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What really was the Kingdom of Hermata in West Borneo?

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rcq BoftæoResearchaulbt¡n ( 2all\ vot.+z Yol.42 B orne o Res e arch Bulle t in 105

WTIAT REALLYWAS "THE KINGDOM OF HERMATA" #

IN WEST BORNEO? #
,*
t4
B.onNEo
Andrew Smith
F.
The University ofAdelaide, S.A. 5005, Australia &
an dr au. s mith@ ødel ai de. e du. au
#
ffi
Hilary F. Smith
Malua Bay, NSW 2536, Australia

ffi
Introduction
Mapping ofthe coastal and near-coastal regions ofBorneo developedrather slowly w
from the early 16ú century through the 17ú and 18ú centwies, as Europeans extended
*rei¡ nade and political influence. "Hermata'' appears first as a town close to the mouth
of the Sambas river (West Kalimantan) on a Dutch map that was produced in 1598'
By the early l8ú century Hermata was shown on some maps as a large coastal state or ffi
"kingdom" that extended from Tanjwrg Datu to the Kapuas basin. It was never visited #
by European traders, and it appears that there was no such place. The most detailed #
discussion of Hermata was by Broek (1962) in his imporønt analysis of early Borneo #
place-nænes as they deyeloped during European mapping. Here we suggest a possible
new meaning of "Hermata" and discuss its occurrence as a place-name in a unique and ffiþ
beautiful unpublished manuscript English atlas of the late l6ù or early l7m century.l
Part of the map of Bomeo by J. van Braam and G. onder de Linden in Valentijn's book (1726, Vol.
ffi 3) showing "the Kingdom of Hermat4" extending from Tanjung Datu to the Kapuas estuary (here
The rise of Hermata "Lauwe," i.e. Lawai). The map was prinæd with north to the left, hence the vertical Equator. The
,ffi
Hermata rvas shown for the first time on a map prepared for a book by Willem capital "Hermata'' is here shown north of the Sambas river. Other place-names can be recognized.
but some are imaginary e.g. "Lava." "Succadana" has been partly cropped from this image. Frorr-
Lodewijcksz (1598), where it is located as a coastal town at the entrance to what is clearly ffi Andrew Smith's private collection.
the Sambas River in West Kalimantan. The location is that of present-day Pemangkat.
The complete map covers the southern part of fte Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and the w both versions of the map refer to *G.M.A.L."4 Along with the accompanying text the
B
north coast of Java. The part showing southem Borneo is shown by Broek (1962: his original map was initially suppressed to maintain secrecy of possìble trading benefits
Fig. 9). The tull map is in Campbell (1975) and also in the book by Suárez (1999, Fig. (including diamonds). It was very soon published but the text was not found until abour
94), with an almost identical version - apart from some decorations - also produced in 1915 (Rouffaer and Ijzerman 1915-35, Vol. 2:205-221). The suppressedtext has received
1598, as his Fig. 95 (see also Smith 2001).2 Lodewijcksz sailed with the first Dutch fleet # hardly any attention but accounts for the error in the map that shows "Banderrnachen"
to the East Indies which arrived in June 1596 offthe coast of Jav4 where the visitors (Banjarmasin) in the Kapuas delta. The text refers to the King ("Coninck") ofBanjarmasin
learned about the frade products ofthe East Indies, including Borneo.3 lnscriptions on ffi and Lawai ('Laué'), and says that these states lie up the River "Succadan4" from which
*Cota bari¡nin' (mentioned as "Cota beregin" in
come diamonds. The map also shows
ffi the text, i.e. Kotawaringin) and Tanjungpura in its usual place in the Barito delta. The
I This Research Note is adapted from the second part of a presentation at the 106 Bomeo text does not name Tanjungpura; nor does it name Hermata.s Despite errors, the text and
Research Council Conference held at Miri, Sarawak, 5-7 July 2010. The filst part appeafs here as ffi
a separate Research Note (Smith and Smith 2011).
2 Alttrough the original version shows Hermata with the conventional symbol for a town, the
4 The author on the book's title-page was named "G.M.A.W.L." "G." might be the Latin
"Guglielmus" (William), but surfeit of initials has never been explained (see Tiele 1867:124-
second version only has the name "Hermat4" though the conventional town symbol is used ffi 132).
elsewhere (cf. Figs. 94 and95 of Suárez 1999). For convenience we mainly refer to both versions
as the "Lodewijcksz map." tr
5 See Smithand Smith @RB 2011) fordiscussion ofTaqjungpura. Themap is shongevidencethal
çi tÏe Sultanates of Sukadana and Banjarmasin were newly established; hence the misunderstanding
3 They obtained infornration from a pilot in Portuguese service (usually called Pedro de Tayde
ofthe location ofthe latter.
or de Tayda), who was soon murdered (see Campbell 2009 for a useful summary). fi
fi
il
.ü
fl
r06 B or ne o Res e arch Bulletin Vol.42
map were sþiflrcant developments in the knowledge of Borneo, and later traders took
advantage of it.
Hermata was retained on many Dutch maps produced in the 17ú and l8ú centuries,
and "grew" to become a large coastal state or kingdo m (þk or Konink Ryk) that extended
from Sarnbas river, of even Tanjung Datu, to the Kapuas basin in West Kalimantan.
A good exarnple is the map in Valentijn's book (1726), which shows the capital (De
Stad Hermatø) located north of the entrance to Sambas river (see our Fig. 1; also Smith
2001). A map by van Keulen þrobably 1740; see Broek 1962, Fig. 14) was clearly
based on Valentijn's map. It also shows the town north of the Sambas river, but another
Hermatatown south of Mempawah. Significantly, charts ormaps originating from Dutch
mariners with firsthand experience of the area (at least those that we have seen) do not
show Hermata, although other correct place-names soon appeared, such as Mempawah'
Examples are maps by Hessel Genitz (c .1620),and P. Berthelot (1635); see Broek (1962,
Figs. l0 and lla).
There is no mention of Hermata in reports that we have seen from the Dutch or
English East India Company traders based at Sukadana during the emly 17ù century, nor
isthere inthebook oftravels inthe 1690sby J.J. deRoy (1706). Hewas arenegade offÏcer
of the Dutch East Indies Company who, having been shipwrecked' spent several years in
Bomeo, mainly in Baniarmasin. After returning to Batavia (Jakarta) he was pardoned and
soon returned to Europe. De Roy did not havel north of Sukadan4 but the book briefly
describes polities further north. The accompanying map by P. van der Aa (Leiden) also
does not show Hermata. Valentijn's account of Borneo (1726)isbased on de Roy'd book
to an extent that would nowadays be regarded as plagiarism. Nevertheless, Valentijn
(1726:240) briefty mentioned Hermata in his list of polities,6 as well as including the
extensive "Konink Ryk van Hermata" on the map in the book (F.ig. 1)'7 Hennata lingered
on until the 19û century on some maps and in some geographical dictionaries, but based
on all the above considerations it seems safe to conclude-as others have before us-that
Hermata never existed as a place, and is narned on the original map because the engravers
misread an original sketch map provided by Lodewicksz, or because he misunderstood
the original information that was received in Java.
What is the meaning of 'oHermatat'?
o'Herrnata'' might have been a misreading of
Broek (1962) suggested that
"KarimAt4" aS in the Karimata islands that were said to appear aS "aimata" or "aymata"
on some earlier Portuguese maps. Howeve¡ these islands are much firrther to the south
and are shown as "P. Cherimata" on the Lodewijcksz map. Broek also said that Hermata
might have been mistakenly understood when a Malay infomrant gave information
abãut"permata." T"¡is is a Malay word for precious stones and is certainly a possibility'
We believe thaf Broek was correct in focusing.on information, but here propose a new
gdom of Hermata" thentheKingdom
of Sambas... " (hanslation by Dovey 1978:76).
7 Many of the featu¡es such as names of villages in southern Bomeo on the map are clearly
derived from the map in de Roy's book, but some are misplaced due to misreading of the text, an
issue beyond the scope ofthis Research Note.
Vol.42 B orneo Research BulletÌn 107
explanation. The Lodewijcksz map includes many geographical notes in Latin.s For
example, alongside the Karimatas is "Fructum copia sed cocos." The question is then
whether there is aLatin"hermata," aîd what it might mean. Classical Latin dictionaries
offer no possibilities, i.e. there is no "hermatø" (singular) with "hermatae" (plural), or
"hermatum" (singular) wíth"hermatd' (plural). Nevertheless, though slightly later than
the period rurder consideration here, "hermafd'was borrqwed from Greek into Latin.
The word in Greek is "'éppota." The derivation is from the ancient Greek god Herrres,
statues of whom were used as markers, mileposts, etc. There is a related word "Herm" in
old English with these meanings. In a book written in Latin, Samuel Bochart (1646, Vol.
1;715) used it in the original meaning of piles of stones or pillars. Michael Pexenièlder
(167 0:27 5 , 27 9), also wnling in Latin, used the word with the meaning of wooden rollers
for launching ships, and mooring posts. It seems very possible that the reference is to
navigational markers or mooring posts at the mouth of Sambas riveq wrongly conrerted
to a town when the original map was engraved. Nevertheless, there is a complicaton to
this attractive conclusion, as follows.
Introducing the Llewellyn Atlas
This large folio sea atlas consists of 16 cha¡ts and is housed in the library of
Christ Church, Oxford. It was donated in the 1630s by the sons of Martin Llewelþ, and
it is stated in the Donor's Book that it was drawn by Llewelþ "according to his own
observations." It was first described in print by Tony Campbell (1975), and Campbell has
a detailed entry (2009) on the <maphistory.info> Website. One of the charts illustrated
by Campbell (1975) is for Java, Sumaha and Bomeo.e Like the Lodewijcksz map, it
includes Hermata, though further south from Tanjung Datu, but there are no identifiable
geographical notes, Latin or otherwise. The question is whether Llewellyn obtained
information independentþ of that obtained by Lodewijcksz. If he did, it weakeas the
case that Hermata is not a place name. It is clear that Llewellyn's charts of Southeast
Asia have a strong Portuguese influence. On the chart shown by Campbell (1975), to the
north of Hermata are named along the coastline, separately as places, "Don Manaell" and
"Delmia,"lo These names are an inaccurate version of the inscriptiot"Lawai dondefoy
Dom Manoel de Lirnd'(or variations) that appears along the Kapuas (Lawai river) on
many Portuguese maps, as discussed by Smith (2000, 2001 , 2005; see also Fig. I of Smith
and Smith 2011). This inscription is not included on the Lodewijcksz map; however,
like the latter, Llewelþ included Banjarmasin, inconectþ located north of the Kapuas,
with Lawai immediately underneath, and Tanjungpura ("Taio Pura") in the Barito basin.
Campbell (1975) comparedLlewellyn's charts ofthe æeawiththe Lodewijcksz map and
concluded that the information in Llewelþ's map must also have come from the fnst
8 There a¡e also traces of Portuguese in place names, e.g. "Baixos de los Chineset'' above
Chinabato, a misplaced reef or islets between Lingga and the Karimatas. Islands are son¡etimes
called "Pulo" or "P." from the Malay.
9 The names are mostly illegible in the illustration but are clea¡ in the original maps (personal
inspections by Sally and Andrew Smith).
10 The chart is sheet K-10 in the atlas. Borneo is also shown on sheet 0-l4,.and northern Bomeo
on L-l1. There æe no signifrcant differences in place names.
r08 B or ne o Re s e arch Bulletin Yol.42 Yol.42 Borneo Research Bulleün 709

Dutch voyage. Campbell suggested that Llewellyn's "own observations" indicated that information in the early mapping of Bomeo, though it is cerøinly one of'the worst.
the latter had himself been on that voyage, possibly under a disguised name' However,
the atlas has charts of most of the world apart fiom the Americas and it is not obvious Acknowledgements
that Llewellyn's "own.obseryations" refer specifically to him traveling to the East Indies' V/e thank the library staff of Christ Church, Oxford, for allowing access to the
More sipificant, according to campbelt (2009), is that Llewelþ first took up his wonderful Llewelþ Atlas, and Sally Smith, who made a preliminary inspection of
employment at St, Bartholomew's Hospital, London, only a few weeks after the retum the charts that show Borneo. "Google" was again invaluable in tracking do'¿rr some
of the Dutch to Amsterdam n 1597, and remained there as SteÙard until his death in early references and providing images of some of the early maps discussed her:' Bob
1634. Reece sensibly suggested that, as a cartographic curiosity, "Hermata'' should be rreated
campbell (2009) has given a detailed analysis of the f,nst Dutch maps of the separately from fanjungpura, a polity that is still shadowy in location but did exist in
East lndieslparticularþ Java) in relation to some Portuguese predecessors, and also to history.
Llewellyn's óharts. He concluded that Llewellyn's charts of the East Indies fall into a slot
close toihe beginning ofthe Dutch period, but are not a "slavish copy" of the Lodewijcksz
map. The latter conclusion is due to several of the name forms being dissimilar' However, References
thii may be due to copying errors if Llewellyn used Lodewijcksz's published map, Bochart, Samuel
whether or not he (Llewellyn) had been with the Dutch fleet' Campbell (2009) comments 1646GeographiaeSacraeparsprior:Phaleg'Cadomi[Caen]:Typi
that Llewellyn included a name in Java that is not on the Lodewijcksz map, nor on any Petri Cardonelli. (From Google Books: "Samuel Bochart"'
just
later map. tiris is "Sigulo," shown to the east of Jakarta. It is written along the coast "GeograPhiae Sacrae," 1646).
to the wìst of "Aguada."lr In fact, these names are clearly derived from earlier maps'
Broek, J.O.M.
For example, "Agua de S. Igido" appeaxs on the map in Linschoten's book (see Suárez 1962PlaceNamesin16úand17úCenturyBomeo'ImøgoMundi
1999, Fig. 92¡, aid',Agua dà Sigida" (or variations) appears on Porhrguese maps of tle 16:129-148 - [Accessible online from <www'tandfonline'com>]
1 560s and 1570s (e.g. Nicholl 1976, Maps 7 & 8).tz
In other words, "Sigido" was not a
Campbell, T.
help establish that Llewellyn visited Java and obtained more
new recording and does not
Llewellyn must have produced the 16 large
lg75 Atlas Pioneer. Geographical Journal 48(3):162-167 '
information there than did Lodewücksz. 2009MartinLtewetlynsAtlasoftheEast(c.1598).(From:www.
charts in his atlas over a very long time during his employment at St, Bartholomew's' maPhistory. info/llewelþ'html' )
Irrespective of where he had traveled, he must have used other maps of the many Dovey, S.A.
rorrotri"r of the world that are included in the atlas, including 16ú century Portuguese lg78 Valentyn's Borneo. Brunei Museum Journal 4:6'7-93'
maps and (probably) early 17ú century Dutch maps. If he used a printed version
of the
måewijckiz map úut ignored all the inscriptions that are there for information, it is not - Martin
Llewellyn,
c.1600 church Library.
surprising that tre included Hermata, which he, too, interpreted as a place name. [Attas of the East], Large Folio. oxford: christ

Conclusions Nicholl, R.
|9T6ThesixteenthCenturyCartographyofBorneo.Bruneilúuseum
Many published maps, as opposed to the sea charts used by sailors, were Journal 3:96-126.
misleading-byshowing Hermata as a polity for about 200 years. Nevertheless, as shown Pexenfelder, M.
by eroek (1162), earþ maps *. helpful in tracing the increasing knowledge of
".ttuittly Asia
|6T0ApparatusEruditionistamRerumquamVerborumperomnes
the geography of Bomeo, which came about rather later than for much of southeast irì", scientias... Nümburg: Michaet & Joh. Friedrich Enter.
¡ecãusã most of Borneo was remote from the main trading routes used by Europeans' "t
(From:www.uni-mannheim'de/mateo/camenareflpexenfelder.
Not surprisingly, the f,nst mapping was very imprecise and was mainly confmed to
the
httnl.)
coastal'and nãar-coastat areas from the early 16ú cenfi¡I.y until the early 19th century'
Richardson, W.A.R.
geographical
The "kingdom of Hermata" is by no means tk.e only example of incorrect 20;ß6
Yít##rî:."ChartedBeforet606?carf,ertaNationalLibrary
11 The names are written vertically down from the east-west coast'
12 ,,Agta" prestrnably refers to 'water.'Richardson (2006'68'7Ð analyzes in detail the early Rouffaer, G.P., & J.V/. Ijzerrnan
inconsistencies in
mapping oftfrå north\¡/est coast ofJava and highlights the many inaccuracies a¡d 1915-35 be eerste Schipvaarte der Hollanders naar Oost IndÌe onder
some between Lodewijcksz and Llewellyn' A more detailed analysis
difierenì versions, including
of the Llewellyn atlas is certainly warranted.
 Cornelis Houtman, 1595-1597.3 Vols. Den Haas: Linschoten
Vereeniging.
Roy, J.J. de.
1706 Hachelijke Reys-togt van Jacob Jansz de Roy, na Borneo in
Atchin... in het yaar I 69 I. Ley den: Pieter vander Aa.
Smith, F.A.
2000 Pre- I 7ü Cenhrry States in Bomeo : Taqjungpura is Still a Mystery
Lawei Less So. In Michael Leigh @d.), Borneo 2000: politics,
history & development: hoceedings of the Sixth Biennial
Bomeo Research Conference held in Kuching, Malaysia, l0-14
July 2000. Kuching: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, pp.150-178.
2001 Bomeo Mysteries: Dom Manuel de Lima andthe Disappearance
of Lawei. MercatorS World 6(3):40-41.
2005 Anthony Richards and the Search for Lawai: Myths, Maps and
History. Borneo Research Bulletin 36151-67.
Smith, F.4., andH.F. Smith
20ll A shadowy State in Bomeo: Where was Tanjungpura? Borneo
Reseørch Bulletin, 42 (this issue).
Suárez, T.
1999. Early Mapping of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Periplus (H.K.)
Thomaz, L.F.F.R.
1995 The Image of the Archipelago in Portuguese Cartography of
16ú and eæly l7ú Centuries. Archipel 49;79-124.
Tiele, P.A.
1867 Journaux des Navigateurs Néerlandais Réimprimés dans les
Colleclions de De Bry et de Hulsius, et dans les collectiorc
Hollandaises duXVIIe Siècle... Amsterdam: R. Muller. reprinted
1960, Amsterdam: N. Israel.
Valentijn, F.
1726 Oud- en Nieuw Oost Indien. Vol. 3. Dordrecht Joannes van
Braam, & Amsterdam: Gerard onder de Linden.
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WEST KALIMANTAN DIARY-
NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 14, T97 I
Robert Pringle
Aløcandria, Wrginia, USA
:
Author's lntroduction
In December 1971, while serving as a junior us Foreign service officer in
Iakarta,I made an official visit to west Kalimantan, accompanied by my wife, Barbara
cade Pringle. we traveled from Pontianak up the Kapuas to putussibau, then back dawn
the river and.across the border into sarawak by way of the lakes region and Lubok
Antu. In 1965-66, before joining the Foreign Service, as a graduate student from comell
university, I had conducted research in sarawak on the history of the Iban people,
resulting in the publication of Rajahs and Rebels: The lbans ofsarawakunder Brooke
Rule, I84l-1941, lrl^1970. IhadalwayswantedtovisitthelakesregionofKatimautan
because it figured prominentþ in sarawak Iban history and folklore, but such travel had
been impossible at the time due to hostilities between Indonesia and Malaysia. By -ate
t 971 things had largely settled down, but unrest among the ethnic Chinese of Kalimaøan
was still a fresh memory and Indonesian troops were still siationed along the west
Kalimantan-Sarawak border.
That I was able to make the trip at all was due to the help of Colonel George
Le Benson, the US Defense Attaché in Jakarta, who famously knew practicatly errery
PRINGUTS,
TRI P
S ARAt4rÁR
VEST KALI¡TA¡"ITAT'¡.
Barbara Pringle drew this sketch map which accompanied the orìginal trip report