Candi Bumi Ayu is a Hindu temple from the 9th century during the time of the powerful Sri Vijaya empire (7th to 13th century) which, based in Palembang (South Sumatra), controlled both the Malacca and Sunda Straits i.e. all east west access between China and India / Arabia.
The temple was built on the northern bank of Sungai Lematang river (140km southeast of Palembang, the capital city of the Sri Vijaya empire). It became disused and was abandoned from the 16th century following the arrival of Islam in Sumatra.
Over time, the abandoned temple grounds crumbled and the ruins were overgrown by rainforest or washed away by river erosion. The locals forgot about the existence of the old Hindu temple until it was rediscovered by Dutch military doctor, EP Tombrink in 1864.
Nobody knows now the original name of the Hindu temple - it was named Candi Bumi Ayu after its rediscovery because the ruins were located at Bumi Ayu village in Tanah Abang district.
What has Candi Bumi Ayu got to do with Singapore?
I suggest that some of the excavated relics from Candi Bumi Ayu support the narrative that Singapura was founded by Sang Nila Utama, a Sri Vijayan prince in the 13th century.
Why No Lions in the Lion City?
Among the excavated artefacts at Candi Bumi Ayu were guardian / protector lions or Singa.
The 17th century Sejarah Malayu or Malay Annals recounted the story of a Sri Vijayan prince from Palembang named Sang Nila Utama (also known as Sri Tri Buana) who landed on Temasek island in the 13th century.
Sang Nila Utama and his landing party encountered a magnificent creature -
"... an animal extremely swift and beautiful, its body of a red colour, its head black and its breast white, extremely agile, and of great strength, and its size a little larger than a he-goat."
Sang Nila Utama's mentor, former king of Palembang Damang Lebar Daun advised him that "... in the histories of ancient times... " it was a lion or Singa.
Taking it as a good omen, Sang Nila Utama decided to set up his kingdom on the island and named it Singapura, the Lion City.
Obviously, there were and are no lions roaming wild in Singapore, leading many people to dismiss the Sang Nila Utama account as mere legend, myth or folklore i.e. not credible, not a factual event.
I suggest that the lion "in the histories of ancient times" that Damang Lebar Daun was referring to, may be the protector lions guarding the Hindu temples of Sri Vijaya similar to these excavated at Candi Bumi Ayu.
Of course, it was a case of mistaken identity (we have no idea what animal Sang Nila Utama actually saw) but in their minds' eyes they envisioned the guardian lions they have seen at the Hindu temples of Sri Vijaya such as these at Candi Bumi Ayu.
Majapahit or Sri Vijaya Gold?
During earth works for the sewage system at Fort Canning in 1928, a gold armlet was unearthed 3 metres deep underground at the summit.
Fort Canning was built on the site of Bukit Langaran or the Forbidden Hill. At the summit, it was either a temple or the palace of the kings of the Kingdom of Singapura.
The gold armlet likely adorned the arm of an important person (royalty or maybe a priest) during the time of Singapura (1299 - 1398). It was likely buried to hide it from invaders (from Java or Siam) who sacked and razed Singapura to the ground in 1398.
When the gold armlet was rediscovered, Richard Winstedt, a British colonial scholar of Malay history (in consultation with Dutch archaeologist P.V. van Stein Callenfels) identified the style of the armlet as being Majapahit. Hence, it was named Majapahit Gold and often cited as evidence of Majapahit's hegemony / influence over Singapura.
These statues from Candi Bumi Ayu showed that armlets were also worn in the Sri Vijaya empire.
The Bumi Ayu armlet had the same Kala motif as the "Majapahit Gold" armlet.
Kala is a protector who wards off evil and misfortune.
The Sri Vijayans were skilled goldsmiths capable of intricate work. For example, exquisite gold jewelry from the Sri Vijaya era were recovered from the Musi River bed at Palembang in 2021.
With these artefacts from Candi Bumi Ayu, I suggest that besides the Majapahit in Java, the gold armlet at Bukit Larangan / Fort Canning could also possibly be from nearer Singapura, the Sri Vijaya in south Sumatra.
The "Sri Vijaya Gold" hypothesis could be more consistent with the origin of Sang Nila Utama and his followers who came to Singapura from the Sri Vijaya empire in 1299.
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
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