Milestones in the
History of Kutai,
Kalimantan Timur, Borneo
by J.R. Wortmann*
Borneo is the first among the
islands in the Indonesian Archipelago with a known history. In fact the oldest known
inscriptions in the Archipelago were found in Kutai. These consist of four stone
sacrificial poles (Sanskrit: yupa) dating from about 400 A.D., on which in Pallawascript,
metrical Sanskrit, King Mulawarman's generosity towards the Brahmins is commemorated. King
Mulawarman's father, Acwawarman, was the founder of the royal dynasty and it seems likely
that the Brahmins referred to in the inscriptions were Agnihotrins, followers of the Veda,
a branch of the Hinduism. (As a comparison it is worth noting that the oldest dated
inscriptions in Java are only from the year 732 A.D.)
Subsequent to these inscriptions
nothing is known about Kutai for nearly 1000 years. Then, in 1365, we find the name Kutai
mentioned in the old-Javanese historical poem Nagarakertagama verse 14.1. It is also
around this time that the saga-period of ths Kutai-dynasty begins and the Kingdom of Kutai
begins to take shape. The mythical origin and genealogy of this royal house are described
in the Salasilah of Kutai. There are five known manuscripts of this genealogical register,
which is written in literary Malay, showing traces of the language of Kutai and including
Javanese words and phrases.
The original Salasilah was probably
written, at least partly, during the reign of the eighth Sultan, Pangeran Sinum Panji
Mendapa ing Martapura, ca. 1600-1635. Kutai evolved most likely from the joining of four
regions, Jahitan Layar, Hulu Dusun, Sembaran and Binalu, presumably settletments of
Hindu-Javanese. Especially after the introduction of Islam ca. 1606 by Tuan Tunggung
Parangan, the Sultanate expanded more inland, annexating three small countries Muara Kaman
(on the Mahakam, 15 miles above Samarinda), Kota Bangun (near Muara Kaman) and Muara Pahu
(37 miles above Samarinda). From that time on the Sultans of Kutai have borne the
royal insignia of Kota Bangun.
The genealogical line of the Kutai
dynasty begins with Adji Batara Agung Maharadja Dewa Sakti as first Sultan of Kutai and
ends with Adji Mohammed Parikesit, the 20th Sultan, who still lives at Tenggarong.
On November 7, 1635, Gerrit
Thomassen Pool was the first Dutchman to sail up the river Mahakam. Kutai was again
visited by Dutchmen in 1671 and 1673, but after that it had no further contact with
the Dutch, although it was indirectly via the Kingdom of Banjarmasin,
tributary to the East-India Company. This remained however a dead letter because they did
not live up to the contracts.
Samarinda was founded ca.
1739, and in 1825 the Dutch, in the person of Georg Muller, made their first direct
contract with the Sultan of Kutai. This contract also did not last.
The first half of the 19th century
brought to Kutai the presence of several English merchant-adventurers: Dalton, Murray,
King, Carter, and Morgan. There was a busy trade at that time between Kutai and Singapore,
and proas from Kutai took rattan, gutta-Percha and beeswax to Singapore and returned with,
among other things, cotton, textiles, and arms. During the last quarter of the 19th
century the Scotsman Gray played a role in the development of navigation on the Mahakam
and also within the native Community of Samarinda. It was not until 1846 that Dutch rule
was established with the arrival of H. von Dewall, first civil administrator of the east
coast of Borneo. From that time on the Sultans of Kutai comported themselves as loyal
vassals of the Dutch. This was especially obvious during the War of Bandjarmasin
(1859-1863) . The extent of Dutch power was enhanced gradually through supplementary
treaties.
In 1888 the mining-engineer J.
H. Menten began, with the exploitation of coal along the Mahakam, the Steenkolen
Maatschappij Oost-Borneo with its first mining venture at Batu Panggal, some miles up the
river past Samarinda. Menten also laid the foundation for oil exploitation in East Borneo
by leasing his concessions to Samuel & Co., of London, founder of the Shell Company.
This is also the time of the abolition of slavery in Kutai (1895) and of Dr. A. W.
Nieuwenhuis famous expeditions across Borneo.
The first Roman Catholic, mission
was established at Laham in 1907. One year later Kutai ceded the district of Upper Mahakam
to the Dutch government in exchange for a yearly compensation of 12,990 guilders "for
the sultan and his princes of the Kingdom."
By the end of the 13th century trade
and industry were being developed by small trading companies. But It was in the beginning
of the 20th century that the economy of Kutai flourished as a result of the establishment
of the Borneo-Sumatra Trade Co. , with offices along the whole archipelago. In these years
the capital of the "landschapskas," or regional treasury, grew at a steady pace
through annual surplus. By 1924 the Kutai treasury held a reserve of 3,280,000
guilders--for those days a tremendous amount for this self-governing territory with a size
of 45,190 square kilometers and a population of only ca. 179,900.
<Taken from: Borneo Research Bulletin, June
1971> |
