Sang nila utama

Many hundred years ago, a fishing village named ‘Temasek’ was discovered by the prince of Palembang, Sang Nila Utama. He was hunting on Bintan island when he spotted a fine-looking creature, which had the body of a lion and the tail of a fish. He gave chase but the red-breasted creature disappeared up a hill. As he stood on the peak of the hill, he noticed a fishing village on a beach far across the body of water. His chief minister enlightened the prince that the fishing village inhabiting that island was called ‘Temasek’. The prince decided to hunt on the neighboring island, hence he prepared to sail across the sea. During the voyage, a bad storm hit them hard and the ship was tossed about in the angry waves. Water leaked into the ship and everyone worked to prevent the ship from sinking by throwing their belongings into the water. The prince was advised to throw his crown overboard as a gift to the sea. Just then, the odd creature that the prince chased leaped out of the water and rescued Sang Nila Utama and his crew. They arrived safely onto the sandy beach of Temasek. The prince asked some locals about the creature and they shared that this creature was known as the guardian of Temasek, Merlion. The red-breasted creature had a glorious yellow mane and was known to save drowning victims in the choppy sea. The prince was thankful and later decided to develop the island into a city, thereby naming it “Singapura”, which loosely translates to “Lion City”, as an homage to the mythical creature that saved him.