The Palace of Sultan Mansur Shah at Malacca

Author(s): Michael D. Sherwin

Source: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 40, No. 2 (May, 1981), pp.
101-107
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural
Historians
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 The Palaceof SultanMansurShahat Malacca
MICHAEL D. S H ERWIN Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang

This article proposes a reconstruction, shown in scale drawings,

BUR A Ayutthaya
of a palace built for a Malay Sultan, probably in the 1460s. The
CIM
main aims of the discussion are to clarify the reconstruction, the
Angkor
problems surrounding it, and the reasons for arriving at this
* .0
form; to place it in the context of region and epoch; and to Do

elaborate on its salient aspects.

The article begins with a brief account of Malacca in the i5th
century, considers some of the cultural influenceson it, and com-
ments on the Malay Annals, a traditional history of the Malacca
Sultanate and the sources for the account of the palace on which TAN
I
DAH
the reconstruction is based. The description of the building, re- K E NTAN

markably lucid considering its age and circumstances, is trans- PE RK

lated. Various possibilities concerning the overall form of the ANG

palace are discussed, particularlytwo alternativesfrom the South laca

East Asian area, and one is posited as being the basic forerunner
OEgapore
and formgiver. The different parts of the building, particularly 0 U
0 UBORNEO
'
those mentioned specifically in the translated passage, are con- HNGGA
sidered relative to the proposed reconstruction. JAMB

MALACCA is a small port which lies on the west side of the
Malay Peninsula (Fig. i), in what is now Malaysia, but in the
15th century it was a sultanate and a power in its own right. The
Straits of Malacca between the peninsula and the neighboring
island of Sumatra are named after it, signs of its former impor-
tance. The fixing of present national boundaries bears little rela-
tion to the situation at that time, when a variety of principalities
vied for ascendancy over one another, Malacca being one of the
strongest in the Malay world and the most independent of those
on the mainland. The Malay world was by no means confined to
what came to be known as Malaya; indeed the homeland is in
Sumatra, and the diplomatic and other exploits of the Malays
throughout a wide area are the reason for the national language
of Indonesia today being Malay. Many contacts occurred among
different groups in the region, with ample opportunity for many
influences to pass to and fro.
Buddhism and particularly Hinduism had a major impact on
the entire region, overlaying and combining with an earlier an-
imism. In addition to its new religious vocabulary-which was
easily able to incorporate the spiritsand charms already native to
the area-Indian influence introduced the concept of rajahswho
were of divine ancestry, and probably the collection of appur-
tenances and customs attendant on the sacred kingship. Among
Pale bang
JAVA
10 0
Fig. i. MalayPeninsulaandsurrounding
region,showingMalaccaand
someplacesof importanceduringtheSultanate.
these, and one that concerns us in this discussion of a palace, was
the right to seven tiers whether for umbrella, ceremonial pavil-
ion, or residence. Lesserranks had lesser numbers of such tiers to
proclaim their status.' The seven levels, apart from the univer-
sality of seven as a sacred number, derive probably from the
Heaven of Indra on the top of the seventh level of Mount Ma-
hameru, the center of creation in Hindu cosmogony: the rajahs
were supposed to be descended from Indra, who as a divine
being not worshipped as an immortal god, was acceptable to the
Theravada Buddhists as well as to Hindus. Apart from such
mythic Hindu origin, many of the royal families probably were
i. R. Winstedt, The Malays: A Cultural History, London, 1947,
I96I, 86.

IOI

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102 JSAH, XL:2, MAY 1981
Fig. z. Pagaruyung,Sumatra,palace, at present being reconstructed.
Room covered by the top roof at right angles is known as the mahaligai.
descendants of intermarriageswith the more culturallyadvanced
immigrantsfrom India.
Malacca is traditionally said to have been founded in 1394 by
a Hindu, Parameswara, whose ancestry was Sumatran. The
newly established port soon attracted many foreign merchants,
many of them Muslims, whether of Arabian, Indian, or Suma-
tran origin. Muslim influence increased as the kingdom grew
richer and stronger; apparently during the first half of the I 5th
century, Islam became the official and prevailingreligion and the
Rajah became Sultan. The heyday of the Malacca Sultanate was
brief, since in 1511 the Portuguesecapturedthe town, the begin-
ning of the long process of draining power from the traditional
rulers.
Before the coming of Europeans, little written material from
the region exists, and its history is but sketchily known. One
well-known account of the Malacca Sultanate is available, the
Malay Annals, probably recorded at the end of the i6th century.
Although many of the incidents are mythic, the outline of the
account regarding the succession of rulers and the growth of
power of the Sultanate seems to be accurate. One of the rulers
when Malacca was at its height, well established, and already
converted to Islam, was Sultan Mansur Shah, who reigned from
1456 to 1477. An account in the Malay Annals considers the
palace constructed by Mansur Shah to proclaim his glory, fame,
and power-the building of such a palace in those days was
equivalent to a state having its own nuclear weapons in these
times. The account runs:
... And the size of that palace was seventeen spaces, for each space the
breadth was three fathom, the columns were as large around as could be
embraced; of seven levels were the pinnacles. In between that were
provided windows, in between those windows were placed roofs at right
angles and like suckling elephants, all of them with wings like those of a
kite and carved and projecting from under the eaves, in between that
projection was carried out the 'rectangular grasshopper', all of it with
peaks and fringes all over. Moreover all those windows of the palace
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werealtogetherpaintedandgildedwithliquidgold,its [their?]pinnacles
wereredglass.Whenit caughtthe raysof the sunits formblazedlikea
jewel;and the wallingof thatpalacewas pannelledall over,moreover
insetwith Chinesemirrorsof largesizes.Whenit caughttheglareof the
sun its formblazedin flashes,so thatits imagewas not clearto peoples'
sight. Moreoverthe crossbeamsof that palacewere a cubit broad,a
hand and two fingersthick;as for the upstandit was two cubits in
breadth,a cubitin thickness,theframesof thosedoorswerecarved,and
fortywasthenumberof thosedoors,allof thempaintedandgildedwith
liquidgold.Exceedingly beautifulwastheexecutionof thatpalace;there
was no otherpalacein the whole worldlike it. Andthatpalaceit was
whichwas calledby men,Mahaligai.Itsroofcoveringwasbrassandtin
crested.2
However literal one may try to make a translation,as in this case,
coloration will result from the translator'sunderstanding,espe-
cially when the structure of the language is different from our
own, and terms are employed that are no longer in general use.
Still, this version seems more intelligible than that in the gen-
erally used English version of the Malay Annals,3 which was
translated from a differentMalay original.4This is not the place
to go into the ages of and variations among the severalrecensions
of the manuscript. The version used here can be seen to make
sense from an architecturalpoint of view, even if some details are
ambiguous; indeed it is remarkably clear and concise for the
description of a building. It is all the more important as a source
for architecturalhistory when we realize that all such buildings
in this region were of timber, and that not a single relic of any
comparable structure survives. The palace described here burnt
down not long after being completed. This description was writ-
ten to draw attention to the magnificenceand special features of
the palace; it was for an audience who would know in what form
a Malay Sultan'sdwelling should be, and who could thereforefill
z. W. G. Shellabear, Sejarah Melayu, Kuala Lampur, 1975,
133.
Spellings are altered to bring them in line with the new rules. This
translation by the author is from the most generallyacceptedMalay text.
Ada pun besarnya istana itu tujuh belas ruang, pada seruang tiga depa
luasnya, besar tiangnya sepemeluk; tujuh pangkat kemuncaknya. Pada
antara itu diberinya bertingkap, pada antara tingkap itu diberinya ber-
bumbungan melintang dan bergajah menyusu, sekaliannya bersayap
layang-layang berukir dan bersengkuap, pada antara sengkuap itu di-
perbuatnya belalang besagi, sekaliannya bergunungan-gunungan dan
berjurai-jurai belaka. Ada pun segala tingkap istana itu sekaliannya
dicat dan dibubuhi air emas, kemuncaknya kaca merah. Apabila kena
sinar matahari bernyala-nyala rupanya seperti manikam; dan dinding
istana itu sekaliannya berkambi, maka ditampali dengan cermin Cina
yang besar-besar.Apabila kena panas mataharibernyala-nyalarupanya
kilau-kilauan, tiada nyata bahana dipandang orang. Ada pun rasuk
istana itu sehasta lebarnya, sejengkaltiga jaritebalnya; akan birai istana
itu dua hasta lebarnya, sehasta tebalnya, diukirnyajenangpintu itu, dan
empat puluh banyak pintunya, sekaliannya dicat dibubuh air emas.
Terlalu indah-indah perbuatannya istana itu; sebuahpun istana raja-
raja di dalam dunia ini tiada seperti itu. Dan istana itulah yang dinamai
orang mahaligai. Atapnya tembaga dan timah disirip.
3. C. C. Brown, Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals, Kuala Lumpur,
1970, 77-78.
4. R. Winstedt, transcriber,"RafflesMS of SejarahMelayu," Journal
of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, xvI, part III, 1938,
II4.
 SHERWIN: THE PALACE OF SULTAN MANSUR SHAH AT MALACCA
Fig. 3. Minangkabau, traditional house, now preserved for display.
Roof arrangement reflects the internal layout, with the long reception
room continuous along the front.
Fig.4. Burma,tieredtempletowerbuiltin wood.
in the missing parts of the description for themselves. We on the
contrary have no direct evidence about the basic form of such
palaces.
What existing buildings or depictions of buildings in old
sources could be related to the description given? The Malays do
not seem to have used funeraryornaments, no drawings survive,
and the wood carvings have disappearedwith the buildings they
once adorned. In any case, Islam discouraged all but abstract
ornament. As far as extant architectureis concerned, two prom-
ising examples can be consulted without having to go as far afield
as the stone temples of India or the multi-tiered buildings of
Nepal.5
5. As mentioned above, Hindu influence was probably at work, par-
ticularly as indicated by the phrase "of seven levels were the pinnacles,"
but such influence was spread widely throughout Asia and manifested
itself in a variety of local forms. Indeed if we recall that the many storied
pagodas of Japan originated from the Buddhist stupa which was orig-
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103
Fig. 5. Malaccadistrict,mosquewith threetieredpyramidalroof.This
building,perhapslessthan40 yearsold, showsHinduinfluence,as well
as Islamic,BritishColonial,Malay,andevenChineseelements.Abstract
"dragonandpearl"motifcanbe seenin cornerfinial.
One of these is the curved roof buildings of the Minangkabau.
The Minangkabaupeople (the name means "winningbull") have
their present homeland in the hills of Sumatra, inland from the
coast opposite Malacca, and an area was also settled by them on
the peninsula, inland and to the northeast of Malacca. Their style
of building is distinctive (Fig. z). Most likely developed mainly
within Sumatra,6the particularform of the upcurvingroofs lends
itself well to a layeringwhich incorporatesthe concept of tiers of
building. No evidence suggests that these people had any greater
influence on the culture than the many other peoples who settled
in the Malacca area or with whom the Malacca Malays had
dealings, except that the simplified type of Minangkabau house
(Fig. 3) built in the peninsula seems to be strongly reflectedin the
type of house common in the Malacca area to this day.
The other example is a Burmesetemple tower, such as the one
shown in Figure 4, constructed in timber, and in a sense the
simplest possible structure that could fit the description given.
The roof consists of seven tiers, excluding the Buddhist termina-
tion at the top. Each tier could be said to have pinnacles in the
form of the cornerfinials, and windows are located between each
tier. However, such a tower presupposes a building below it
which is square in plan, or very nearly so. We are told in the
description that the palace was i7 bays in size, which is always
taken to mean that it was 17 bays long. It would be possible, of
course, to arrange 17 bays in three rows, two of 5 bays to either
side of one row with 7 bays, resulting in a more rectangularplan.
This is unlike anything else to be found in the region today, and
inally a burial mound, we can see to what an extent an abstract form can
be totallymodifiedby its architectural
embodimentaccordingto local
style.
6. M. D. Sherwin,"FromBatakto Minangkabau," MajallahAkitek,
I:79, March 1979, 38-42.
I04 JSAH, XL:2, MAY 1981
ISTANAMAHALIGAI PANDANGAN
DEPAN
untukSultanMansurShah
the scale becomes small for the most magnificentof palaces. The
question of the "40 doors" cannot be gone into fully here, as it
would involve a discussion of the usage of the relevant Malay
words and of the traditional construction of houses. In any case,
this number of doors can be fitted in whether the squarishor long
plan is adopted, so little can be deduced from the matter of
doors.
A building tradition exists in the district and throughout the
peninsula, again following Sumatra, of layered pyramidal roofs
on a square base; to this day in Malacca itself one finds mosques
with three layers of roof and small gaps between them (Fig. 5).
This arrangement,however, can hardly be said to provide levels
of pinnacles, and a severe problem of scale would be created in
any reconstruction based on such a type, since either the hall
would be too small for a regal palace-a square enclosure is
suitable for a mosque, indeed is often preferred,but hardly for a
palace-or else the roof height would be beyond the probable
limits of timber construction, quite apart from the matter of 17
bays. In attempting a reconstruction, ioo feet would be about
the maximum height possible, even though in the Malayan forest
straight trunks of up to 150 feet can be found. In the largest
timber building in Malaysia today, the palace of SriMenanti, the
main pillars rise 60 feet, and the palace at Pagaruyungis about
the same height. No evidence suggests taller buildings in the
region.7 The reconstruction proposed here is 25 meters (82 feet)
to the ridge and the topmost pinnacle is just short of ioo feet
from the ground, so it is within conservativelimits.
Considering all aspects of the matter and trying to arrive at a
plausible building proposal, it seems necessary to reject the
square based pagoda tower and follow the example of Minang-
kabau structures with predominantly horizontal emphasis and
upflung pinnacles. Thus we arriveat the reconstructionshown in
7. TheDaibutsudenatTodaiji,Nara,is 157 feethighandtheFokuang
TemplePagodain China,fromIo56, is z16 feet high,so theseheights
couldbe obtainedin timber.
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Fig. 6. Malacca,Palaceof Sultan
MansurShah,scaledrawingsof
reconstructionproposedby author:
a. frontelevation,b. sideelevation,c.
enlargeddetailof projecting'dormer'
roof.
, 10
Ofeet 2n 30 40
15
50
Figure 6, which brings together several themes and appears to
correspond to the intentions of the description. Not only do
sound historical reasons for this design provide solid support,
but internalevidence from the terms used and the way in which it
fits the description, point to its probability.
As is nearly universalamong the Malays, the building is raised
off the ground on its timber posts. This is proved by a passage
just after the one translated above, where the followers of the
Sultan walk under the palace while he ascends to inspect it. As
can be seen, the arrangementof 17 bays along the front has been
adopted, with columns at 4.5 meters (15 feet) spacing and each
column 0.5 (zo inches) in diameter. Allowing for only a slight
exaggeration in the account, this would suit the probable height
of a Malay of those days. The palace of Pagaruyunghas 15 bays
(Fig. z), so this is quite in character.That palace has the end bays
set back on the central longitudinal axis, whereas the reconstruc-
tion proposed here has a straight run all along the front both in
order to have a simple arrangementof seven tiers and to follow
the surviving examples of Minangkabau houses in Malaysia it-
self (Fig. 3). Each tier has its pair of pinnacles at the swept-up
ends. The word translated as "window" in the text, and indeed
in general use today, tingkap, has a one letter differencefrom the
word now used to mean "storey," tingkat, so that an etymologi-
cal connection is probable; tingkap originally may have meant
"window in a storey," or clerestory. This is what it signifies in
this reconstruction, meaning the bands of windows separating
the tiers of roof.
There were roofs at right angles at each level, and this must
mean some sort of dormer system as shown here. The "suckling
elephant" type of roof may refer to this small piece running into
the main flank, but more likely it refers to a gable running into
another gable end wall under a higher roof on the same axis; thus
it presumably applies to the successive tiers where they overlap
each other. It is not clear how many small dormer roofs at right
angles there should be, whether merely one line down the center
or more. The former arrangementwould render each one a bit
 SHERWIN: THE PALACE OF SULTAN MANSUR SHAH AT MALACCA
inconspicuous, but is in keeping with the derivation of the sym-
bolism of the building from Mount Mahameru, which faces four
directions-compare Angkor Wat and others. The provision of
several such roofs at each level would be more impressiveand in
keeping with the Hindu proclivity toward multiplicity and pro-
fusion, but the number must be limited by the curve of the build-
ing lines which makes the construction of such dormers at the
end bays all but impossible.
The meanings of the "wings of the kite," and of the phrase
translated here, literally, as "rectangulargrasshopper," are un-
certain. In the typical Malay house today the gables under the
ends of the roof are filled in with a triangularconstruction which
slants inward at the top and is known as "sail"; the Malay kite is
diamond-shaped, hence one "wing" of this is a triangle.Thus the
reference may be to this gable-end board or "sail" (this type of
kite is layang-layang,whereas "sail" is layar: the slanting gable-
end is known as tibar layar;Fig. 7). This makes sense of the word
translated here as "projecting from under the eaves," a term
usually used for a small ancillary roof on a lower level than the
main eaves and partially overhung by them: if the slant of the
triangularsail is fairly extreme, it is covered by the pitched roof
of the dormer at the top and exposed where it leans out at the
bottom. Such a feature is not found on traditional Minangkabau
buildings in Sumatra, but is almost universal on all styles of
house in Malaya. On the main gable ends of a largeMinangkabau
palace such as the one at Pagaruyungit would be virtually im-
possible due to the large expanse of the area involved, but on the
smaller projecting dormers it becomes possible. Presentlyone of
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IO5
the hallmarksof the Malay house, at that date it may have been a
new feature, which would explain why special attention is paid
to it in the description. The "rectangulargrasshopper" would
appear to be some particularshape of bracket or infill associated
with the projecting "sail" and perhapshelping to hold it in place.
A shaped pendant bracket is shown, copied from houses in Su-
matra; it has something of the image of a grasshopperpoised to
leap.
Other features mentioned pose little problem and fall into
place naturally. The "Chinese mirrors" are round or octagonal
ones as commonly used by that race as talismans above door-
ways, set into panelling in the screen wall below the eaves at the
ends of the buildings; this can be seen to this day (Fig. 8). It is
probable that this is the "wall" referred to, since all the lower
part of the building proper would be occupied by the "40
doors"; these are not in fact doors that can be walked through,
but are large window openings closed by wooden shutters. The
part described as "upstand" is the piece of walling or parapet
that runs from column to column all along the building, just
above the floor, and the window openings are directlyon this, so
that the top of it becomes the window sill. The top, furthermore,
may be curved along the length to follow the general lines of the
building while keeping the floor level. The end bays of a palace or
chief's house were usually raised up in steps, thus forming an
elevated platform where the rajah or chief could sit to give audi-
ence, with an intermediate level for his nobles and the general
floor level for commoners. Another sign of royalty to be found
directly under this raised floor at the projectingends of the build-
ing is the "hanging column,"s a column which stops short below
fea-
8. W. G. Shellabear,SejarahMelayu,74. Certainarchitectural
turesarereservedexclusivelyfortherulers,suchas thehangingcolumn
whichdoes not reston the ground,and columnsall the way fromthe
groundup to the undersideof the roof covering(normallyof course
columnsstop at the undersideof the truss)."Dan laranganberbuat
rumahpermanjungan bertianggantungtiada terletakke tanah, dan
bertiangterusdariatap,danperanginan."
106 JSAH, XL:2, MAY 1981
Fig. 7. Malaccadistrict,house,view of gableend.Slanting'sail'can be
clearlyseen in doublearrangement. Smallupperroom is indicatedby
horizontalwindowopening.
the crossbeam and does not reach the ground. In particularat the
ends where the roof is lower and the building narrower, the
individual columns have less load to support and so the extra
weight from this unsupported column can be borne by the cross-
beam-particularly when these beams are 18 inches by 8 inches
as in this account. The origin of this curious feature of the hang-
ing column is not known. The beams are socketed into the col-
umns and the tenoned ends may very likely project beyond them.
The floor is built up in the normal way above them with joists
and planks.
Apart from the shaped and carved door jambs and "wings"
specifically mentioned, probably most of the surfaces were
carved in relief and then painted. The doors and windows are
described as being painted and also gilded with "liquid gold,"
although this is more likely to have been gold leaf, and this is
reminiscent of Thai temples where the doors and window shut-
ters are bright red picked out in gold. The predominant colors
over most of the building are likely to have been red and black
together with white or orange-yellow. These are the colors of the
cloths attached to the newly erected principal pillars of houses
under construction to this day, and of course are colors easily
obtained from natural sources.
The covering of the roof poses a problem. The text has gen-
erally been translated to mean that shingles of copper (or brass)
and tin were used, which is possible although no examples sur-
vive. The Thais today use bright glazed tiles with something of
the same effect. However, the passage can equally be translated
to mean that there were only strips or cappings of metal, and in
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Fig. 8. Malolo, Sumatra,villagehouse, projectingancillaryroof and
gableend.Mirrorssetintopanellinggleamin shadow.Surfacecarvingis
paintedmainlyin earthcolors.
this case the main roof covering might have been of a type of
black thatch; this combination can be seen on the palace at
Pagaruyung(Fig. z). This system easily accommodates the curves
of the roof and can be integratedwith the pinnacles which would
most likely have been of metal, crowned as noted with red glass.
This is also more probable when we consider the account of the
fire which broke out suddenly on the roof.9 We are left with the
impression that, apart from its size and grandeur, the particular
significance of this palace that led to its being described-no
other comparable passage is contained in the Malay Annals or
other Malay historical writings-may have been its tiered roof
and the way that it and the windows and ancillary roofs fitted
together.
The overall appearance of this proposed reconstruction has
been kept as simple as possible congruent with the information
9. A discussionof themeaningandsignificance of thetermMahaligai
as appliedto thepalacehadbestbe left to scholarsof Asianlanguages,
especiallySanskrit;it maybe morethancoincidentalthattodaytheterm
means the topmostand privateaccommodationfor a royal wife or
daughterin sucha storiedpalace.
 SHERWIN: THE PALACE OF SULTAN MANSUR SHAH AT MALACCA 107

given in the text. If the design seems lodged somewhere between
Sumatranand Thai forms, that too is appropriategeographically
and culturally. The Thais, like the Malays, were originally tribes
of the Asian mainland who migrated into their present home-
or so it is supposed, though the relationship between the first
settlements of Malays in the peninsula and in Sumatrais far from
clear-and both were much affected by Indian religion and cul-
ture. The Thais of course are closer to the Chinese racially and
geographically and definitely have some affinities with them in
their culture and architecture. Other than through artifacts of
trade, particularly porcelain but also other goods such as the
mirrors mentioned, the Chinese probably had little contact and
influence with the Malays. According to the Malay Annals (and
also Chinese sources), the Malacca sultanate had at one period
diplomatic relations with China, and in another episode a little
later than the account of the palace, the same sultan, Mansur
Shah, married the daughter of the Emperor of China and the
attendants who accompanied her took up their abode in Ma-
lacca in an area that was named for them, Chinese Hill. This
initiates a Chinese presence in Malacca, and it is plain that the
influence from that quarter was infinitesimal if compared with
that from India and Sumatra.So the slightly Chinese characterof
this reconstruction should more properly be compared with Thai
architecture: the Thais were the only land neighbors of the pen-
insular Malays.
Indian work had long been subsumed in local building forms,
as a symbolic framework ratherthan in architecturaldetails. The
crescent effect of the upcurvingroofs may be more than acciden-
tal since the Minangkabau culture is a well-known example of a
matriarchal or at least matrilineal system, and the moon and its
crescent were often a powerful symbol of the Mother Goddess;
the bull and its crescent of horns is also part of this symbolism
and is specifically referred to in the name of the tribe. Once the
style was introduced into the Malay peninsula where conditions
were somewhat different it was bound to change, and this pro-
posal is already straighter in its general lines than the Sumatran
examples. Today the upswung pinnacles and curved roof are a
mere vestige; not only do patriarchal systems dominate on the
mainland, but the most commonly available type of roofing ma-
terial before the introduction of corrugatedgalvanized steel was
a thatch made from palm leaves, which comes in straight lengths
and can hardly be applied to a pronounced curve.
A full historical investigation of this building and the back-
ground to it would require an extended presentation. This dis-
cussion is intended as an introduction to a little-known part of
Asian architecturalhistory.

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