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When Bima died in 1584 the last of our father's worthless sons was dead. Now there remained only his daughters: my sister Raja Ijau, Princess Green, who was 31; my sister Raja Biru, Princess Blue, who was 18; and myself Raja Ungu, Princess Purple, who was only 13. According to the proverb, "A man with many daughters is a rich man," and my father was rich in his daughters. My big sister Raja Ijau became queen and God's Shadow on Earth… After some time Raja Ijau fell ill and died. The men of Patani shaved their heads and the women cut short their hair. My middle sister Raja Biru was made Queen. Like my sister Ijau she took the Siamese title Phra Cao and like her, and our brothers before her, she continued to pay tribute to Siam. In 1623, shortly before the death of my sister, all Englishmen within the city of Patani left to conduct trade from within other countries--this was because of the Dutch. From that time relations between the English and Patani shriveled, while relations between the Dutch and Patani grew strong. And now I, Raja Ungu, was installed upon the noble throne of Indra, Lord of Thunder, God of War, creator of Rajas: the throne of my beloved Patani. The giant silver drums of sovereignty, the gold and silver trumpets, the gold and silver oboes all announced my ascension to the throne of Indra. I sat sheltered from the heat of the morning sun in the gilded royal pavilion on the giant Garuda-bird's broad silken back like Shiva, King of the Gods! Mine alone were the divine insignia of rajahood which Indra in Heaven had created: the sacred seal, the jewelled sword, the golden kris, the golden mace and war club, the golden betel box and cuspidor. Servants shaded me with huge silken umbrellas of royal yellow, fringed with gold. I did not call myself by the Siamese title Phra Cao as my sisters had--I called myself by our own Malay title: Paduka Shah Alam. No longer shall the Raja of Patani pay tribute to the Raja of Siam! Now at that time the Siamese did not yet know how to sail the sea, so no matter how far they had to go they would go overland carrying their supplies with them. After marching for some time Phaya Deca arrived outside our city like the black heavy rainclouds of the monsoon. At first we killed many of them. But then the Siamese were winning. Then the ministers and officers of Patani together with their soldiers and the men of Johore joined battle against the Siamese. And with the aid of Allah Most High the Siamese were no longer winning and they were starving. They were starving because many of our people mixed with their people and ate their food without their even noticing it. In 1633 Phaya Deca gave up and returned to Siam. "He who spits at the sky gets it back in his face," so says the proverb! * * * * *
In the 17th century…Patani…was the jewel of the Indochina seas: its harbor one of the few that provided good shelter for ships even during the monsoon rains. Patani reached its peak of prosperity under the consecutive rule of its four queens. The pinnacle of that peak was the reign of Raja Ungu (c.1624-1635), the only queen strong enough to throw off the yoke of Siamese hegemony. (As an interesting aside, at about that same time the great port and trading city of Acheh, in northern Sumatra, also prospered under its four consecutive queens.) |
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