Historical Sources Of Kutai Kingdom: Even Though There Are Few Sources, This Explains Everything

Yupa (Document.Tips)

JAKARTA - Although there are no records that can indicate when the Kutai Kingdom was built, paleologically its historical sources explain that this kingdom is the oldest kingdom in Indonesia. This kingdom is located in the Mahakam River area, precisely in East Kalimantan, close to the City of Tenggora.

The name of the Kutai Kingdom comes from that given by historians, due to the discovery of a written relic that was on the yupa stone pillar in Kutai's place.

The legal name of this kingdom is not yet known because there is no clear historical source that can prove the historical source of the Kutai Kingdom. In the past, the Mahakam River area was navigable as far as the Cemetery so it was suitable for trade routes.

The historical source of the Kutai Kingdom

The discovery of the Yupa

The main historical source of the Kutai Kingdom is yupa. The yupa looks like a memorial, but there are inscriptions on it. This yupa inscription existed in the era of King Mulawarman, around the 5th century AD.

This yupa carving is written in pallawa script and in Sanskrit. One of the yupa tells us about the family tree of King Mulawarman.

Starting from his grandfather, Kudungga, to his father, Aswawarman, who is considered to be God Ansuman or God Surya. King Mulawarman is a very generous Hindu devotee of Lord Shiva.

Based on history, King Mulawarman even sacrificed 20 thousand bulls and a gold sacrifice for the Brahmins. As a token of gratitude, the Brahmins made a special yupa for King Mulawarman.

That said, he said that during the reign of King Mulawarman, the Kutai Kingdom had a very good period. Agriculture was fertile and traversed by trade routes.

Political life

Looking at the historical sources of the Kutai Kingdom about the political conditions in the kingdom, the actual information is not yet clear. Only a few information about the political life of the Kutai Kingdom is known to people.

From the existence of the inscription, it can be described about the kings who had ruled in the kingdom. The first king has the name King Kunduga which is a legal name from Indonesia.

He has a son by the name of Aswawarman who is considered the founder of the family-forming dynasty. The name of the son of Kunduga above explains that Hinduism has entered the Kingdom of Kutai which we know.

Next, it can be concluded that Aswawarman has three sons. One of his three sons has whose name is famous, if not Mulawarman. The two last names are in Sanskrit.

With this, it can be proven that the kings who led Kutai were authentic Indonesians who had embraced Hinduism. The people of the Kutai kingdom have a distinctive characteristic, namely farming, which has become a characteristic of Indonesia until now. This is the origin of the historical sources of the Kutai Kingdom.

Controversy

At the beginning of 2020, there were rumors of an association calling itself "Maharaja Kutai Mulawarman". This association claims to be the successor to the throne of King Mulawarman.

However, this statement is not based on historical facts. The Kutai kingdom, which previously focused on Muara Kaman, has not been revived.

The reason is, the existence of this kingdom has been unified into the Kingdom of Kutai Kertanegara. Another reason is that there is no valid historical source regarding the lineage of the descendants of King Dermasatia as the last king of the Kingdom of Kutai Martapura.

* In addition to historical sources of the Kutai kingdom, follow other domestic and foreign news only on VOI, Time to Revolutionize The News!

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