Island of the Lion

(A Legend of Singapore)
Hundreds of years ago, in the land of many islands, in a place once known as
Palembang, there lived a young prince called Sri Tri Buana. He was a happy young man
who loved to laugh and sing, to hunt and to play. The times were peaceful, and the
young prince often sailed with his friends out to one of the Riau Islands to picnic or to
hunt or to visit the other princes of the islands.

One day the prince and a group of his friends sailed to one of the islands, where they
planned to spend the hours hunting, swimming and picnicking. A few of the young men
set off to gather shellfish, while others went to hunt. The young girls wandered among
the orchids, and their mothers picked bananas and coconuts for the evening's feast. The
air was cool, the sky bright blue, and the leaves of the trees trembled in the gentle wind.
All was well.

But as the day went on, Sri Tri Buana grew restless with the hunt, for he had shot no
deer at all. Seeking game, he climbed to the top of the tallest rocks, and from there he
stared out at the world around him. The sea glistened. The sun gleamed. And then, in
the distance, he saw a sight he had never before seen -- a dot of land with a shore so
white, it looked like a long white cloth waving in the sea. He quickly called to his friends,
who climbed up the rocks to join him.

"What is that place?" he asked, and one of the chiefs answered, "That is a land known as
Temasek."

"I wish to see it up close," Sri Tri Buana said. "I've never seen a beach so white. Let us
sail there."

And so he and some of his men ran back to the shore, boarded their sailing ship and set
off in a brisk wind for the island.
They sailed into the open sea, and suddenly a violent storm rose up as if from nowhere.
Lightning streaked across the sky, and the waves climbed so high, they spilled over the
gunwales, rocking the ship so forcefully that everyone aboard feared they would drown.

"We must lighten our load," the captain cried as the ship began to fill with water. "Throw
everything overboard."

And so the men set to work, throwing all of their belongings overboard, and bit by bit
the ship began to rise.

But another wave tumbled over them, and once again the ship took on water. "It's no
use; we're too heavy," the men cried, as they imagined all they would leave behind when
they went to their watery deaths.

And then the captain looked at Sri Tri Buana who, like all the others, was hard at work
trying to right the ship. "Your crown, sir," said the captain. "Your crown must be thrown
overboard. It is too heavy. The sea has no respect for such extravagance."

Everyone turned to look at their prince, and they stared at the crown of heavy gold
studded with enormous jewels.

"Yes," the men cried. "We are helpless, and the crown is of no use. Throw away the
crown."

Without hesitation, Sri Tri Buana lifted his crown and tossed it overboard.

The moment the crown hit the water, the storm subsided. Suddenly all was calm again.
The sky turned from inky black to soft blue, the water grew still, the lightning ceased
and the waves vanished.

Once again the ship sailed easily, and before long they reached the shore of the island of
Temasek, where the white sand gleamed brighter than any jewel.
"It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen," said Sri Tri Buana as he looked around.
And then he saw that the sea brimmed with fish, the sky was filled with beautiful birds,
and the air was scented with the many fruits and flowers of this magical island. "Let us
go into the forest to hunt," he called to his men, for he saw this land was bountiful.

As they walked across the sand to the edge of the forest, a strange and beautiful animal
suddenly appeared out of the shadowy undergrowth. The creature was large, with a
black head, a body that gleamed tawny red beneath the sun, and a chest as dazzling
white as the island's sand. It stopped and stared at the men for a few moments, then
bounded gracefully away into the shadows.

"What was that?" Sri Tri Buana asked.

One of the men who knew these islands smiled. "That is a lion," he said.

Sri Tri Buana nodded. "A lion," he repeated. "Surely that is a sign that this place is a land
of plenty and of good fortune. This is the place I want to stay forever."

And that very day he renamed this place after the creature he had never before seen.
And there he ruled the place known as Singapura, or Lion City.
Terjemah
Ratusan tahun yang lalu, di tanah banyak pulau, di tempat yang dulu dikenal dengan
nama Palembang, tinggal seorang pangeran muda bernama Sri Tri Buana. Dia adalah
seorang pemuda yang bahagia yang suka tertawa dan bernyanyi, berburu dan bermain.
Waktunya damai, dan pangeran muda itu sering berlayar bersama teman-temannya ke
salah satu kepulauan Riau untuk piknik atau untuk berburu atau mengunjungi
pangeran pulau lainnya.

Suatu hari pangeran dan sekelompok teman-temannya berlayar ke salah satu pulau, di
mana mereka berencana untuk menghabiskan berjam-jam berburu, berenang dan
piknik. Beberapa pria muda berangkat untuk mengumpulkan kerang, sementara yang
lainnya pergi untuk berburu. Gadis-gadis muda berkeliaran di antara anggrek, dan ibu
mereka memetik pisang dan kelapa untuk pesta malam itu. Udara sejuk, langit biru
cerah, dan dedaunan pepohonan bergetar karena angin sepoi-sepoi. Semuanya baik-
baik saja.

Tapi seiring berjalannya waktu, Sri Tri Buana tumbuh gelisah dengan perburuan,
karena dia sama sekali tidak menembak rusa sama sekali. Mencari permainan, dia naik
ke puncak bebatuan tertinggi, dan dari sana dia menatap dunia di sekelilingnya. Laut itu
berkilau. Matahari berkilau. Dan kemudian, di kejauhan, dia melihat pemandangan
yang belum pernah dia lihat - sebidang tanah dengan pantai yang begitu putih, seperti
kain putih panjang yang melambai ke laut. Dia cepat-cepat memanggil teman-
temannya, yang memanjat batu untuk bergabung dengannya.

"Tempat apa itu?" tanyanya, dan salah seorang pemimpin menjawab, "Itu adalah tanah
yang dikenal sebagai Temasek."

"Saya ingin melihatnya dari dekat," kata Sri Tri Buana. "Saya belum pernah melihat
pantai yang begitu putih, marilah kita berlayar ke sana."

Maka dia dan beberapa anak buahnya berlari kembali ke pantai, menaiki kapal layar
mereka dan berangkat dengan cepat menuju pulau itu.
Mereka berlayar ke laut terbuka, dan tiba-tiba badai hebat bangkit seolah entah dari
mana. Petir menyengat melintasi langit, dan ombaknya naik begitu tinggi, mereka
menumpahkan pistol ke atas, mengayunkan kapal dengan sangat kuat sehingga semua
orang di kapal ketakutan akan tenggelam.

"Kita harus meringankan beban kita," sang kapten menangis saat kapal mulai dipenuhi
air. "Lemparkan semuanya ke laut."

Maka orang-orang itu mulai bekerja, membuang semua barang mereka ke laut, dan
sedikit demi sedikit kapal mulai naik.

Tapi gelombang lain jatuh di atas mereka, dan sekali lagi kapal itu mengambil air.
"Tidak ada gunanya, kita terlalu berat," teriak para pria, karena mereka membayangkan
semua yang akan mereka tinggalkan saat mereka mengalami kematian berair.

Dan kemudian kapten memandang Sri Tri Buana yang, seperti yang lainnya, sedang
berusaha keras untuk memperbaiki kapal. "Mahkota Anda, Sir," kata sang kapten.
"Mahkota Anda harus dilempar ke laut, terlalu berat, laut tidak menghormati
pemborosan semacam itu."

Semua orang berpaling untuk melihat pangeran mereka, dan mereka menatap mahkota
emas berat bertabur permata besar.

"Ya," seru orang-orang itu. "Kami tidak berdaya, dan mahkota tidak ada gunanya.
Buang mahkota."

Tanpa ragu, Sri Tri Buana mengangkat mahkotanya dan melemparkannya ke laut.

Begitu mahkota menghantam air, badai mereda. Tiba-tiba semua kembali tenang.
Langit berubah dari hitam pekat menjadi biru lembut, airnya tumbuh rata, petir
berhenti dan ombaknya lenyap.

Sekali lagi kapal itu berlayar dengan mudah, dan tak lama kemudian mereka sampai di
pantai pulau Temasek, di mana pasir putihnya berkilau lebih terang dari pada permata
manapun.
"Ini tempat terindah yang pernah saya lihat," kata Sri Tri Buana saat melihat sekeliling.
Dan kemudian dia melihat bahwa laut bertepi ikan, langit dipenuhi burung-burung
yang indah, dan udara beraroma dengan banyak buah dan bunga dari pulau ajaib ini.
"Mari kita pergi ke hutan untuk berburu," dia memanggil orang-orangnya, karena ia
melihat tanah ini melimpah.

Saat mereka berjalan melintasi pasir ke tepi hutan, binatang aneh dan cantik tiba-tiba
muncul dari balik semak belukar. Makhluk itu besar, dengan kepala hitam, tubuh yang
berkilauan merah kecoklatan di bawah sinar matahari, dan seputarnya putih
menyilaukan seperti pasir pulau. Ia berhenti dan menatap orang-orang itu beberapa
saat, lalu dengan anggun masuk ke dalam bayang-bayang.

"Apa itu tadi?" Tanya Sri Tri Buana.

Salah satu pria yang tahu pulau-pulau ini tersenyum. "Itu singa," katanya.

Sri Tri Buana mengangguk. "Singa," ulangnya. "Tentunya itu pertanda bahwa tempat ini
adalah tanah yang banyak dan kaya raya. Inilah tempat yang kuinginkan selamanya."

Dan pada hari itu juga dia mengganti nama tempat ini setelah makhluk yang belum
pernah dia lihat sebelumnya. Dan di sana ia memerintah tempat yang dikenal sebagai
Singapura, atau Lion City.