Excerpt: Marsden "History of Sumatra"

(a) -:: the following legend communicated to me as the belief of the people of Johor.::- 

-:: "It is related that Iskander dived into the sea, and there married a daughter of the king of the ocean, by whom he had three sons, who, when they arrived at manhood, were sent by their mother to the residence of their father. He gave them a makuta or crown, and ordered them to find kingdoms where they should establish themselves. Arriving in the straits of Siñga-pura they determined to try whose head the crown fitted. The eldest trying first could not lift it to his head. The second the same. The third had nearly effected it when it fell from his hand into the sea. After this the eldest turned to the west and became king of Rome, the second to the east and became king of China. The third remained at Johor. At this time Pulo Percha (Sumatra) had not risen from the waters. When it began to appear, this king of Johor, being on a fishing party, and observing it oppressed by a huge snake named Si Kati-muno, attacked the monster with his sword called Simandang-giri, and killed it, but not till the sword had received one hundred and ninety notches in the encounter. The island being thus allowed to rise, he went and settled by the burning mountain, and his descendants became kings of Menañgkabau."::- 

-:: This has much the air of a tale invented by the people of the peninsula to exalt the idea of their own antiquity at the expense of their Sumatran neighbours.::- 

(b) -::Copy of a warrant::- 

-:: The Sultan of Menangcabow, whose residence is at Pagarooyoong; (after pardon asked for presuming to mention his name) who is king of kings, son of Raja Izounderzulear-nainny, and was possessed of Muncooto, who was brought from heaven by the prophet Adam; master of the third of the wood maccummat, one of whose properties is to enable matter to fly; of the lance ornamented with the beard of Jangee, of the palace of the city of Rome, whose entertainments and diversions are exhibited in the month of Dul-hadjee, and where all Alims, Pukkeeahs, (faquirs) and Moulahnocarrees, praise and supplicate God; of the gold of twelve grains, named coodarat coodarattee, resembling a man; who receives his taxes in gold by the lessong (quasi bushel) measure; whose betel-stand is of gold, set with diamonds; who is possessed of the sword, named chooree-se-mendong-geree, which has an hundred and ninety gaps, made in the conflict with the arch-devil, Se Catiee-moono, whom it slew; who is master of fresh water in the ocean, to the extent of a day's sailing; possessed of a lance formed of a twig of ejoo; of a calewang wrapped in an unmade chinday; of a creese formed of the soul of steel, which, by a noise, expresses an unwillingness at being sheathed, and shews itself pleased when drawn; of a date coeval with the creation; possessed of a gun brought from heaven named soubahanahououatanalla ; of a horse of the race of sorimborahnee, superior to all others; sultan of the burning mountain, and of the mountains goontang-goontang, which divide Palembang and Jambee ; who may slay at pleasure, without being guilty of a crime ; who is possessed of the elephant named Setta dewa ; who is vicegerent of heaven ; sultan of the golden river ; lord of the air and clouds ; master of a balli, whose pillars are of the shrub jelattang ; of gandangs (drums) made of hollowed branches of the minute shrubs pooloot and seelosooree ; of the gong that resounds to the skies ; of the buffalo named Se Binnooang Sattee whose horns are ten feet asunder ; of the unconquered cock, Sengoonannee ; of the coconut tree whose amazing height, and being infested with serpents and other noxious reptiles, render it impossible to be climbed ; of the flower named seeree menjeree, of ambrosial scent ; who, when he goes to sleep, wakes not till the gandang nobat sounds ; one of whose eyes is as the sun, and the other as the moon, - To his subjects declares this his will, & c."::- 

- :: Probably no records upon earth, can furnish an example of more unintelligible jargon: yet these attributes are believed to be indisputably true, by the Malays residing at a distance from his immediate dominions, who possess a greater degree of faith than wit; and with this addition, that he dwells in a palace without covering, free from inconvenience.

The seals prefixed to his warrant, beside his own, are those of the Sultan of Rome, or Grand Signior, (the empire of the Romans, having been transferred to Constantinople) who is looked upon, since the ruin of the Caliphs, as the head of the Mahometan religion, and whom he honors with the title of his eldest brother; and of the Sultan of China, a kingdom well known throughout the eastern seas, and by the Malays called Negree Cheeno, whom he styles his second brother; modestly regarding himself as the youngest. This gives a picture of the conception these monarchs formed of their relative importance in the world, and shews the extent, if not the accuracy, of their geographical and historical knowledge.::- 

(c) -:: The following Letter from the sultan of Menancabow to the father of the present sultan of Moco Moco, and apparently written about fifty years ago, was communicated to me by Alexander Dalrymple, Esq. and though it is in part a repetition, I esteem it too curious to hesitate about inserting it. The stile is much more rational than that of the foregoing.::- 

-:: "Praised be Almighty God! Sultan Gaggar Allum the great and noble King, whose extensive power reacheth unto the limits of the wide ocean; unto whom God grants whatever he desires, and over whom no evil spirit, nor even Satan himself has any influence; who is invested with an authority to punish evil doers; and has the most tender heart in the support of the innocent; has no malice in his mind, but preserveth the righteous with the greatest reverence, and nourisheth the poor and needy, feeding them daily from his own table. His authority reacheth over the whole universe, and his candor and goodness is known to all men. (Mention made of the three brothers.) The ambassador of God and his prophet Mahomet; the beloved of mankind; and ruler of the island called Percho. At the time God made the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, and even before Evil Spirits were created, this sultan Caggar Allum had his residence in the clouds; but when the world was habitable, God gave him a bird called Hocinet, that had the gift of speech; this he sent down on earth, to look out for a spot where he might establish an inheritance, and the first place he alighted upon was the fertile island of Lancapore, situated between Palimban and Jambee, and from thence sprang the famous kingdom of Manancabow, which will be renowned and mighty until the Judgement Day. 

This Maha Rajah Doorja is blessed with a long life and an uninterrupted course of prosperity which he will maintain in the name, and throughout the grace of the holy prophet, to the end that God's divine Will may be fulfilled upon earth. He is endowed with the highest abilities, and the most profound wisdom and circumspection in the governing the many tributary kings and subjects. He is righteous and charitable, and preserveth the honor and glory of his ancestors. His justice and clemency are felt in distant regions, and his name will be revered until the last day. When he openeth his mouth he is full of goodness, and his words are as grateful as rose water to the thirsty. His breath is like the soft wind of the heavens (Janatecool Ferdoors), and his lips are the instruments of truth; sending forth perfumes more delightful than benjamin or myrrh. His nostrils breathe ambergrease and musk ; and his countenance has the lustre of diamonds. He is dreadful in battle, and not to be conquered, his courage and valor being matchless. He, the sultan Maha Rajah Doorja, was crowned with a sacred crown from God ; and possesses the wood called Kamat, in conjunction with the emperors of Rome and China. He is the sultan that keeps the cloth called Sansisah Kallah, which weaves itself, and adds one thread yearly of fine pearls; and when that cloth shall be finished, the world will be no more. He also possesses the tree Negataroona, and a kind of gold called Jatta Jattee, which is so heavy that a small lump will snap the Datte wood. This is the sultan that enjoys the sword Se Mandang Gerey, which has one hundred and ninety wide notches in the field of battle, and is the weapon that killed the spirit of Kattee Moono; the dagger known by the name of Hangin Cinga is also his, and will, at his command, fight of itself, with which he has vanquished many nations. He also possesses the lance Lambing Lamboora, the blade of which, called Segar, was given him by an inhabitant of the sea. He likewise has horses of infinite strength and courage; and mountains of spontaneous fire. This is the sultan who keeps the flower Champaka that is blue, and to be found in no other country but his (being yellow elsewhere). He possesses the shrub Sera Mangeeree, and the reed Arver Priendue, to which birds of all countries come at the time of their death. He has also drums made of the tree Silagooree, and another instrument of the like nature of the wood called Pooloot-pooloot, which fend their sound through his whole dominions whenever they are beat. He has a Bechar house built of the hallowed wood Jylatong, and each beam in it, though strong and large, is yet as light as bamboo. He also possesses a carpet made of grass, and a lump of gold in the shape of a man, given him by a God of the woods. 

"After this salutation, and the information I have given of my greatness and power, which I attribute to the good and holy prophet Mahomet, I am to acquaint you with the commands of the sultan whose presence bringeth death to all who attempt to approach him without permission ; and also those of the sultan of Indrapore who has four breasts. This friendly sheet of paper is brought from the two sultans above named, by their bird Ongas, unto their son, sultan Gondam Shah, to acquaint him with their intention, under this great seal, which is, that they order their son sultan Gondam Shah to oblige the English Company to settle in the district called Biangnoor, at a place called the " field of sheep," that they may not have occasion to be ashamed at their frequent refusal of our goodness, in permitting them to trade with us and with our subjects; and that in case he cannot succeed is this affair, we hereby advise him, that the ties of friendship subsisting between us and our son, are broken ; and we direct that he send us an answer imediately, that we may know the result, and take our measures accordingly - for all this island is our own.::-