Sang Nila Utama

Sang Nila Utama was a prince from Palembang, the capital of the Srivijayan Kingdom, in present day Indonesia. According to the Malay Annals, he had sighted a lion on the island of Temasek (present day Singapore) and thereafter founded a city in 1299 given it the name "Singapura". Whether this is true and the existence of such a person had been debated.

Founding of Singapura
The Malay Annals contains a story of the founding of Singapura that Sang Nila Utama went on a hunting trip with his men on Tanjung Bemban (on Batam) when a deer came before him. He chased it before finally killing it. He reached a huge rock which he climed up and he viewed the opposite shore, which had sand as white as cotton. After his minister informed him that it was the island of Temasek, Sang Nila Utama proposed that they should go there. They boarded their ship to travel there, but met with a storm along the way. The ship began to leak, and the crew could not throw out the water, so they threw some baggage into the sea. Everything was thrown, except Sang Nila Utama's crown. The minister stated that the vessel could not support the weight of the crown and could not be relieved unless it was thrown. Sang Nila Utama did so and the storm ceased.

The ship managed to reach Temasek. While on Kuala Temasek, the plain beside the mouth of the river of Temasek (the present-day Pandang near the Singapore River), Sang Nila Utama spotted an animal "extremely swift and beautiful" with a red body, a black head and a white breast. It was extremely agile, and of great strength, and its size a little larger than a male goat. When it saw the large number of people, it fled inland and disappeared. No one could tell him what that animal was, till he enquired Damang Lebar Daun. He informed him that in the histories of "ancient time", lion was described in the same manner as that animal appeared. Sang Nila Utama told his mother-in-law that he would not return but requested her to send people, elephants, and horses so he could build a settlement in Temasek.

He founded a city renamed Temasek as Singapura meaning "Lion City" with singa, in Sanskrit meaning "lion", and pura meaning "city". Upon coronation, he was given the title Sri Tri Buana (meaning “Lord of Three Worlds” in Sanskrit).

Sang Nila Utama ruled for 48 years before death, from 1299 to 1347. He had two sons, Raja Kechil Besar and Raja Kechil Muda. After he died, and was buried "on the hill of Singapura", Bukit Larangan(now known as Fort Canning Hill) believed to be where ancient kings were buried. His elder son Sri Wikrama Wira succeeded him.

Lions in Singapore
Studies show that lions are unlikely to have ever naturally inhabited Singapore, not even Asiatic lions. It has been suggested that the animal seen by Sang Nila Utama was most likely a wild boar. It has also been suggested that it was a golden pig or masked palm civet.