Malaka, gave that name to the city. The year was 1400.
Although its origin is as much romance
as history, the fact is that Parameswara's new city was situated at a point
of tremendous strategic importance. Midway along the straits that linked
China to India and the Near East, Melaka was perfectly positioned as a
centre for maritime trade. The city grew rapidly, and within fifty years
it had become a wealthy and powerful hub of international commerce, with
a population of over 50,000.
It was during this period of Melaka's
history that Islam was introduced to the Malay world, arriving along with
Gujarati traders from western India. By the first decade of the sixteenth
century Melaka was a bustling, cosmopolitan port, attracting hundreds of
ships each year. The city was known worldwide as a centre for the trade
of silk and porcelain from China; textiles from Gujarat and Coromandel
in India; camphor from Borneo; sandalwood from Timor; nutmeg, mace, and
cloves from the Moluccas, gold and pepper from Sumatra; and tin from western
Malaya.
Unfortunately, this fame arrived
at just the moment when Europe began to extend its power into the East,
and Melaka was one of the very first cities to attract its covetous eye.
The Portuguese under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque arrived first,
taking the city after a sustained bombardment in 1511.
The Sultan Mahmud, who was then the
ruler of Melaka, fled to Johor, from where the Malays counter-attacked
the Portuguese repeatedly though without success. One reason for the strength
of the Portuguese defence was the construction of the massive fortification
of A Famosa or Porta De Santiago, only a small portion of which survives
today.
A Famosa ensured Portuguese control
of the city for the next one hundred and fifty years, until, in 1641, the
Dutch after an eight-month siege and a fierce battle in 1641, captured
Melaka.The city was almost completely ruined but over the next
century and a half, the Dutch rebuilt it and occupied it largely as a military
base, using its strategic location to control the Straits of Malacca.
In 1795, when the Netherlands was
captured by French Revolutionary armies, Melaka was handed over to the
British by the Dutch to avoid its capture by the French. Although the British
returned the city to the Dutch in 1808, it was soon given back to the British
once again in a trade for Bencoleen in Sumatra.
From 1826, the English East India
Company in Calcutta ruled the city until 1867, when the Straits Settlements
( Melaka, Penang and Singapore ) became a British Crown colony. The British
continued their control until the Second World War and the Japanese
occupation from 1942 to 1945.
Following the defeat of the Japanese, the British resumed their control
until 31st. August 1957,
www.tourism-melaka.com - Cachedwww.cuti.my/guide_melaka.htm
POWER OF THE TAMING SARI
The kris
belonging to Malacca warrior Hang Tuah is now part of
Perak’s royal regalia, writes Diana Yeoh, New Straits Times
When talking about the Kris
Taming Sari, one always thinks of the legendary Hang Tuah
of Malacca. But did you know that the prized kris,
said to have magical powers, is now in the possession of the Perak royal family?
Legend has it that in the 15th.
Century, the Sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mansur Shah,
traveled to Java to ask for the hand of Majapahit
princess Raden Galoh
Chandra Kirana. Hang Tuah,
the Sultan’s favourite warrior, was part of the
entourage of palace officials.
But the officials, envious of
Hang Tuah, had murder on their minds. They engaged a
Javanese warrior, Taming Sari, to do the job but Hang Tuah
won the fight. Not only did he kill Taming Sari, but he was also “awarded?with
the dead man’s kris.
Back in Malacca, Hang Tuah handed the kris to Tun Mamat, with instructions that
it was to be given to Sultan Mahmud if he (Hang Tuah) failed to persuade Puteri Gunung Ledang to marry the
Sultan.
When the Portuguese conquered
Malacca in 1511, Sultan Mahmud took the kris with him when he fled to Johor-Riau
and later to Kampar in Sumetera.
He then gave the kris and other State regalia to his
son, Muzaffar, who was later proclaimed the first
Sultan of Perak, taking on the name of Sultan Muzaffar Shah in 1528.
This was how Taming Sari
ended up in Perak and it was passed on to the
Sultan’s successors till present day.
It was displayed at the Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah in Kuala
Kangsar in May 2007 when the present Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah,
celebrated his 79th. Birthday.
The kris
has a handle and sheath made of gold. The blade is made of 20 types of metal
composites, some said to come from the bolts that held the gates of the Kaabah in Mecca.
It is believed that the kris can “fly?and seek out the owner’s enemy. It could
even “rattle?in its sheath to warn its owner of potential danger.
It is now kept at the Istana Iskandariah Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar, and can only be handled by the Sultan and the
keeper of the palace regalia, Toh Seri Nara Di-Raja Mohd Sah
Nong Chik.
Is there proof that this is
indeed Hang Tuah’s Taming Sari? A manuscript dating
back more than 300 years, has been found in Terengganu. It throws some light on the mystical kris as it describes the weapon in detail. There is even a
diagram of a kris, labeled the Taming Sari,
resembling that in the possession of the Perak royal
family. A visual comparison shows that there are similarities between the
Taming Sari in Perak and the kris
in the diagram.
Webmaster: Another popular legend mentioned that Hang Tuah, having failed in ?/span>his mission to Gunung
Ledang, threw the Taming Sari into the Duyung
River. Many believe that if
the Taming Sari kris rises from the river bed of Duyung
River, Melaka will become famous and prosperous again.
www.melaka.net
www.melaka.gov.my
