Pakuan Pajajaran
Pakuan Pajajaran was the fortified capital city of Sunda Kingdom. The location roughly corresponds to modern Bogor city in West Java, Indonesia, approximately around the site of Batu Tulis. The site is revered as the spiritual home of Sundanese people as it contains much of the shared identity and history of Sundanese people.
The city was settled in at least the 10th century but did not gain major political importance until Sri Baduga Maharaja established it as the royal capital of the Sunda kingdom in the 15th century. In 1513, the city was visited by its first European visitor, Tomé Pires, the Portuguese envoy. According to his report, the city of Daio was a great city, with a population of around 50,000 inhabitants.
After the reign of King Jayadewata, Pakuan Pajajaran served as the royal capital for several generations. Dayeuh Pakuan Pajajaran served as the capital of the Sunda Kingdom for almost a hundred years, until it was razed and destroyed by the Sultanate of Banten in 1579.
Etymology and toponymy
In the Sundanese language, the word Pakuan is derived from the term paku which means "nail", and it also could mean "fern" plant. According to Carita Waruga Guru manuscript, the name was derived from pakujajar or rows of pakis haji or cycas plant. In Sundanese pakis haji means "king's fern" to refer to the cycas plant. This theory was further supported by K.F. Holle in his book De Batoe Toelis te Buitenzorg, who mentioned that in the Buitenzorg area, there is a village called "Cipaku", and Pakuan Pajajaran refers to op rijen staande pakoe bomen.On the other hand, G.P. Rouffaer in his book Encyclopedie van Niederlandsch Indie editie Stibbe argued that the term "Pakuan" should be derived from the word paku which means "nail". The nail represents the king as spijker der wereld. This is in line with the ancient Sundanese tradition that regarded their king as the nail or center of their realm. The tradition of analogically referring to the king as "nail" is also found in the Javanese Surakarta Sunanate tradition that refers to their king as Pakubuwono. Rouffaer further suggested that the term "Pajajaran" derived from the term sejajar, thus Pakuan Pajajaran means "the king of Sunda that was equal to any kings of Java".
R. Ng. Poerbatjaraka in his writings De Batoe-Toelis bij Buitenzorg explained that the term Pakuan derived from the Old Javanese word pakwwan, which refers to "camp" or "palace". Thus he suggested that the name Pakuan Pajajaran means aanrijen staande hoven, suggesting that the buildings and pavilions within the palace compound were arranged in parallel rows.
H. Ten Dam in his work Verkenningen Rondom Padjadjaran, argued that the term Pakuan has something to do with the stone phallic symbol of lingam. This erected stone monument, which in Indic beliefs symbolized Shiva, is believed once stood near the Batutulis inscription as the symbol of the king's power and authority. This is also in line with the Menhir stone monument – supposedly megalithic culture still prevailed in ancient Sundanese society. Ten Dam also refers to Carita Parahyangan which mentions names of Sundanese kings; Sang Haluwesi and Sang Susuktunggal which are other names for paku. Ten Dam further argued that Pakuan was not a name, but it referred to hoffstad. Referring to the report of Kapiten Wikler, Ten Dam suggested that the term Pajajaran describes the geographic position of the capital. Pajajaran is derived from the stem word jajar, which means "parallel". This might refer to its location between two parallel rivers; Cisadane and Ciliwung. For a few kilometres in Bogor vicinity, both rivers run parallel, and this is believed as the location of Pakuan Pajajaran.
Historiography
Pakuan Pajajaran was mentioned in several historical sources and archeological findings, mainly in the form of inscriptions and old manuscripts; among others are the Batutulis inscription, Kabantenan copperplate inscription, Bujangga Manik, Carita Parahyangan, and Carita Waruga Guru manuscripts.Other than native sources, the account of Pakuan Pajajaran was also mentioned in European sources. The capital of Daio of Sunda kingdom was visited by a Portuguese envoy Tomé Pires in the early 16th century and was reported in his book "Summa Oriental".
The Javanese Babad dated from the Mataram Sultanate period circa the 17th century, still referred to the area and the kingdom of West Java as "Pajajaran". The memory of the Pakuan Pajajaran has been kept alive among native Sundanese people through Sundanese Pantun oral tradition, the chant of poetic verses about the Golden Age of Sunda Pajajaran, and the legend of its illustrious King Siliwangi, the most popular king in Sundanese tradition.
History
Early history
The area near modern Bogor, in the river valleys of Cisadane and Ciliwung, has hosted settlements as early as the 5th century CE. The Ciaruteun area near the confluence of the Cianten and Ciaruteun rivers with Cisadane, around 19 kilometres to the northwest of Bogor, is an important ancient settlement. Within this area at least three stone inscriptions were discovered, one of them is the Ciaruteun inscription, linked to the illustrious king Purnawarman of Tarumanagara.Pakuan Pajajaran is believed to have been established by King Tarusbawa in 669 CE. The Sanghyang Tapak inscription dated from 952 saka, was discovered on the Cicatih River bank in Cibadak, Sukabumi, South of Bogor. The inscription mentioned about king of Sunda Maharaja Sri Jayabupati Jayamanahen Wisnumurti who established a sacred forest in Cibadak. This suggested that the area in and around modern Bogor had been settled and hosted a royal court of Sunda. In this city, King Susuktunggal established a palace called "Sri Bimapunta Narayana Madura Suradipati" circa the early 14th century.
Reign of Sri Baduga Maharaja
By the late 15th century, King Sri Baduga Maharaja — popularly known in Sundanese oral tradition as King Siliwangi, became the monarch of the unified kingdom of Sunda and Galuh. He transferred the capital city from Kawali in Galuh to Pakuan Pajajaran. One of the Sundanese Pantun legends tells vividly about a beautiful royal procession for Queen Ambetkasih and her courtiers moving to the new capital of Pakuan Pajajaran, where her husband awaits.The Batutulis inscriptions mentions that the King had embarked on several public projects which erected a wall and digging a defensive moat around his capital in Pakuan, built Gugunungan religious sacred mounds, built Balay or pavilions, and also created the Samida forest as a conservation forest. He also built a dam and created a lake called Sanghyang Talaga Rena Mahawijaya. The lake probably functioned as a hydraulic project for rice agricultural purposes, and also a recreational lake to beautify his capital city.
The tradition as mentioned in Carita Parahyangan hailed that King Sri Baduga ruled justly from his Kadatwan called Sri Bima Punta Narayana Madura Suradipati at Pakuan Pajajaran, and his reign is celebrated as the golden age for Sundanese people.
The Bujangga Manik manuscript, composed circa the early 16th century, describes the travelogue of Prince Jaya Pakuan, also known as Bujangga Manik, a Sundanese Hindu hermit, who was also a prince at the court of Pakuan Pajajaran. He travelled extensively across Java and Bali. The Pakuan Pajajaran city was his home, where his mother resides. He describes his journey; from Kalapa Bujangga Manik comes first to the place of customs and then proceeds to the royal court of Pakuan, in the present-day town of Bogor. He enters through the direction of the Pakancilan River, goes to the beautifully adorned pavilion, and seats himself there. Here the prince is called tohaan or "lord". He finds his mother engaged in weaving. She is surprised and excited to see her son back home. She immediately leaves her work, and enters the house, passing through several layers of curtains, and ascends to her bedroom. The mother prepares the usual welcome for her son, which consists of a tray of all the ingredients for preparing betel quids, combs her hair, makes herself up, and puts on expensive clothes. She then descends from her bedroom, leaves the house, seats herself under the palanquin, and welcomes her son.
The manuscript also describes the courting customs of ancient Sundanese society, where it was acceptable for a woman to court a man she desired. Bujangga Manik found himself being courted by Lady Ajung Larang, a princess living across the Pakancilan River within the city wall, that being enamoured him. The Lady sent her servant Jompong Larang to the Bujangga Manik's house bringing expensive gifts, and explained her intention to Manik's mother.
Bujangga Manik also describes the Great Mountain which he calls "the highest point of the realm of Pakuan". During his travel, Bujangga Manik took a ride on a Malay Malaccan merchant ship. This suggests that the events in Bujangga Manik took place circa 1500, before the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511.
The reign of Sri Baduga Maharaja also marked the earliest contact with Europeans. By 1511, the Portuguese had conquered Malacca and established the earliest European colony in Southeast Asia. According to Suma Oriental, written in 1512–1515, Tomé Pires, a Portuguese explorer reported about the Great city of Daio or Dayo, which corresponds to the Sundanese term Dayeuh.
Tomé Pires described that the city of Pakuan Pajajaran was beautiful, filled with houses made of wood with thatched roofs made of palm leaves. The residence of Sunda King is large and well-kept, a well-built wooden structure with hundreds of wooden columns, adorned with beautiful timberwork and wood carvings.