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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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Citation Information
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110 k, ~
1300K III.
MARCO POLO
place them in caverns among the mountains where no
beast nor other creature can get at them. And you
must know also that if they take prisoner a man of
another country, and he cannot pay a ransom in coin,
they kill him and eat him straightway. It is a very evil
custom and a parlous.'
Now that I have told you about this kingdom let us
leave it, and I will tell you of Lambri.
NOTE 1. —I have little doubt that in Marco's dictation the name was really Sumatra, and it is possible that we have a trace of this in the Sainarclia (for Sanzartha) of the Crusca MS.
The Shijarat Malayu has a legend, with a fictitious etymology, of the foundation of the city and kingdom of Samudra, or SUMATRA, by Marah Silu, a fisherman near Pasangan, who had acquired great wealth, as wealth is got in fairy tales. The name is probably the Sanskrit Samudra, " the sea." Possibly it may have been imitated from Dwára Samudra, at that time a great state and city of Southern India. [We read in the Malay Annals, Salalat al Salatin, translated by Mr. J. T. Thomson (Proc. R. G. S. XX. p. 216) : " Mara Silu ascended the eminence, when he saw an ant as big as a cat ; so he caught it, and ate it, and on the place he erected his residence, which he named Samandara, which means Big Ant (Semut besar in Malay)."—H. C.] Mara Silu having become hing of Samudra was converted to Islam, and took the name of Malik-al-Sálih. He married the daughter of the King of Parlák, by whom he had two sons ; and to have a principality for each he founded the city and kingdom of Pasei. Thus we have Marco's three first kingdoms, Ferlec, Basma, and Samara, connected together in a satisfactory manner in the Malayan story. It goes on to relate the history of the two sons A1-Dháhir and Al-Mansúr. Another version is given in the history of Pasei already alluded to, with such differences as might be expected when the oral traditions of several centuries came to be written down.
Ibn Batuta, about 1346, on his way to China, spent fifteen days at the court of Samudra, which he calls Sänaathrah or Sc,nz 1krah. The king whom he found there reigning was the Sultan Al-Malik A1-Dháhir, a most zealous Mussulrnan, surrounded by doctors of theology, and greatly addicted to religious discussions, as well as a great warrior and a powerful prince. The city was 4 miles from its port, which the traveller calls Sdrlia ; he describes the capital as a large and fine town, surrounded with an enceinte and bastions of timber. The court displayed all the state of Mahomedan royalty, and the Sultan's dominions extended for many days along the coast. In accordance with Ibn Batuta's picture, the Malay Chronicle represents the court of Pasei (which we have seen to be intimately connected with Samudra) as a great focus of theological studies ab-)ut this time.
There can be little doubt that Ibn Batuta's Malik Al-Dháhir is the prince of the Malay Chronicle the son of the first Mahomedan king. We find in 1292 that Marco says nothing of Mahomedanism ; the people are still wild idolaters ; but the king is already a rich and powerful prince. This may have been Malik Al-Salih before his conversion ; but it may be doubted if the Malay story be correct in representing him as the founder of the city. Nor is this apparently so represented in the Book of the hings of Pasei.
Before Ibn Batuta's time, Sumatra or Samudra appears in the travels of Fr. Odorie. After speaking of Lamori (to which we shall come presently), he says :
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