The Origin Of Borneo's Name For The Island Of Kalimantan, There Are Various Versions

Illustration of the origin of Borneo's name (Wikipedia.org)

YOGYAKARTA - Kalimantan Island is also known as Borneo Island. So where did Borneo's name come from? The nickname Borneo Island has a long history and there are many versions that will be discussed in this article.

Before tracing the beginning of the naming of Borneo Island, let's first identify the island of Kalimantan. This island is divided into three countries, namely Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia. The territory of Indonesia on Borneo Island is among others, with an area of 73 percent of the total island.

The island of Kalimantan is the third largest island in the world. This island has a total land area of 743,330 square kilometers. The indigenous people who live on this island are people from the Dayak tribe. So where did Borneo's interesting name come from?

There is a number of literature that can be read to find out where the history of Borneo Island came from. Here are some explanations regarding the origin of Borneo's name embedded in Kalimantan Island from various reference sources:

Reporting from the website of the Directorate General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the name Borneo used in the western literature comes from the word Brunai which refers to the Sultanate of Brunei. The Sultanate of Brunei is on the north coast of Kalimantan Island.

The kingdom once occupied most of the northern and western regions of Kalimantan Island. Because of the contact between the Brunei kingdom and Europe during the exploration period in the 16th century, the international island of Kalimantan was dubbed Borneo.

It is widely believed that Borneo's name comes from the pronunciation of Europeans to Brunei Darussalam. In the 17th century, Brunei became an important trading port for the European people because of its strategic location. Many European traders and explorers stopped in the kingdom and they called Brunei by the name Borneo.

This opinion is reinforced by the records of a Chinese envoy who mentioned that in the 8th and 9th centuries Kalimantan was known as Po-Po-Li, Po-Ni, and Bun-Lai. Bun-Lai said it was similar to the pronunciation of 'Brunei'.

The origin of Borneo's name can also be found in the book of the XIV/1 fostered State of Religion by Mpu Tantular in the 14th century. In our legendary name, it is stated that Kalimantan has the name Barune (ng). Barune said (ng) related to Brunei, namely the kingdom in the western region of Kalimantan which is commonly known as Pu-ni in Chinese news.

The blasphemy of the State of Religion once alluded to the island of Nusa Tanjungnagara, which may refer to the Tanjungpura Kingdom on the island of Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, the writer from the United States (US) named Eugene Linden said the possibility of naming Borneo could also come from the Sanskrit 'Varuna' language. In Hinduism's belief, Varuna is a god related to oceans and waters.

The Indonesian people call Borneo for the island of Kalimantan allegedly referring to the word Sanskrit Kalamandata which means a hot island. The use of this name is thought to have departed from the heat of weather and the characteristics of the hot and humid tropical climate in the region.

In addition, there is also a story that states that Borneo's word is related to the history of trees found by Europeans. In ancient times, people from outside the archipelago called the island of Borneo.

First, there is an opinion based on the large number of plants that produce perfume and antiseptic ingredients, namely the Borneol Tree. In the 15th century, many Europeans who came to Kalimantan found the tree, so they called it Borneo.

This is the origin of Borneo's name from various versions and various literature sources. From a number of the references above, the origin of Brunei's denominator is the most easy to understand is the naming related to the Kingdom of Brunei Darussalam. Also read the history of Nusa Penida during the kingdom.

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