Of these names, Nusantara is believed to denote the
Archipelago generally, Gurun is Goram, Seran is Cerain, both
in the Moluccas, Ḍompo is a state in the island of Sumbawa,
Bali is the island lying immediately to the east of Java, Suṇḍa
is the western end of Java itself, and Palembang is of course the
well-known place of that name in south-eastern Sumatra.
Haru, which is often mentioned in the Sĕjarah Mĕlayu, was a
state on the east coast of Sumatra, Tañjung Pura is evidently
Borneo or some particular spot in Borneo, where a place
bearing that name did in fact exist. (I follow here the identifica-
tions given by Brandes). The names that particularly interest
us are Pahang and Tumasik: the former requires no comment,
the latter is certainly Singapore. In the Sĕjarah Mĕlayu the
old name of Singapore is given as (
language characters), Kuli which the Malays
nowadays pronounce Těmasak. It is evident, however, that
there has been a break in the tradition here: they ought to
call the place Tĕmasek, as it is printed in the Romanised (1898)
edition of the Sĕjarah Mĕlayu, for that would be the proper
Malay equivalent for the Javanese form Tumasik, and we shall
meet with the latter form again in another Javanese work in the
same connection. Brandes derives the name from tasek, "sea",
and imagines an identification with Samudra' (near Pasei) but
refers to the possibility of Singapore being meant. The Ency
clopædie van Nederlandsch-Indië (s. v. Tochten, vol. IV, pp.
383-4), following Professor Kern, correctly identifies it with
Singapore.
Evidently, (and this is important as confirming the amend- ed chronology of the Peninsula), Singapore was still in exist- ence as a state unsubdued by Majapahit at the time when Gajah Mada made his vow, somewhere about the year 1346 A.D. probably. It could not therefore have been finally de- stroyed by the forces of Majapahit in 1252 A.D. (in which year, it may be remarked, Majapahit had not yet been founded).
Most unfortunately there is at this point a lacuna in the text of the Pararaton and nothing whatever is told us of the important events which took place in pursuance of Gajah Jour. Straits Branch
