Brunei kampong Ayer in Past
About
Brunei Darussalam Brief History, Barunai derived from the word Barunah!
exclaimed by the settlers who reached the Brunei river (now located in the
capital), Barunah means "Oh yeah!". It was the classical Malay
expression meant excellence of the right settlement, security, access and
richness of the surrounding. Barunai, of Sanskrit
origin, comes from the word Varuna.
In its Malay context, it referred to a
nation of seafarers and traders. Brunei and Borneo were among early European
references to the state and the island.
The
second sultan, Sultan Ahmad, was the first to name 'Brunei' from the word
'Barunah'.
Darussalam,
Arabic terms for Abode of Peace, was added in the 15th century by
the third sultan, Sharif Ali, to emphasise Islam as state religion, and to
enhance its spread.
Old
Brunei was a nation of Malay Hindu-Buddhists, according to a Chinese account of
Puli, believed to be an early Chinese reference to Brute Old Brunei was said to
have Similar Malay-Hindu Buddhist traditions and customs as Funan or Kumlun,
Chinese names for the first Malay state in Indochina during the early Christian
era. Indians knew it as Sailendra, and Arab traders called it Kamrun.
The
early king of Brunei was called Sang Aji, or Reverend Monarch, a title of
Sanskrit origin. The Brunei ruling dynasty changed during the early 1360s when
Awang Alak Betatar, a prince from a powerful kingdom in western Borneo,
ascended the Brunei throne. He became the first Brunei ruler and the present
ruler is his descendant.
Awang
Alak Betatar was the first Brunei Raja to accept Islam, changing his title and
name to Sultan Muhammad Shah (1363-1402) in honour of the Prophet.
With
Islam, Brunei asserted and expanded its role as an independent and dominant
trading power in the region. Its trade and territories grew with the spread of
Islam to encompass existing Malay kingdoms in Borneo and the Philippines.
During
the early spread of Islam in Brunei, many Arab Muslim missionaries married into
Brunei royal family. The most notable was Sharif Ah from Taif, Arabia, who
married a daughter of the second sultan, and later ascended the throne as the
third Sultan in 1425.
Before
Brunei became a Muslim Sultanate in the 14th century, Chinese accounts told of
the dominance of Muslim traders in the 9th and 10th centuries.
In
977, for example, the Brunei Raja (then a Hindu-Buddhist) sent three Muslim
traders as Brunei's envoys to the Sung court of China, mainly to represent
Brunei in Brunei-China trade. It is believed that there was a community of
influential Muslims in Brunei during this period.
The
royal genealogy of Brunei's sultans dates back nearly 600 years when in 1365,
Awang Alak Betatar embraced Islam, married a Johore princess, and assumed
the title Sultan Muhammad, according to early chronicles.
A
Persian missionary and direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sharif Ali,
as Brunei's third sultan, further spread Islam, built mosques, and the first
defence barriers at Kota Batu and across the Brunei river.
The
sultanate's golden age dawned with the reign of the fifth sultan, Nakhoda Ragam
or the singing captain, Sultan Bolkiah, who was famous for many conquests.
His
voyages took him to Java, Malacca and the Philippines, where he seized Seludong
(Manila). His rule extended over the Sultanates of Sambas, Pontianak,
Banjarmasin, Pasi Kotei, Balongan, the Sulu Archipelago, and Islands of
Balabac, Banggi, Balambangan and Palawan.
Antonio
Pigafetta, the Italian chronicler during Ferdinand Magellan's world voyage,
visited Brunei during Sultan Bolkiah's reign, and he wrote about the splendour
of the sultan's court and a view of the state capital.
Legends
have Brunei founded some 29 reigns ago by 14 brothers of heroic stature and
semi-divine descent, according to a Monograph of the Brunei Museum Journal.
The
exploits of the 14 founding heroes of Brunei are recounted in a very lengthy poem
called the "Sha'er Awang Semaun."
In
1967, after 17 years of benevolent reign, Sultan Haji Sir Muda Omar Ah
Saifuddien voluntarily abdicated it favour of his eldest son, His Majesty
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who pledged to carry on his father's policies.
He
descended from the throne with the title Seri Begawan Sultan Haji Omar
Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien. In 1984, he became the Defence Minister of
Negara Brunei Darussalam. He died in 1986.
His
Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan Brunei Darussalam ascended the throne on
October 5, 1967 as the 29th Sultan. He further pushed Brunei Darussalam on the
road to greater economic and social development.
Brunei
gained full independence in 1984.
Source :
http://bruneipress.blogspot.com/
