Kalimantan Barat Expedition: In Search of Lost Kingdoms of Vampires #6

The Sultanate of Sambas

The keraton of Sambas, royal family, continues to preserve its palace and other royal regalia.  Sultan Tengah, the first and last sultan of Sarawak, founded the Sambas Sultanate.  He was the younger brother of Sultan Jalilul Jabar of Brunei who challenged the throne.  To solve his predicament, Sultan Abdul Jalil finally relented and anointed Tengah to be the Sultan of Sarawak, a rich province in the opposite end of Brunei city.  Tengah brought with him a thousand followers and upon arriving in Sarawak, now Kuching, built a palace at Sungai Bedil, the present site of the Astana.

Being young and still a bachelor, the adventurous Tengah, sailed off to Johor to see his auntie.  During a dance party a misunderstanding occurred and Tengah with his followers sailed home.  However the prince encountered devastating storm and found himself in the Sukadana Sultanate, now Ketapang in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.  They rescued by the sultan and took him to stay at his palace.  Tengah made a big impression on the sultan so as to give one of his princesses’ hands for marriage.

After several years in Sukadana, Tengah was assigned to Sambas to be its founding sultan.  The royal couple built their palace at the confluence of Sungai Sambas and Sungai…..  When their prince, Pengiran Sulaiman reached the mature age of 25 years old, Sultan Tengah felt it was time to go home to Sarawak and sailed with some followers soon after.  When they were about to enter the Sarawak River at Santubong, Sultan Tengah wanted to ease himself at Batu Buaya but was attacked and struck by one of his followers at the opportune moment when the sultan had taken off his talismans that gave his invincibility.  Subsequently the people of Sarawak, led by Datu Patinggi and Datu Bandar, managed to get the royal body and gave him a proper burial at the foot of the legendary Mount Santubong which was a thriving port-city from the 7^th to the 10^th centuries.