In a metropolitan city like Singapore, the myth of the Singapore stone and Badang the strongman has flowed through the Singapore River for generations.
In 1819, the British arrived on Singapore shores and discovered ancient relics of the 14th century. One of them was a monolithic sandstone boulder that was approximately 3m high and 3m wide, and had 50 lines of inscriptions that have yet to be deciphered.
In 1843, the British blew up the boulder to widen the mouth of the Singapore River and build military quarters. What was salvaged from the blasted boulder was the fragment that’s currently being displayed at the National Museum of Singapore. Two other fragments were sent to the Calcutta Museum in 1848, but the exact whereabouts are yet to be known.
How did the boulder appear in the Singapore River in the first place? According to the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), the boulder had been thrown from Fort Canning Hill by a strongman named Badang.
Legend of Badang
Badang was a slave who lived in an area called Saluang. He detested the hard toil of working on his master’s land and wished that he could be strong to make his efforts easier.
Despite being a slave, he was free to be a fisherman. Badang would lay fish traps along the sea bed to catch fish and will sneak out to reap his catch and cook it. One
day, Badang discovered only fish bones in his net. Hungry, puzzled and disappointed at his failed attempt, Badang went to set up a trap to get the culprit.
As he hid behind the tall grass, Badang spotted a horrific creature with fiery red eyes emerging from the woods. The extremely hairy monster had horns on his head and tusks prominently growing out from his jaw. It began foaming at the mouth as it hungrily approached the trap.
Badang confronted the monster as it ate his fish and held its throat, choking it. The monster begged for Badang’s mercy and promised to grant any of his wishes in exchange for its release.
Badang wished for great strength. The monster agreed on the condition that Badang eat his vomit. Despite his reluctance, Badang complied and was made into a strongman that wields great physical power.
Badang used his newfound powers to perform manual labour with ease, impressing his master and the other slaves. Badang’s tales of strong prowess travelled to the ears of the King of Singapore, Sri Rama Wira Kerma, and he summoned the slave to his court.
The King ordered Badang to push a 45-foot boat into the sea, which he did with ease. Satisfied, the King made him the new commander of his army. Soon, Badang’s reputation caught the attention of the ruler of Kalinga in India. The Kalinga challenged Badang to a strength duel to which Badang agreed.
In their final duel, the Kalinga proposed to see who can throw the boulder the furthest. While Kalinga struggled to lift the stone up to his knees, Badang picked it up with such ease and flung it far away that it landed at the mouth of the Singapore River.
Although all that’s left of the boulder is a slab of fragmented stone, the legend of Badang’s amazing feats still lives on.
