The legend of Kemaro Island

It is said that during the era of the Srivijaya kingdom, ruled a wise king who had a beautiful daughter named Siti Fatimah.

Once upon a time, a group of merchants from China led by Tam Bun An, came to the Sriwijaya kingdom. Tam Bun An heard news from the local community about the beauty of Siti Fatimah, a daughter of the king of Sriwijaya.

On the advice of the ship's captain, Tam Bun An then went to the palace to meet Siti Fatimah. They then came to the palace carrying the procession of musical instruments along with the lion dance.

Seeing the excitement in front of the palace, the king's daughter immediately came out to take a look. Siti Fatimah was very impressed with the lion dance performance. Tam Bun An was finally able to meet Siti Fatimah. They then became acquainted with each other. Since then the two of them often held meetings. Over time the seeds of love emerged between the two of them.

Tam Bun An Wants To Apply For Siti Fatimah

Raja Sriwijaya found out about his son's relationship with Tam Bun An, then called Tam Bun An. In front of the King, Tam Bun An expressed his intention to propose to Siti Fatimah. However, the King objected because of differences in customs.

“Great King. I intend to apply for my daughter, Siti Fatimah, to become my wife. I really love him. " said Tam Bun An.

"Young people, we have different customs. I also don't want my child to be brought to China. " said the King.

"If that is the wish of the King, then I am willing to stay in the country of Sriwijaya." said Tam Bun An who had fallen in love with Siti Fatimah.

"Okay then I agree to marry my son to you. But to prove your seriousness, you must hand over nine large jars of pure gold. " said the King.

Tam Bun An was pleased to hear the king's explanation. He agreed to hand over nine large jars of pure gold. Tam Bun An immediately sent a letter to his parents in mainland China via a dove, to send nine large jars of gold, so he could propose to the girl he loved. Soon afterwards, a reply letter came from the parents of Tam Bun An who stated that he would immediately send the nine gold jars he requested.

Tam Bun An's parents immediately prepared their child's request. Because the journey was very far, worried about the pirates in the middle of the sea, his parents put rotten vegetables on the top of the golden jar to trick the pirates.

A few months later, the ship carrying nine jars of gold from Tam Bun An's parents arrived at the Royal pier. Tam Bun An invited Raja and Siti Fatimah to board the ship. Tam Bun An immediately opened the gold jar. To his surprise, he found that it contained only rotten vegetables. He then opened another jar and found that it had the same contents, rotten vegetables. Feeling angry, Tam Bun An then threw the jars into the Musi River. One by one he threw the jars into the river. When he was about to throw the ninth urn, the jar fell on the floor and broke and scattered to take out a pure gold bar. Knowing this, Tam Bun An regretted that he had thrown away the eight gold jars.

Siti Fatimah tries to calm her lover. Likewise, King Sriwijaya tried to calm Tam Bun An. The king said that Tam Bun An could marry his daughter because the conditions had been met.

"Lord King. I am very sorry to have thrown away the gold jars. Let me go into the river to get the gold back. " Tam Bun An immediately jumped into the river even though everyone had stopped him.

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The legend of the Kemaro Island of the Musi River

The people on the dock waited anxiously, because after all this time, Tam Bun An had not yet surfaced. Siti Fatimah looked very panicked. He looks like he is about to jump into the river following his lover. The people tried to prevent Siti Fatimah from jumping, but it was too late. Siti Fatimah threw herself into the river to find her lover. Raja Sriwijaya immediately shouted for the people to jump into the river, looking for Siti Fatimah and Tam Bun An. After hours and hours, people couldn't find them either. Knowing this, the King of Sriwijaya became very sad.

Years after this incident, at the place where Tam Bun An and Siti Fatimah plunged into themselves, a sediment or delta emerged which continued to expand into an island. The people gave it the name Kemaro Island. Then the local people built a mosque and a temple to honor a pair of Putri Fatimah & Tam Bun An.

Kemaro Island is a small delta on the Musi River, Palembang, South Sumatra. This is a folk tale about Kemaro Island which is said to be related to the love story of a daughter of the king of Sriwijaya, Siti Fatimah, and a merchant from China, Tam Bun An.