The Pre-Islamic Kings of Brunei

I was reading the latest 'Pusaka' a publication from the History Centre. A lot of my materials actually came from the History Centre publications, Pusaka is an easy read. Another is Jurnal Darussalam.

One of the articles in Pusaka is about the Kings of Brunei prior to the coming of Islam. Our history tended to begin from the conversion of Sultan Muhammad, the first Brunei Sultan into Islam around 1376. We tended to forget the earlier kings of Brunei. I remembered when I was in Nanjing, the exhibits had Brunei kings or their envoys visit China much much earlier.

This particular article writting by Dato Muhammad and Haji Zainuddin outlined several kings in the pre-Islamic era:-

The Liang Dynasty (502-566) recorded the king named as Pinka and his family was known as Kaundinya. He was a Hindu-Buddha. He was said to rule over 136 districts and his throne made out of gold and his footrest silver. His crown had diamonds and was as high as 1 feet. He sent an envoy to China in 518 among other things giving the Emperor a gold carpet. In 523, he sent another envoy to give other things.

The Sui Dynasty (581-617), the Brunei king was named Hu-lu-na-po and his family was known as Chiari-ya-ka. In 616, he also sent many tributes to the Emperor.

The Tang Dynasty (618-906) stated that the king was very rich. In 669, he sent more tributes to china.

The Sung Dynasty (960-1279) records stated that king was called Raja Hiang-ta. He owned as many as 100 ships and his soldiers wre armour made out of copper. During the reign of T'ai Tsung in 977, Raja Hiang-Ta sent an envoy to China headed by Abu Ali, syeikh Noh and Kadhi Kasim. During the reign of Yuan Fong, the king sent an envoy to China in February 1082, the King sent many tributes to China. According to legends, that king was known as Seri Maharaja. After him was said to be Raja Makatunaw and Sang Aji (grandfather to Sultan Muhammad Shah).

Comments

Dan said…
THe pre-islamic era of Brunei is much neglected in the official curriculum.

Perhaps there is concern that this part of Brunei history could undermine MIB? For over a millenium, a non-muslim Brunei existed. Also, many Bruneians have ancestry from other regions of the world be it Arabic, Hindu or Chinese.
Saturday, February 28, 2009 9:34:00 PM
Unknown said…
Thank you Rozan for this post. I'm a Sabahan and an enthusiast on the history of North Borneo. On my researches, I relied heavily on Bruneian's resources. Thank god for you guys. Otherwise, our rich cultural history will be forever gone to the Sabahans.

This Raja Makatunaw, is he the same person as Raja Kinabatangan?
Saturday, May 07, 2011 1:24:00 PM
Jonjongot said…
The ancient Brunei Kingdom was build by the Dusunic people (Dusun/Bisaya). Accroding to the most reliable historical record, the Brunei sultanate only come to exist in the year of 1515, when the last Maharaja of Brunei converted to Islam, while other Dusun/Bisaya Raja still pagan. The Dusunic people are the early people who inhabited the coastal area of Borneo from Brunei to Marudu Bay. The Kelabitic people (Lundayeh or Puak Murut) migrated from North Kalimantan recently (500-600 years ago), the Malay people migrated from Sumtra and Malay Peninsular recently (500-600 years ago), the Kedayan migrated from West Kalimantan 500 years ago and the other Dayaks people such as Kiput, Narum, Iban, Penan and Kayan just arrived around 200-300 years ago. The First people in Brunei was the Dusunic people (Puak Dusun or also known as Puak Bisaya, they are the same Dusunic stock).
Saturday, August 04, 2018 10:28:00 AM
Anonymous said…
The ancient Brunei Kingdom was build by the Dusunic people (Dusun/Bisaya). Accroding to the most reliable historical record, the Brunei sultanate only come to exist in the year of 1515, when the last Maharaja of Brunei converted to Islam, while other Dusun/Bisaya Raja still pagan. The Dusunic people are the early people who inhabited the coastal area of Borneo from Brunei to Marudu Bay. The Kelabitic people (Lundayeh or Puak Murut) migrated from North Kalimantan recently (500-600 years ago), the Malay people migrated from Sumtra and Malay Peninsular recently (500-600 years ago), the Kedayan migrated from West Kalimantan 500 years ago and the other Dayaks people such as Kiput, Narum, Iban, Penan and Kayan just arrived around 200-300 years ago. The First people in Brunei was the Dusunic people (Puak Dusun or also known as Puak Bisaya, they are the same Dusunic stock).
Saturday, August 04, 2018 10:29:00 AM
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