The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

14 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
was an emperor, but I had no means of communication.
Recently there was a merchant called Pu Lu,
whose ship arrived at the mouth of my river ; I
sent a man to invite him to my place, and he told
me that he came from China. The people of my
country were much delighted at this, and preparing
a ship, asked this stranger to guide them to the
court. The envoys I have sent only wish to see
Your Majesty in peace, and I intend to send people
with tribute every year. But when I do so I fear
that my ships may occasionally be blown to Champa,
and I therefore hope Your Majesty will send an
edict to that country with orders that, if a ship of
Hianzta arrives there, it must not be detained.
My country has no other articles,^ and I pray Your
Majesty not to be angry with me." The envoys
were entertained and sent home with presents. In
1082 A.D., a hundred years later, Sri Maja, king of
Puni, sent tribute again, but the promise of yearly
homage was not kept. Gradually the Sung dynasty
declined in power, and East Indian potentates
became less humble.
In the thirteenth and the early part of the fourteenth
centuries Bruni owed allegiance alternately to
two powers much younger than herself, Majapahit
in Java, and Malacca on the west coast of the Malay
Peninsula. Both these states were founded in the
thirteenth century."^ Majapahit, originally only one
of several Javan kingdoms, rapidly acquired strength
and subjugated her neighbours and the nearest
portions of the islands around. Malacca, formed
when the Malay colony of Singapore was overwhelmed
by Javanese, became the great commercial
depot of the Straits and the chief centre of
Mohammedanism in the Archipelago. The two
powers therefore stood for two faiths and two
^ Than camphor, tortoiseshell, ivory, and sandal woods.
2 There is some doubt as to the date of the foundation of Majapahit.