Sang Nila Utama was a price of Sumatra.
Wanting to find a suitable place for a new city,
he decided to visit the islands off the coast of
Sumatra. He set sail from Sumatra in a number of
ships with his men. While hunting on an island,
he climbed to the top of a large rock and
spotted a beautiful island. When told it was
called Temasek, he decided to visit it.
However, when his ship was out at sea, a great
storm blew up and the ship was tossed about in
the huge waves. The ship began to take water and
started to sink. Even though the crew threw out
all the things onboard, the ship kept on
sinking. It was only when Sang Nila Utama threw
his crown into the sea did the storm stop and
they reached Temasek safely. On the island, he
saw a majestic animal that moved with great
speed as it disappeared into the jungle. When
told that it was a lion, he thought that it was
a good sign about the island and decided to name
it Signapure; 'Singa' means lion and 'pura'
means city. And that was how Singapore got its
name. |