Kundor

These are numbers four and five of the rulers of Santubong as related to us by the dukun. The story, according to him, is connected to Sagenda Lelang

Saganda Sarik (Indra Sarik ) ~1053-1096 Indra Sarik was also known as Saganda Sarik. Indra Sarik was married to the daughter of the ruler of Kalaka and had two children. The first was a girl named Radin Sri Empuan Radeh and, the youngest, a boy, was named Pangiran Sri Tuan Indra Ragga. After the death of Sagenta Galam, Indra Sarik became the ruler and led from 1053-1096. He wanted to build his palace beneath the mountain. He ordered his people to construct the palace at the hill (Bukit Tunggol) near the base of Mount Santubong. Furthermore, he arranged for the hill to be flattened and the palace built. The location was strategic because it faces the sea and the river. It was easy for him to monitor the area. He also changed the name of Bukit Tunggol to Bukit Maras (after the name in Old Sarawak Malay-paras flattened hilltop). The old location of the palace at Sungai Jaong was shifted to Bukit Maras. He also changed the name of the kingdom from Indera Ponek to Sri Indera Purik. It is also during his rule that he changed the name of Mora Ponek to Santubong after his lover. He also named the other mountain after his other lover, Jin Jang. It became known as Gunung Sejinjang. Both mountains bear the name today. It was also during his rule that new settlements were opened in Santubong. The settlements were called Sungey Buntak, later called Buntal, and also Bakok, now called Bako. The name was selected from one of the ministers who ruled the areas under Sarik. Pangeran Sri Tuan Bunta who, was also a Patinggi in Sri Indera Purik and held the position as a minister with the title Sri Bentara Diraja Mangkuk Bumi. The same procedure was followed in the Bako area which was named after Pangiran Sri Tuan Bakok who is also a minister in Sri Indera Purik with a title of Sri Darmawangsa Setia Raja __________________________________________________________NOTE The ruler, said to be Sri Maja, ruled in 1068. ( Ongkili 1972 p. 3) __________________________________________________________Saganda Leleng ( Indra Ragga) ~ 1096-1131 Indra Ragga had three children, two girls and a boy. His eldest daughter died from the Nyi Nyeh. (a story we will hear about later.) The second daughter was named Pangiran Empuan Dang Sibi. The youngest son was named Pangiran Sri Tuan Indhara Uteh. (Saganda Surik) During the rule of Ragga, Negeri Kalaka had come under the rule Sri Indera Purik. The relationship with the kingdom of Tanjompurak (Tanjungpura) became very close. The kingdom of Indera Purik prospered and functioned as an iron trading center and as a dock to fix ships (dockyard). During his rule, he also freed the kingdom from Srivijaya after the Cholas attack and defeated the areas in south Sumatra. Santubong was free from any threat and had expanded its area which included Sari Abas (Seribas) Semat Rotan (Sematan) Sungey Bakok (Bako) Sungey Buntak (Buntal) and Mora Tebas. All of these areas, including Santubong, were under the Kingdom of Sri Indera Purik. The sister of Ragga, Raden Seri Empuan Radeh, was married to her cousin Datu Bujang Kamala. (Petinggi of Kalaka) Datu Bujang was the son of Datu Jabong, brother of Pemaisuri Tikam Sembar, the wife of Indra Sarik. Indra Ragga’s daughter, Pangiran Sri Empuan Dang Sibi was married to Pangiran Mokti (son of Bujang Kamala and Raden Sri Empuan Dang Radeh). Pangiran Mokti was appointed as Patinggi of Sri Abas. (Seribas). His younger brother, Pangiran Bakti was appointed Patinggi of Semat Rotan.(Sematan).

The Legend of Indra Ragga had an incident before he became ruler. His father, Indra Sarik, ordered the people to clear Bukit Tunggol to make way for the new Astana. The forest nearby was also cleared for hill padi. One day, while he was resting under a Tapang tree with his friends, he was looking at a Buah Anggun a creeping plant on the tree. He was surprised by a voice like a little child crooning. When he tried to find where the voice came from, he found a little girl eating the Anggan fruit. The girl produced a sound like nyeh-nyeh similar to that of a monkey. Indra Ragga approached her and asked the little girl, “Why are you eating the Anggan and where are your parents?” The little girl answered, “tik tau”‘ (tidak tahu), which means “don’t know”. He gave the little girl the food he brought with him. She ate it all. He asked the little girl where her house was and she answered in baby talk. He brought the little girl home and introduced her to his wife. The wife agreed to take care of the little girl and decided the girl could stay with them. The wife also said that the little girl can be a help by doing housework and could look after their child. They named the little girl Nyi Nyey. After four months, the little girl could do the housework and cook. One day, Ragga and his wife went to plant hill padi with the other residents of Kampung Pasey Putih. Ragga and his wife didn’t want to bring food with them. They thought they would come back for lunch because the wife needed to breastfeed the baby. Indra Ragga left a message for Nyi Nyey to cook the sayor kundor (kundur-a light green oblong melon) with a smoked fish head that was on the mantle above the fireplace. Indra Ragga was rushing when he passed the message to Nyi Nyey because they were already late for the planting of the padi. Nyi Nuey was not clear on what to do. 54 As lunch neared, she wanted to cook the sayor like the master wanted. She walked back and forth, trying to remember what the master said. She repeated the words “cook in sayor kundor with the baby’s head who was in the cradle”. Furthermore, she thought it over and over and looked at the baby and the sayor kundor. Scared the master would scold her because there was no lunch, she beheaded the child and cooked it with sayor kundur. After the kundor was cooked she arranged the head properly. She drank the blood because she was a ghost. They came home to have lunch. Before lunch, Indra Ragga’s wife was going to breastfeed the baby. She was shocked to see the baby’s head was separated from the body. It was blistered from cooking. She cried and screamed, calling for her husband. When Indra Ragga saw his lifeless baby, he became angry. He grabbed Nyi Nyeh and asked why. She told him what happened, and he became even angrier that he stabbed Nyi Nyeh with a parang (machete) and cut her in two. She changed into a very scary being. Furthermore, she then pleaded for her master to stab her one more time and Ragga asked why she wanted to be stabbed another time. If you stab me one more time, I will come back as a little girl and I can go back to the place where I belong. She kept on pleading for Ragga to stab her. Ragga asked, “Who are you?” and Nyi Nyeh answered, “I am Hantu Repak (ghost that is found in the bush) and a caretaker of Bukit Tunggol.” Indra Ragga said if I do that, you would become a danger to my wife and me. Nyi Nyeh promised she would not hurt them and would go back. Ragga did not want to grant her the wish. Nyi Nyeh became so angry, she cursed them and their whole descendants not to eat sayor kondor. (vegetable) If they should consume it, they would have skin disease, go blind, become crazy or die. After that, Nyi Nyeh disappeared.

It is believed among the Sarawak Malays that those who do not eat the kundor are the descendants of the rulers of Santubong.

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