Cura Si Manjakini

The Cura Si Manjakini sword as seen second from the right, among the rest of the Perak royal regalia, photographed in 1907.

Cura Si Manjakini (Malay: Pedang Cura Si Manjakini Jawi: ڤدڠ چورا سي منجاکيني) is a sword mentioned in the legends of the Malay Annals as originally possessed by Sang Sapurba, the legendary ancestor of Malay kings. For hundreds of years, the sword became a symbol of a rightful sovereignty and power in Malay culture. It was first inherited by Sang Nila Utama the founder of Singapura, later by Parameswara the first ruler of Melaka Sultanate, and then by Muzaffar Syah I the first Sultan of Perak. The sword is now a part of the Perak Sultanate's official regalia.^[1]

Etymology

The name "cura si manjakini" is said to originate from the Sanskrit word churiga (si) Mandakini means "the blade of the Mandakini".^[2] Other theory relates its name with "Curik Man Dakini" - curik being a Tamil-Sanskrit word that meant 'to cleave'; "man" deriving from the Sanskrit word mantera; and Dakini which was a mambang kecil that was said to devour the flesh and blood of man.

Legend

Tradition in the Malay Annals hold that the founder of the major line of rulers in the Malay world was a prince named Sang Sapurba who alleged to be the descendant of Alexander The Great with his Indian wife.^[3] Sang Sapurba, then known as Sri Nila Pahlawan first revealed himself with his younger brothers, Sri Krishna Pandita and Sri Nila Utama, upon the sacred hill of Seguntang in the hinterland of Palembang. The princes were later descended into the great plain watered by the Palembang river, where Sang Sapurba married Wan Sendari, the daughter of the local chief, Demang Lebar Daun, and was everywhere accepted as ruler of the land.^[3] At a later date Sang Sapurba is said to have crossed the great central range of Sumatra into the Minangkabau Highlands, where one of his warriors, Permasku Mambang, slew the great serpent Saktimuna using the legendary sword, and was made the king of a grateful people and the founder of the long line of Princes of Minangkabau.^[4]

References

1. The Straits Times 1939
2. Hill 1956, p. 18
3. Buyers, p. Genealogy of Malacca-Johor
4. A. Samad 1979, p. 28

Bibliography

• A. Samad, Ahmad (1979), Sulalatus Salatin (Sejarah Melayu), Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, ISBN 983-62-5601-6
• Buyers, Christopher, The Royal Ark - Royal and Ruling Houses of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, retrieved 2012-10-04
• Hill, A.H (1956), The Malay Keris and Other Weapons, Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
• Leyden, John (1821), Malay Annals (translated from the Malay language), Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown
• The Straits Times (1939), Sword of Alexander in State Regalia (2 March), retrieved 2012-12-15