There
are many speculations and stories
related to the origin of the name
"Singapore". Being southern
tip of the Malay Peninsula, this small
nation in the south-east carried on
a journey through history with itself.
And in the pages of the history of
Singapore, people and intellectuals
have tried to work around the origin
of the name of the country.
People have come to know Singapore
for the first time after they read
an article written about this island
in Chinese dating from the third
century. The article mentioned the
name of Singapore Pu - luo - Chung
''an island at the end of the peninsula
''. However, this article provided
very little information on the history
of Singapore and in contradiction
with the prestigious past of Singapore.
In the 14th century, Singapore became
known to the world by the name of
"Temasek" meaning Sea
tourism and was an integral part
of the empire called Shri Vijayan
Empire. It was called the Sea City
for the reason that it is a meeting
point for those who travelled by
sea and because all roads in maritime
merged.
Anyone visiting this destination
will notice that the lions have
a very central position. In fact,
a lion is an important national
symbol for this nation. Some researchers
of English at the end of the last
century have introduced a theory
saying that Singapore is derived
from the Sanskrit word for lion,
Singha, and the word pure, which
means city. In Malay history, Sejara
Malayu, also indicates a similar
origin. These theories and beliefs
are manifold. An interesting story
behind the name "Singapore"
is a Malay prince named Ammals who
saw a creature like a lion and named
the island Singa Pura which finally
became Singapore.
May be you could add to these theories
and stories after your first experience
in Singapore.
