Mystery of Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah @ Fort Canning Park. Oldest Religious Monument in Singapore

Keramat Iskandar Shah at Fort Canning Park is a shrine dedicated to Sultan Iskandar Shah who was the last king of Singapura and the first Sultan of the Malacca Sultanate.

The structure we see today (2020) was built in the 1990s but the shrine itself is much older than that.

When Raffles and Farquhar landed at Singapore River in 1819, Temenggong Abdul Rahman told them that the heavily forested hill overlooking the river was Bukit Larangan (Malay for Forbidden Hill). Commoners were not allowed onto the hill. (Image of Singapore River and Bukit Larangan in 1823 courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Based on records in the Sejarah Malayu (Malay for Malay Annals), there was a kingdom of Singapura between 1299 to 1398 located at Singapore River and Bukit Larangan. Ancient kings once lived and were buried at Bukit Larangan. The palace ladies bathed in a spring at Bukit Larangan which was out of bounds to commoners.

The local Malays refused to climb the hill with William Farquhar, the first British Resident (governor) of Singapore. Farquhar did it anyway in 1819 with the help of some Malaccan Malays and raised the Union Jack. Henceforth, Bukit Larangan became Bukit Bendera (Flag Hill).

On a side note, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's great-great-great-great-grandmother Esther Farquhar Bernard is the eldest daughter of William Farquhar, the first British Resident from 1819 to 1823. She was buried at Fort Canning Hill in 1838 about 100 metres from Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah. (Source: Straits Times)

John Crawfurd, the second British Resident (governor) of Singapore trekked up Bukit Larangan in 1822. In his words:

"... on the north declivity of the hill, ..., is said to have been the burying-place of Iskandar Shah, King of Singapore.... ." (Map of Fort Canning Hill in 1825 courtesy of Wikipedia. The approximate location of Keramat Iskandar Shah marked with <  ).

In the three years since 1819, locals and newly arrived immigrants started to climb the once Forbidden Hill. (Map of Fort Canning Hill in 1884 courtesy of NAS. The approximate location of Keramat Iskandar Shah marked with <  ).

John Crawfurd described Keramat Iskandar Shah in 1822:

"Over the supposed tomb of Iskandar, a rude structure has been raised, since the formation of the new settlement, to which Mohammedans, Hindus, and Chinese, equally resort to do homage."

Image of Keramat Iskandar Shah in 1930 from the guidebook The Lights of Singapore by Roland Braddell published in 1934. To access the shrine, visitors had to cross a wooden bridge over a trench. The trench no longer exists today (2020).

Through the years, the structure over the shrine and its surroundings have been renewed many times but its spiritual significance never diminished since Bukit Larangan became accessible to the public. (Image of Keramat Iskandar Shah in 2012 courtesy of Wikipedia.)

As recorded by John Crawfurd in 1822, "..., Iskandar Shah, King of Singapore. This is the prince whom tradition describes as having been driven from his throne by the Javanese, in the year 1252 of the Christian era, and who died at Malacca, not converted to the Mohammedan religion, in 1274; so that the story is probably apocryphal."

The shrine is dedicated to Sultan Iskandar Shah though historians just like John Crawfurd consider it apocryphal i.e. not authentic. Sultan Iskandar Shah also known as Parameswara was the fifth and last monarch of the kingdom of Singapura. (Image of Parameswara courtesy of Wikipedia.)

After enjoying 99 years of prosperity, in 1389, a foreign power either Siamese or Javanese sacked Singapura and razed it to the ground. Parameswara escaped to Malacca and founded the Malacca Sultanate. Parameswara became Sultan Iskandar Shah after converting to Islam.

Sultan Iskandar Shah died in 1414 in Malacca. It is said that his body was brought back to Singapore and buried at Bukit Larangan where Keramat Iskandar Shah is located. However, historians have so far not been able to find evidence to support this belief.

Gerret Pieter Rouffaer, Dutch researcher and explorer of the Dutch East Indies noted in 1921 that the tomb at Keramat Iskandar Shah bored no inscriptions. The tomb's connection with Sultan Iskandar Shah was an oral tradition passed down the generations. Inscriptions were added later.

The Malay Annals recorded that the monarchs and families of the kingdom of Singapura (1299 - 1389) were buried at Bukit Larangan. Might it not be that this could possibly be the tomb of even Sang Nila Utama, the Palembang prince who founded Singapura, the Lion City in 1299?

Archaeological excavations around Keramat Iskandar Shah turned up thousands of 14th-century artefacts from China and Java, evidence that the kingdom of Singapura was a thriving trading city.

This exquisite 14th-century Javanese Majapahit gold ornament was excavated at Bukit Larangan near the shrine. The motif depicts Batara Kala, the Hindu god of time and destruction, and creator of light and the earth. (This gem is displayed at the National Museum of Singapore.)

However, evidence of the identity of the tomb's occupant has not yet been discovered. The origins of the shrine remains a mystery.

Today, Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah is revered by Muslims. Many families come here during Ramadan to break fast.

For myself, Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah reminds me of the ancient kingdom of Singapura where the story of Singapore began.

The path leading to Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah is lined with herbs and spices. Some visitors say their fragrance make them feel a certain presence at the holy place.

References:

History Controversy

Date: 12 Oct 2020