The Origin Of The Proposal Of The City Of Surabaya Based On The Myth And Official History

YOGYAKARTA The origin of the City of Surabaya cannot be separated from the folklore of the fight between two animals, namely Sura and Baya. Of the two animals, Surabaya emerged. But the history of Surabaya is not that simple. There were events that were long enough that an area that is now the capital city of the province of East Java.

Reporting from the official website of the Indonesian Digital Cultural Library, the origin of Surabaya is associated with two animals named Baya alias crocodile and a shark named Sura. The two animals are hostile to each other to fight over power and fighting for prey.

Sura and Baya fought each other for days to disturb the peace of other living things. Unfortunately, no one dared to interfere with the dispute between the two strong animals.

Until one day Sura and Baya both get tired of fighting each other. From the boredom, an agreement was made to make peace and divide the territory of power. Sura got power in the sea while the middle of life got power on land. The deal automatically regulates the prey of each animal.

Unfortunately, Sura and Baya were again involved in the conflict because Sura was accused of violating the agreement by looking for prey in the river, not at sea. This is what makes Baya angry with Sura. Sura tried to defend herself by saying that the river belongs to her territory because it does not belong to the mainland. However, that reason was not accepted by Baya.

In the end, Sura and Baya were again involved in a feud. From that feud, the name Surabaya was born which is now the name of the city.

Although the name of the city of Surabaya is associated with Sura and Baya animals, there is no historical source that can confirm the exact history of the connection between the origin of the naming of Surabaya and the two animals. However, there are sources who say that the name Surabaya is recorded in history in the era of the Majapahit kingdom (1293-1500).

Launching from the official website of the Surabaya City Library and Archives Service (DISPUSIP), the existence of Surabaya in the royal era is not what it is today. Surabaya is known as a village that has the privilege of King Majapahit, which at that time was led by Hayam Wuruk or Rajasanagara.

The peculiarities of Surabaya at that time were explained in the Canggu inscription. The inscription states that Surabaya is designated as a special village with other villages in the Brantas and Bengawan Solo rivers.

On his way, Surabaya was also under the control of the Mataram Sultanate, which at that time was a great strength in Java. This is as explained in the book History of the Surabaya City Government Seiak Colonial Period until the Reformation Period (1906-2012) written by Retired Basundoro.

The book explains that the city of Surabaya is known as a strategic area and became a center of trade. After Mataram's collapse in the 17th century, Surabaya was then controlled by the VOC since 1705. In colonial rule, Surabaya has grown into an important administrative and economic center.

Then in 1906, Surabaya finally got autonomy status and became Gemeente (Kotamadya). This status was given based on the 1903 Decentralization Law. This incident also marks the beginning of the modern government of the city of Surabaya.

That is information related to the origin of the City of Surabaya. Visit VOI.id to get other interesting information.