Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Majulah Singapura!!

Singapore's National Day is coming up, so I am sharing with you some Singapore "history". Most of us know the "official" story of how Singapore got its name, but there are 3 other "unofficial" versions.


Singapore's Origin

How Singapore got its name:

Version 1:
When Raffles stepped out of his boat on to Boat Quay, a man was running by announcing the birth of his son in hokkien : 'see ta poh, see ta poh'

Version 2:
I thought the story was like this : The malay/indian king, Parameswara, was sleeping under a tree and was dreaming. He was rudely awakened by an animal resembling a lion. So, out of shock, he screamed ' Singa porda ! Singa porda ' (which means, 'lion, get lost!')

Version 3:
When Raffles sailed up the Singapore river for the first time, a malay lady was bathing in the river, having left her clothes on the river bank. A singh came by and stole her clothes. The upset lady started shouting after him, 'Singh Kapoh, Singh Kapoh'...

Version 4:
' Singapore ' was actually translated from the name 'Singapura' in Bahasa Malaysia . Story goes that there was a prince that came to our island many many years ago, on an exploration trip. Then he suddenly saw a lion and he named our island 'Singapura', which means lion. Imagine if he had seen a pig instead of a lion.('pig' in Malay is 'Babi')

So which version do you like??

5 comments:

Mommy Lose Weight said...

ha ha ha .... I like the 1st version! :P

Yan said...

Version 1 I like - what if it was a daughter? I wonder! Ha, ha.

Jo said...

hahahaha! I like version 3!

Wang Tai Tai - 王太太 said...

Haha, I like number two best!

Stardust said...

This is so FUNNY, honey! I couldn't stop laughing at #4.WAHAHAHA...

When I was a kid, I accepted everything taught and told without questions. Now that I'm reminded of #4, do you think there's any possibility that lions roamed the land during those days? Really??

Nevertheless, Majulah Singapura!!