Keramat Iskandar Shah at Fort Canning Park is a shrine dedicated to Sultan Iskandar Shah who was the last king of Singapura and the first Sultan of the Malacca Sultanate.
The structure we see today (2020) was built in the 1990s but the shrine itself is much older than that.
When Raffles and Farquhar landed at Singapore River in 1819, Temenggong Abdul Rahman told them that the heavily forested hill overlooking the river was Bukit Larangan (Malay for Forbidden Hill). Commoners were not allowed onto the hill hence the name Bukit Larangan. (Image of Singapore River and Bukit Larangan in 1823 courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Based on records in the Sejarah Malayu (Malay for Malay Annals), there was a kingdom of Singapura between 1299 to 1398 located at Singapore River and Bukit Larangan. Ancient kings once lived and were buried at Bukit Larangan. The palace ladies bathed in a spring at Bukit Larangan which was out of bounds to commoners.
"... on the north declivity of the hill, ..., is said to have been the burying-place of Iskandar Shah, King of Singapore.... ." (Map of Fort Canning Hill in 1825 courtesy of Wikipedia. The approximate location of Keramat Iskandar Shah marked with < ).
In the three years since 1819, locals and newly arrived immigrants started to climb the once Forbidden Hill. (Map of Fort Canning Hill in 1884 courtesy of NAS. The approximate location of Keramat Iskandar Shah marked with < ).
John Crawfurd described Keramat Iskandar Shah in 1822:
"Over the supposed tomb of Iskandar, a rude structure has been raised, since the formation of the new settlement, to which Mohammedans, Hindus, and Chinese, equally resort to do homage."
The shrine is dedicated to Sultan Iskandar Shah though historians just like John Crawfurd consider it apocryphal. Sultan Iskandar Shah also known as Parameswara was the fifth and last monarch of the kingdom of Singapura. (Image of Parameswara courtesy of Wikipedia.)
After enjoying 99 years of prosperity, in 1389, a foreign power either Siamese or Javanese sacked Singapura and razed it to the ground. Parameswara escaped to Malacca and founded the Malacca Sultanate. Parameswara became Sultan Iskandar Shah after converting to Islam.
Sultan Iskandar Shah died in 1414 in Malacca. It is said that his body was brought back to Singapore and buried at Bukit Larangan where Keramat Iskandar Shah is located. However, historians have so far not been able to find evidence to support this belief.
14th-century Javanese Majapahit gold ornament excavated at Bukit Larangan. However, evidence of the occupant of the tomb has not yet been discovered.
Today, Keramat Iskandar Shah is revered by Muslims. Many families come here during Ramadan to break fast.
For myself, Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah reminds me of the kingdom of Singapura where the story of Singapore began.
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Date: 12 Oct 2020