1
SIGUNTANG HILL THE RELIGIOUS CENTER
By: Dr. Farida, M.Si.
(The lecturer of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sriwijaya University, Palembang Indonesia)
Email: nasya.afif@gmail.com
Abstract
Siguntang Hill is a legendary place for either the inhabitants of Palembang (South Sumatera and Bangka-Belitung), or the other areas, particularly the Malayan race in the Peninsula. It is believed that the kingdoms existed in these regions coming from the Siguntang Hill. The sacredness of the Siguntang Hill is even more ancient, it is based on the archeological findings in the time period of 7-16 Messiah. There are many sources mentioning about this place. However, there is only a few sources presenting complete descriptions about it. In this case, I tried to assemble those scattered sources in to this writing. Furthermore, I completed it with the findings of the survey results and the excavations which were conducted by both the National Archeological Center and the Regional one in collaboration with some local and international institutions which concerned with the historical heritages in the world.
Based on the obtained findings in the site of Siguntang Hill and the supporting areas, it is showed that the Siguntang Hill was a religious center in the time period of the seventh until the sixteenth centuries. Some relevant findings from the surrounding areas validated this fact. The findings were some Buddha statues, historical inscriptions, beads, bead workshops, canals which also functioned as the water sources, glasses splinters, leftover boats and others. Furthermore, Siguntang Hill was the highest place in Palembang and the surroundings; therefore, it became the best place for holding some religiousrituals.
1. Introduction
Palembang as a capital city as well as a name of kingdom/sultanate (between the 15th and the 19th centuries) has a very sacred site in its history; from the time periods of Sriwijaya, Palembang
kingdom/sultanate, colonialism, independence period and the present time. The sacredness of the
site was not only for the inhabitants of Palembang but also for the Malayan race, either in
Sumatera or in the Peninsula. The mentioned site is Siguntang Hill1.
1
2 Siguntang Hill of Palembang, South Sumatera
Siguntang Hill is located in the highest area, in the western part of Palembang.
Nowadays, it is about five kilometers from the downtown area. It is assumed that the location is
very strategic. In the old legend, it was mentioned that Siguntang Hill was the first land which
appeared from the sea, where there was pool of water in its surroundings to the river mouth2 (Clerq, 1895:130). There is also a graveyard of Iskandar Zulkarnaen3, a very great and praised figure whose one of his descendant became a ruler and stayed in this area. The graveyard is very
respected by the local inhabitants and spiritual leaders. Therefore, it is maintained well. Many
pilgrims visit from many different areas for revering, giving the ritual offerings (food and fruit),
and giving some charitable offerings. Some birds sheltering on the trees around the area get some
advantages from the offerings left by the visitors. Besides its strategic location, it was also
mentioned that Siguntang Hill was surrounded by large gardens and lowlands. Therefore, the
Europeans assumed that the site was a great place for recreating (Schetsen …, 1846:290-291).
2
This region is also known in the legend of Bangka Island, which was mentioned that the appearance of Bangka Island interrelated with the Siguntang Hill. There was a ship sailing from Arabian land and it was trown and grounded. Through time, the ship then turned into an island named Bangka. Some people inhabited there and developed continuously. However, based on the legend, there was a survivor in the incident of the thrown ship. He was the leader. He took a kajang boat. He reached the Siguntang Hill in Palembang (de Clerq, 1895:1180).
3
3 In the book of Sejarah Melayu, it is stated that the existence of Malayan clans in relation
to the kingdoms in the archipelago, could not be separated from the Siguntang Hill as they were
originally came from. It is stated that:
“A storyteller said that there was a region in the land of Andalas. Its name was
Perlembang and Demang Lebar Daun was the king. He was a descendant of king Suran. This region had a river named Muara Tatang. Nowadays, Perlembang is called as Palembang. There was another river called as Melayu at the upstream area of Muara Tatang. In the river, there was a hill named Siguntang, at the upstream was Mahameru mount and there was a plain named Penjaringan as well. There were two women cultivated there. They were Wan Empuk and Wan Malini. Both of the women had a farm in the Siguntang Hill, a very large residence with the yellowish paddies. It was definitely stated that the paddies were almost ripe” (Shellabear, 1989:16).
The mentioning of three grandchildren of king Suran implied that three of them were the
descendants of Iskandar Zulkarnain. By riding white horses, they arrived at Siguntang Hill. They
were Nila Pahlawan, Krisyna Pandita and Nila Utama. Both of Nila Pahlawan and Krisyna
Pandita married the two women; Wan Empuk and Wan Malini. Meanwhile, Nila Utama which
was entitled Sri Teri Buwana got married with a daughter of the ruler of Palembang, Demang
Lebar Daun. Sri Teri Buwana was very populous in the legend of Malayan since he was the
forefather of the further kings of Malayan (Shellebear, 1989:17-54; Clerq, 1895:117).
In the middle of the twelfth century, there was a big mobilization from Palembang under
the control of Sri Tri Buwana. It was Tumasik (Singapore) as a place where the people stayed in
and developed. In 1253, Majapahit controlled over Palembang. It triggered another exodus. The
people moved to the Peninsula and built Malaka city (Sturler, 1843:4). Inevitably, based on the
history of their establishments, Palembang had a very close relation with the two cities (Tumasik
and Malaka). In order to appreciate the historical occurrence, there was a celebration of 750
4 Furthermore, Siguntang Hill also appeared in the occurrence of battle between
Palembang and Banten in the reign of Sultan Abdulrahman (1659-1702). The battle was initiated
by the coming of Banten‟s armada headed by Ratu Bagus. The armada came with their vengeance mission for the plundering of two of their boats which was done by a delegate of
Palembang. The act of plundering was led by the failure of an agreement between Sultan
Abdulrahman and Sultan Banten for a marriage between Sultan Abdulrahman and a princess of
Banten. It was mentioned that the battle has lasted for three months. The troops of Palembang
were in a critical situation when reinforcement came for helping. They were the hermits,
descendants of Iskandar Zulkarnain. They came from Siguntang Hill. With the help of the
hermits, Palembang‟ troops could overwhelmed the Banten‟ armada and finally sent them away
(Clerq, 1895:129). Obviously, Siguntang Hill with everything in it became the last protector for
Palembang when a critical situation occurred.
Another related story was an assaulting of Banten over Palembang in the middle of 16th century. It was mentioned that the young king of Banten, Maulana Muhammad led his troops to
attack Palembang in order to control over the land. However, the king was murdered in the
battle. Eventually, without their leader, the remains of 990 worships of Banten returned back to
their place of origin. In fact, there was about one hundred year difference between the first and
the second assaulting of Banten over Palembang, Besides, there was also an overlap between
historical facts and legends of both stories. However, both stories implied an important success
of Palembang in combating the conquest effort of Banten. The last but not least, it was all about
the existence of the Siguntang Hill with its reinforcement power which always supported
Palembang from any bad situation.
There are many soources4 presenting about the strategic position and the role of the Siguntang Hill not only for Palembang but also the available Malayan kingdoms in the
4
5
archipelago. On the basis of above description, the writer proposed a question: “How are the supported areas of Siguntang Hill? It is mentioned in Malayan History that it was at the river
mouths of Tatang and Malayan with a Penjaringan plain on the land of it. In this writing, the
writer presents the results of findings from several excavations conducted by both the National
and Regional Archeological Centers for the surrounding areas of Siguntang Hill in order to find
out its role and relationship with Siguntang Hill.
2. Siguntang Hill and Its Supported Areas
As a sacred area, based on the archeological findings, Siguntang is supported by its important
surroundings. The findings affirmed the existence of Siguntang Hill as a sacred place in the past.
The process of collecting data toward the archeological heritages in Palembang has been done by
The Archeological Service of Republic of Indonesia since 1950s. Between 1973 and 1974, The
Archeological and National Heritage Institution in collaboration with The University of
Pennsylvania Museum continued the previous work.
In 1984, another excavation was conducted. Some parties took apart in this excavation.
They were The National Archeological Research Center, EFEO, Ford Foundation, The
Geographysical Research Institute University of New South Wales, The National Survey and
Cartography Coordination Bureau, The Directorate of Historical Heritages Protection and
Development, and The Geographical Faculty of Gajahmada University. The further excavation
was also conducted in 1993. All of excavations, researches and survey were aimed to find out
some facts about the Sriwijaya kingdom which was focused on the Siguntang Hill. Those
researches and excavations were divided into three units; western, central and eastern units. In
the western unit of Palembang area, there were found eleven sites – it is the most sites that have
ever been found in those three unit areas of excavations and researches. Therefore, it is assumed
that the western part of Palembang is the central place which is connected with the other parts or
areas; central and eastern (Novita and Mujib, 1995:1; Purwanti and Taim, 1995:65).
Furthermore, the results of the further researches toward the sites found in the western
parts of Palembang showed that the western land was flat, high and low in another side and
6 swampy as well. Obviously, it was a flood danger area. The mentioned highland area was the
Siguntang Hill (about 26 meters over the sea level). The surrounding areas were lowlands and
plains (about 2,5 up to 25 meters over the sea level). It was assumed that the old inhabitants built
some canals in order to adapt with flood danger area they were lived in. The researches and
archeologists believed that the canals functioned as both transportation and irrigation facilities.
Irrigation was important for the inhabitants since farming was their living source as stated in the
book of Sejarah Melayu (Wan Empuk and Wan Malini counted on their farm as their living
source). Furthermore, the old inhabitants used boats to move from one place to another. It meant
that they had functioned the canals as a transportation facility, too. The findings of the boats
remaining were the valid prove of this matter (Purwanti and Taim, 1995:65).
The Siguntang Hill and its surrounding areas are situated in the western part of
Palembang (it is about five kilometers from the downtown area now). Some findings have been
found during the researches and excavations in the Siguntang Hill. They were old bricks in the
foothill area, historical inscriptions, statue mats, beads, and golden plates. Besides that, there
were also some statues of Buddha, Bodhisatwa, Lokeswara, and Kuwera. The Buddha statues
which were found are made of both stone and bronze. Approximately, these findings were from
the seventh to neniteenth centuries (Purwanti and Taim, 1995:65; Novita and Mujib, 1995:17). A
standing statue of Buddha was also found. It was about 4 meters high (now, it is placed in the
front yard of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Museum). At present, this statue becomes an
important artifactual proof for the coming and development of Buddhism in the archipelago.
Furthermore, the Siguntang Hill and Buddhism are positioned as two interrelated parts. Since the
first coming of Buddhism in the archipelago, Siguntang Hill has become an inseparable part of it
(Munandar, et al, 2007:41). The findings of religious statues and others showed that the
Siguntang Hill was a religious site for the Buddists, the symbol of Meru Mountain. Meanwhile
the other sites were the supported ones.
The surrounding areas which became the supported areas of the Siguntang Hill referred
to Kambang Unglen, Ladang Sirap, Kambang Purun, Padang Kapas, dan Karanganyar. Some
findings which have been found in the mentioned areas were pieces of potteries, clay porcelains,
glasses and bricks. In addition, there were also found half complete jugs, glass and stone beads,
7 of green glasses, water structures, stone and brick structures, boat remainings, stone and metal
statues, stone and brick inscriptions. The findings were also from the seventh to nineth centuries.
Obviously, these findings supported the existence of the Siguntang Hill which was the highest
area in this location (Novita and Mujib, 1995:1; Purwanti and Taim, 1995:65). The findings of
many old things are crucial in order to figure out the life of the related community in many
different sectors.
Another important site in this location is Kedukan Bukit. It is about three kilometers from
the Siguntang Hill. In this site, there were found a popular Kedukan Bukit inscription (682 M), a
head statue of god, statue mat, kinari statue, and alokiteswara statue. The Kedukan Bukit
inscription contains (translation version):
“Pleasure! In the eleventh day of Saka year of 605, in the bright moon of Waisaka month, Dapunta Hyang rode a boat for diddhayarta. In the seventh day of the bright moon of Jyesta month, Dapunta Hyang left from Minanga Ramwa (r) with his twenty thousand soldiers. Two hundred soldiers were on the boats; one thousand three hundred and twelve soldiers walked ; coming from matada(nau). With a great pleasure, in the fifth day of the
bright moon of Asada month. With a great feeling, coming for a wanua establishment …
Sriwijaya did a great excursion completely...”(Muljana, 2006:142).
This inscription referred to the initial existence of Sriwijaya kingdom in Palmbang. Nowadays,
the time of the inscription is considered as the created time of Palembang as the capital city of
the South Sumatera province.
Besides Kedukan Bukit site, there is a Talang Tuo site. It is about five kilometers from
the Siguntang Hill. In this location, it was found a historical inscription which was named as its
place, Talang Tuo. The inscription used Pallawa alphabets in old Malayan language. The
inscription told about an establishment of a Sriksetra park which was done by Sri Jayanasa on
March 21th, 684 Messiah. In addition, it also contained about a religious matter. It was
mentioned that Dapunta Hyang established other parks, completed with embankments, ponds,
and some fruit trees (coconut tree, areca palm tree, sago palm tree, sugar palm tree and some
other trees) (Muljana, 2006:150; Purwanti and Taim, 1995:66). Obviously, the site described a
prosperous life of the old inhabitants and a solid connection with the Buddhism.
Among some sites which have been mentioned previously, Kambang Unglen site is one
of the important sites. It is situated about three kilometers from the Siguntang Hill. The name of
8 the available findings, the experts assumed that Kambang Unglen was a bead workshop where
the old inhabitants made the beads they usually used for the purpose of religious ceremonies or
other religious rrituals. In addition, it was also found a Siddhayatra inscription and brick
structure in the site of Kambang Unglen. All of the findings came from the seventh century to the
nineth century.
In an interval of about five hundred meters from Kambang Unglen, there is Kambang
Purun site. In this site, there were found five Siddhayatra inscriptions and a fragment of a
religious inscription. All of these inscriptions supported the Kedukan Bukit inscription which
also contains about siddhayatra. According to Coedes, and added by Krom, the word of
siddhayatra referred to a trip or pilgrimage for a supernatursl power (Muljana, 2006:134-136).
The finding inscriptions were from the seventh century.
The next site is Karang Anyar. It is the nearest site from the Siguntang Hill. The site is a
natural dam. It is assumed that the dam was form naturally because of both the flood and the tide
which were occurred along the Musi River. There were some ditches and ponds found in the
location of the site. Some phenomenal old things from this site were also found. They were water
structures, boat remains, foreign porcelains, beads, potteries, stupita molds and resin torches
(Purwanti and Taim, 1995:66). The remains of the boats found in 1993. It was a boat plank with
60 centimeter length and 20 centimeter density. Besides that, there was also found the string of
palm fiber to join the planks of the boat together with a three centimeter-hole. Meanwhile, a hole
with the diameter of eleven centimeter was needed for a wedge. Based on the findings, it can be
assumed that the old inhabitants made their boats by using tying cord and wedge technique. This
technique developed between the fifth century and the eighth century (Wiyana cited in Asia
Tenggara Dalam Perspektif Arkeologi: Kajian Arkeologi di Sumatera Bagian Selatan, 2011:109,
115). The technique used in constructing of the boats indicated the age of the finding boat
remains. Inevitably, all of the findings approved that Palembang has been the place where the
great Sriwijayya Kingdom was located. Realizing its importance as the main source and
9 Anyar site as The Ancient Park of Sriwijaya Kingdom (Taman Purbakala Kerajaan
Sriwijaya/TPKS) in 1994.
Equipped with a museum, a hall, and some other facilities for the visitors, it is expected
that the park can be an educational facility as well as a recreational facility.
The last but not least, Pinisi pond which is located in the southern side of the Siguntang
Hill gave several important historical proves. In this site, it was found the remains structure of a
big boat. Unfortunately, it is in a very bad damage because of the irresponsible human behavior.
The remain findings were sixty boat planks, with the average of 2,5 meter length and 20-30
centimeter density (Wiyana cited in Asia Tenggara Dalam Perspektif Arkeologi: Kajian
Arkeologi di Sumatera Bagian Selatan, 2011:113-115).
Based on all the findings which were found in the Siguntang Hill and the surrounding
areas, it can be finally concluded that the Siguntang Hill was the central area for any religious
activities in the ancient time.
3. Conclusion
Having done a series of research and excavation in several different time periods in the western
part of Palembang, the archeologists and other related parties discovered many important things
of the ancient civilization. The findings were obtained in the Siguntang Hill and the surrounding
areas. Among the important findings, there are some Buddha statues, inscription, beads, bead
workshops, and canals. The canals were believed as the water sources used by the old inhabitants
for any religious purposes. On the basis of these findings, it can be obviously concluded that the
Siguntang Hill was the central religious area in the ancient time. As the highest area in
Palembang, it was considered that it was the best place for any religious rituals. For the long
history related to its existence; from the Sriwijaya Kingdom period until the Palembang
Sultanate period, nowadays, the Siguntang Hill becomes a crucial site of pilgrimage tour
particularly for the Palembang inhabitants and generally for the South Sumatera and Malayan
10
References
Clercq. F.S.A.de,1895, Bijdrage tot de Geschidenis van Ieland Bangka, Bijdrage van Koloniaal
Instituut, jilid XLV.
Muljana, Slamet, 2006, Sriwijaya,Yogyakarta: LkiS.
Munandar, Agus Aris, dkk, 2007, Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia Religi dan Falsafah, Jakarta, Direktorat Geografi Sejarah Departemen Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata.
Novita, Aryandini dan Mujib, 1995, Laporan Penelitian Situs-Situs Arkeologi Di Palembang
Barat, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan R.I. Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi
Nasional Balai Arkeologi Palembang.
Paulus,J., 1918, Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch Indie, „s Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff.
Purwanti, Retno, dan Eka Asih Putrina Taim, 1995, Situs-Situs Keagamaan di Palembang: Suatu
Tinjauan Kawasan, dalam Jurnal Berkala Arkeologi, Manusia Dalam Ruang: Studi
Kawasan Dalam Arkeologi, Tahun XV-Edisi Khusus.
Schetsen van Palembang,1848, Tijdschrift voor Neerlandsch Indie, Jilid III, Tahun VIII.
Shellabear, J.L, 1989, Sejarah Melayu, Fajar Bakti
Sturler, W.L. de, 1843, Proeve Eener Beschrijving van Gebied van Palembang, Groningen:
Wiyana, Budi, 2011, Perahu Tradisi Asia Tenggara di Sumatera Bagian Selatan: Bukti
Keberadaan Perahu Sriwijaya, dalam Aryandini Novita dkk, Asia Tenggara Dalam
Perspektif Arkeologi: Kajian Arkeologi di Sumatera Bagian Selatan, Palembang,
Kementerian Kebudayaan Dan Pariwisata Badan Pengembangan Kebudayaan dan
