White crystals from Panchut

The text quoted in the opening chapter of Kwa et al. (2019) is an English translation¹ of a place description from Wang (1350).

The toponym assigned by the Yuan Chinese traveler was Panchu² 班卒 and it is not explicitly related to Temasik or medieval Singapore.

Panchut ڤنچت is a Malay word cognate³ with panchit ڤنچت and panchar/panchor ڤنچر. If one is allowed to hallucinate, these words may be tied to pancha, the Sanskrit word for ‘five', when we consider the following usages, which invoke radiating or flowing material from a datum.

1. Kilat memanchar hujan tak lalu Dendritic networks of electric discharge
2. Otaknya pun berpancharan Semisolid material exploding from a point source
3. Panchor larangan Bathing pond with natural moving water, reserved for the blue-blooded
4. Panchoran ayer Water flowing out from a conduit and pipeline

A seastar has five limbs radiating from a central disc. The Greek equivalent of pancha is penta (πεντα). The pentagram of Venus (⛤) is apparent path of the planet as observed from Earth. The Turkish flag, for instance, shows the conjunction of Moon and Venus, with Venus stylized as a five-pointed star, positioned outside the arc of the crescent. Interestingly, the Malays call the seastar ‘tapak sulaiman' even though the Star of Solomon is a six-pointed star (✡).

Since Panchu is a toponym commonly used for places equipped with fresh or flowing water. Additional data must be supplied to have it properly identified. In Zhao (1255), Panshu 賓窣 /Chuanchew: binsut/ is marked as one of two marketplaces where camphor can be obtained.

腦子，出渤泥國，又出賓窣國

If both Chinese writers refer to the same place, it must correspond to Barus in Barros (1552), a port city located on the west coast of Sumatra, frequented by Arab merchants mainly for its camphor⁴.

Barus (Panchut/Panshut 班卒/賓窣) in Jean Rotz's map. In 1542, Jean Rotz (b. 1505, d. 1560) presented the Boke of Idrography (Book of Hydrography) to Henry VIII (r. 1509 - 1547). In the map, Barus was labelled ‘Bairos' and Sumatra was labelled Taprobana. Other interesting places marked on the map are: Sinca Pura, Bintan, Llmga, Banca, R. Formoso, Muar, Mallaca, Pahang, etc. Barus was mentioned, alongside Minangkabau, by Barros in Décadas da Ásia (1552).

Top-quality casque 上等鶴頂紅 is a reference to the skullbone of a helmeted hornbill (enggang gading in Malay), a bird native to the entire Sundaland region, including the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Kwa et al. (2019), however, mistakenly depict a rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) instead (p. 44). Buceros rhinoceros is an unlikely candidate for red ivory 鶴頂紅 due to its considerably smaller casque, which offers a more challenging surface for craftsmanship.

Wang's description of the land condition of Panchur 班卒 and the Batak people (1350): The land is barren, and the crops are scarce. The weather is not consistent. It is cold in the summer because of the heavy rainfall. The natives are modest and have an unpretentious nature, they have short hair, wear headdresses made of brocade, and dress in red ulos cloth. 田瘠，穀少。氣候不齊，夏則多雨而微寒。俗質(樸男女)，披短髮，假錦纏頭，紅紬布繫身. In Zhao (1225), the land of the Batak people is referenced as Bátà 拔沓 and is listed as one of the fifteen vassal states of Srivijaya. However, he also mentions 賓窣國 when discussing camphor. Wang's description can also be found in Mao (1629) 皇明象胥錄, but his sentence was arranged slighly differently by Mao Ruizheng 茅瑞徵 (b. 1577): 班卒國，在海中，永樂三年遣使來朝貢。俗質樸男女，被短髮，假錦纏頭，紅紬布繫身。土瘠，少穀。氣候不齊，夏則多雨，雨即寒，產甚薄.

Tai (2021) is of the opinion that Panchur in Wang (1350) cannot be the Fansur located on the northwest coast of Sumatra and he cited the following paragraph in Freeman-Grenville (1981): . . . the same man told me that on Lamuri Island there are zarafa of enormous size. They say that shipwrecked sailors, forced to travel on the Fansur coast towards Lamuri, do not go by night for fear of the zarafa . . . It is evident that the Fansur coast refers to the coastline of northwest Sumatra; however, Tai interpreted the extent of the journey as the distance traveled between Barus and Lamuri.

1. The creative association of Panchu 班卒 /Chuanchew: banzut/ with Temasik 單馬錫 remains a prevalent belief among historians in Singapore. For instance, see J. N. Miksic (2021) Issues and approaches to studying Singapore before 1819. in Kwa Chong Guan (2021) 1819 and before, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. It is usually linked to the Royal Bath at Bukit Larangan. Some authors like Tai Yew Seng (2021) even mapped the locale to the area around Mount Emily (Bukit Kawah).
   
   The translation given by Kwa et al. (2019) is as follows: The location of the place: it is connected to Longyamen. The hill in the rear is like a coiled headdress (i.e. a turban), truncated (i.e. terraced), rising to a concaved (i.e. two peaks) and plateaued peak. Hence, the people live around it.
   
   班卒：地勢連龍牙門後，山若纏若斷，起凹峯而盤結，故民環居焉。
   
   Kwa Chong Guan, Derek Heng, Peter Borschberg, Tan Tai Yong (2019) Seven hundred years: A history of Singapore, National Library Board, Singapore.
   
   This translation is likely influenced by Wheatley's translation (1961). The translation is rather strange because (a) 凹 is detached from 起 and distorted to ‘two peaks' (b) 若纏若斷 is torn into ‘coiled headdress' and ‘truncated'. Wheatley's Lung-ya-men entry was translated by Ho Kuang-chung 賀光中 (see p. 82), it is not known if his Pan-tsu entry was also translated by Ho.
   
   For a more readable approximation, consider the following line:
   
   Panchut 班卒 can be found in the terrain behind the Gate of Lingga 龍牙門後. The mountainous range is continuous yet broken 山若纏若斷, these alternating elevations are intricately intertwinned 起凹峯而盤結, necessitating people to settle around these mountainous networks.
   
   Wang Dayuan 汪大淵 (1350) An abridged record of insular natives 島夷志畧. For example, see the version edited by Fujita Toyohachi 藤田豐八 (b. 1869, d. 1929), printed by Luo Zhenyu 羅振玉 in 1915, reprinted in 1936 by Wengedian Bibliotheca 文殿閣書莊 in Taiwan.
   
   The story of how Wang's travelogue was appended in the Annal of Qingyuan 淸源郡誌 (1350) was recounted by Wang himself in the following postscript:
   
   至正已丑冬，大淵過泉南，適監郡偰侯命三山吳鑒明之序《淸源郡誌》，顧以淸源舶司所在，諸蕃輻輳之所，宜記錄不鄙。謂余方知外事，屬《島夷誌》附于郡誌之後，非徒以廣士大夫之異聞，蓋以表國朝威德如是之大且遠也。
   
   In the winter of 1349, I passed through southern Quanzhou and happened to meet Xie Yuli 偰玉立 (b. 1290, d. 1365), the governor who had ordered Wu Jian 吳鑒, a native of Sanshan 三山, to revise the Annal of the District of Qingyuan 淸源郡誌. Considering that Qingyuan was the maritime hub where various foreign peoples gathered, it was deemed appropriate to record this matter without disdain. He believed that I was knowledgeable about foreign countries and thus entrusted me with appending A Record of Insular Natives to the end of the Annal, not merely to broaden the horizons of scholars and officials but also to demonstrate how vast and far-reaching the power and virtue of our dynasty truly were.
   
   The date given in Wu Jian's preface was the 15th day of the 12th lunar month in Zhizheng (Jichou) 至正己丑冬十有二月望日 (Julian date: 23 January 1350, proleptic Gregorian: 31 January 1350). Lidong 立冬 (7 November 1349 = solar longitude 224.8°) is 18th day of the 9th lunar month of Zhizheng. The Governor of Qingyuan, Xie Yuli 偰玉立 was a Oocho or Kara-Khoja 高昌回鶻, and not a Han Chinese.
   
   
2. In most Southern dialects, 班卒 is pronounced banchut or banchuk, with the characteristic checked tone 入聲 not found in Northern dialects such as Mandarin.
   
   Panchor 班卒 /Teochew: Bangzuk/, a reference to spring water, is Malay toponym that is so common that it is both found in old Malay settlements such as Muar and Batu Pahat. Batu Pahat River is labelled Rio de Formosa in Portuguese maps, while Muar River is labelled Rio de Muar.
   
   Fresh water prawns in Rio de Muar, a delicacy in Panchut 班卒.
   
   
   鶴頂 Helmeted hornbill skullbone. Kwa et al. (2019) stated that hornbill casques could be obtained from Temasik (p. 44). However, Wang (1350) made no such claim. The original statement in the travelogue is that hornbill ivory was a local product obtainable from Panchur rather than Temasik: 班卒：. . . 煮海為鹽，釀米為酒，名明家西 . . . 地產上等鶴頂、中等降眞、木綿花。貿易之貨，用絲布、鐵條、土印布、赤金、甆器、鐵鼎之屬. Sea water is boiled to produce salt. Rice is fermented to produce mingjiaxi, an alcoholic drink . . . Its native products include top-grade hornbill ivory, mid-grade lakawood and cotton. Goods used for barter are silk cloth, iron bars, local printed cloth, copper, porcelains, iron cauldrons, etc.
   
   
   
3. Panchit: To ooze out, to gush forth in a thin stream. Panchut: To gush out, to pout out, to be dashed out with force.
   
   
4. Fanṣūr فنسور is an earlier Arabic name for Barus. The most famous Malay from the place is perhaps the Sufi poet named Hamzah Fansuri حمزه فنسوري (d. 1590?). See for example, Syed Muhammad Naguib al-Attas (1966) The mysticism of Ḥamzah Fanṣūrī, PhD thesis, SOAS, University of London.
   
   
   
   宾窣脑子 Kapur Barus. Kapur and barus can be used interchangeably to refer to the white crystalline subtance, a fact that is fossilized in the following Syair: Hamzah Fansuri di negeri Melayu, tempatnya kapur di dalam kayu, asalnya manikam tiadakan layu, dengan ilmu dunia manakan payu. Hamzah Syahrun-Nawi terlalu hapus, seperti kayu sekelian hangus, asalnya laut tiada berarus, menjadi kapur di dalam Barus.
   
   
   
5. For example, in Drakard (1989) we have: . . . Arab sources refere to this part of the north west Sumatra as Fansur. It has never been disputed that Fansur when used in early literature refers to this part of the north Sumatran coast . . .
   
   J. Drakard (1989) An Indian ocean port: Sources for the earlier history of Barus, Archipel 37, pp. 53 - 82. The zarafa line cited by Tai (2021) can be found in G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville (1981) The Book of the wonders of India: Mainland, sea and islands (by Captain Buzurg ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz), East-West Publications, London.
   
   
   . . . they do not show themselves in the day time . . . when night comes, they hear them moving around them, and in the day time they see their tracks in the sand . . .
   
   
   Kruk (2008) cited the French translation of ‘Ajā'ib al-Hind and pointed out that zarafa is a transcription of śarabha (शरभ). In Sanskrit, śarabha could be a reference to (a) some type of deer or antelope (b) a powerful octopedal and mythical beast, stronger than a lion or an elephant. Although the modern zarafa (زرافة) is usually tied to giraffe, the gentle diurnal animal is unable to match the description given by Buzurg (e.g. ferocious and nocturnal). Buzurg's zarafa is likely a reference the Sumatran rhinoceros. Sumatran rhinoceroses are mainly active at night, feeding before dawn and after dusk. During the day, they rest in muddy wallows to keep cool.
   
   
   
   R. Kruk (2008) Zarafa: Encounters with the giraffe, from Paris to the medieval Islamic world, in B. Gruendler, M. Cooperson (2008) Classical Arabic humanities in their own terms: Festschrift for Wolfhart Heinrichs on his 65th birthday presented by his students and colleagues, Brill, Leiden, pp. 568 - 592. Buzurg ibn Shahriyar al-Ramhurmuzi (fl. 10th century) (1883-6), ‘Ajā'ib al-Hind. Livre des merveilles de l'Inde par le capitaine Bozorg fils de Chahriyar de Ramhormoz, ed. P. A. van der Lith and trans. L. Marcel Devic, Leiden.
   
   See also 王晖 (2008) 麒麟原型与中国古代犀牛活动南移考, 中国历史地理论丛 23(2), pp. 12 - 22. In earlier Chinese texts, the qilin 麒麟 is identified as a rhinoceros and not a giraffe.