History of the Kingdom of Kutai Martapura

The Kingdom of Kutai Martapura is a Hindu-style kingdom in Indonesia which has the oldest historical evidence in the form of the Yupa Inscription and dates back to the 4th century AD. The center of this kingdom is located in Muara Kaman, East Kalimantan. The name Kutai was given by experts who took it from the name of the place where the inscription was found indicating the existence of the kingdom.

inscription left by the Kingdom of Kutai Martapura

The main source of the history of the Martapura Kingdom is the seven yupa inscriptions found on Brubus Hill, Muara Kaman. The discovery of this inscribed stone is not all at once, but in two stages with a span of more than half a century. Apart from the source of the yupa inscriptions, there is also the book of the Salasilah Letter of the King in Kutai Kertanegara Country.

Yupa Inscription. Photo: Culture Doc of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

There are only five names of kings recorded in historical sources, namely 3 people in the Yupa Inscription with Pallawa script and 2 people in the Salasilah Raja book in Kutai Kertanegara Country with Arabic Malay script. As for other information that mentions a list of more than 20 kings, it is not based on authentic historical sources, but rather from the words asked by a figure in a traditional ceremony of belian. The name Maharaja Kundungga by historians is interpreted as the original name of an Indonesian who has not been influenced by Indian cultural names.

Image courtesy of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

Meanwhile, his son, Asmawarman, is thought to have been influenced by Hindu culture. This is based on the fact that the word Warman comes from Sanskrit. The word is usually used to end the name of a person or resident of South India. In one of these yupas it is known that what became the forerunner of the Kutai kingdom was kundungga which was passed on to Aswawarman. Then there is a replacement for Aswawarman who has three sons, namely Mulawarman.

Based on the Yupa Inscription, it can be seen that the Kutai Kingdom reached its peak of glory during the reign of King Mulawarman. Mulawarman was mentioned as a king who had noble character, was mighty, and once held a ceremony offering 20,000 bulls to the Brahmins which took place at "Waprakecvara". Waprakecvara is a holy (sacred) place which is a syncretism between Hindu culture and Indonesian culture. As a descendant of Aswawarman, Mulawarman also performed the "Vratyastoma" ceremony, which was a self-purification ceremony to enter the Kshatriya caste.

During Mulawarman's reign, Hindu ceremonies were led by Indonesian native Brahmins/priests. This proves that his intellectual ability is high, because Sanskrit is not the language of ordinary people. In addition, under the reign of King Mulawarman the economic life of the kingdom experienced rapid development from the agricultural and trade sectors because of its very strategic location. The Kutai Martapura kingdom ended when its king named Maharaja Dermasatia died in battle at the hands of the 8th King of Kutai Kertanegara, Prince Sinum Panji Mendapa.

Image courtesy of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

It should be remembered that Kutai Martapura was different from the Kingdom of Kutai Kertanegara, which at that time was the capital of Kutai Lama. It was this Kutai Kertanegara, in 1365, that was mentioned in the Javanese Negarakertagama literature. Kutai Kertanegara then became an Islamic kingdom. Since 1735, the Kutai Kertanegara kingdom, which originally had the title of prince, changed its title to Sultan (Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris) and until now it is called the Kutai Kertanegara Sultanate.