Keramat Iskandar Shah

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Keramat Iskandar Shah
Keramat Iskandar Syah, Fort Canning Park, Singapore - 20110924.jpg
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Shown within Singapore
General information
Typemonument, religious shrine
Location Fort Canning Hill
Country Singapore
Coordinates 1°17′40″N103°50′50″E / 1.2943957°N 103.8472963°E / 1.2943957; 103.8472963
Year(s) builtCurrent structure was built in the 1990s but the shrine was established before c. 1800s
Technical details
Floor area144m2

Keramat Iskandar Shah, alternatively known as Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah, is a monumental cenotaph and former religious shrine located at Fort Canning Hill, a prominent hill and park located in the Central Area, Singapore. It is attributed to Parameswara of Malacca (known in Malay legend as Iskandar Shah) as his purported burial place, a claim which has been challenged by historians.

Contents

History

In January 1822, British colonial authorities reported the existence of tombs belonging to "Malay kings" located on the surface of Fort Canning, however they did not identify the tombs nor were the tombs said to be religious sites. [1] [2] [3] It was in February of the same year that John Crawfurd, during his stay in Singapore, would provide the first information about the existence of the shrine as well as identify it as being the tomb of Sultan Iskandar Shah; Crawfurd described it as a "rude structure" visited by not only Muslims but also the Hindus present in the area. [1] [2] [3] The shrine was labelled as the tomb of an anonymous fakir between 1858–1861. [1] During the Japanese occupation of Singapore, the shrine was left untouched as the Japanese soldiers in the area were superstitious and believed that there were supernatural occurrences. [4]

By 1971, the shrine was described as being a stone shed with a zinc roof, attached to a hut that served as a mosque. [5] However by 1975, most of the facilities including the mosque were removed from the shrine. [1] Between 1970–1989 a cenotaph was built over the grave which still exists to this day. [1]

Keramat Iskandar Shah was rebuilt in the 1990s into a pavilion-like form which is the current appearance of the shrine. [1] [3] The building soon lost its status as a religious shrine and instead gained the status of being a mere monument; any religious activities were forbidden from being conducted at the site. [1]

Historicity

No evidence of the shrine containing a burial has been found and it is unclear how it became associated with the semi-legendary Malay king Iskandar Shah, who is believed to have been buried in Malacca. [2] [3] [6] [7] However, as a keramat is only a shrine, it has been theorized this was only a memorial and not the actual burial place of the Malay king. [3] It has also been argued that the shrine is the burial place of Sang Nila Utama instead. [4] The defunct Taqwā organization claimed that the shrine was actually the burial place of Abu Talib al-Makki, a 9th-century Abbasid-era Muslim scholar who hailed from Iraq. [8] However, no evidence was given for this claim, and Abu Talib al-Makki is reported to have died in 996 CE in Baghdad, not in Singapore. [9]

Identity of Iskandar Shah

The identity of Sultan Iskandar Shah has been disputed with the Malay traditions that state it was the name of Parameswara after having converted to Islam. [10] [11] Some have also identified Iskandar Shah as being Megat Iskandar Shah, the son of Parameswara. [12] While there have been theories that the Chinese court may have confused Parameswara with his son, others argue that it would not be possible for the same court to not be able to differentiate between Parameswara and his son, the latter who was a more common visitor. [13]

Archaelogical discoveries

Excavations around Keramat Iskandar Shah in the 1980s uncovered artifacts including old porcelain shards and coins from the Tang dynasty. [14] All of the artifacts discovered around the shrine are identified as being produced in China. [14]

Architecture

Keramat Iskandar Shah is a wooden pavilion with a tiled roof. [1] [15] It has a square base of 12x12 metres. [7] The stone cenotaph built on top of the grave sits on a raised platform in the center of the structure. [1] [15] Formerly, the shrine was a much larger structure built out of stone with a zinc roof that contained a prayer hall [5] but all of these facilities have since disappeared by 1975. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gibson, William L. (2022). A complete catalogue of keramat in Singapore (Digitised ed.). Singapore National Library Board.
  2. 1 2 3 Guan, K.C. (5 February 1997). "Who is the Iskandar Shah buried on Fort Canning?". The Straits Times. p. 24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Keramat Iskandar Shah". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  4. 1 2 "Bendera Jepun putus dekat keramat tertua Singapura". Berita Harian. 3 January 1970. p. 4.
  5. 1 2 "Makam Sultan Iskandar Shah di-pinggir Fort Canning". The Straits Times. 28 April 1971. p. 12.
  6. ↑ John Miksic (15 November 2013). Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300–1800. NUS Press. p. 214. ISBN   978-9971695743.
  7. 1 2 "Tiada bukti keramat dulu makam diraja". Berita Harian. 19 July 1997. p. 11.
  8. ↑ "Saints of Singapore". TAQWĀ.
  9. ↑ Khalil, Atif. "Abū Tālib al‐Makkī & the Nourishment of Hearts (Qūt al‐qulūb) in the Context of Early Sufism [MW]". academia.edu. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Cœdès, George (1968). The Indianized states of Southeast Asia. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 245–246. ISBN   9780824803681.
  11. ↑ Christopher H. Wake (1964). "Malacca's Early Kings and the Reception of Islam". Journal of Southeast Asian History. 5 (2): 104–128. doi:10.1017/S0217781100000958. JSTOR   20067505, Papers on Early South-East Asian History.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  12. ↑ Miksic, John N. (15 November 2013), Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300–1800, NUS Press, ISBN   978-9971695743
  13. ↑ Wang, G. (2005). "The first three rulers of Malacca". In L., Suryadinata (ed.). Admiral Zheng He and Southeast Asia. International Zheng He Society / Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 26–41. ISBN   9812303294.
  14. 1 2 "Southeast Asian Archaeological Site Reports". The Singapore Cricket Club Excavation Site Report, April 2003.
  15. 1 2 Cheryl-Ann, Low (2009). "Iskandar Shah". Singapore National Library Board. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
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