The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

REVIEW ARTICLES 293
information. According to Bosch, these ruins date from the 12th
century. Krom states, however, that;. 'beneath the outer masonry
(consisting of brick in good condition) a very well preserved
understructure exists; an old structure has been enlarged and
reconditioned, and a second layer built around the old' (this is a
known method in the East Indies). Bosch also cites a Chinese
report that a brick wall of many "li" encircled the city, but this
doubtless refers to San-fo-tsi, which was in an entirely different
locale from Sri Vijaya ...
"Yzerman mentions a remarkable local legend regarding
Muara Takus. He relates that "under the rule of the last prince
of Raja Bichau, the state was so large that a cat walking from one
end of it to the other would have needed three months." This is an
illustration usually used by Malays to indicate a large city, but the
name "Raja Bichau" sounds much like a bastardized "Raja (Sri)
Vijaya !" It was worthwhile, therefore, to go through the old
literature on this subject in order to discover possible traces of
this famous name. The attempt proved successful. Solomon
Muller in his Reports of Sumatra twice mentions the name sought.
He recalls that the bead Penghulu (headman) of the IV Kota's, a
certain "Datu Siepeijaja," lived in Chacbaran of Kota Bahru
(0' 5' northern latitude) on the Batang May (read Manat,
.prounounced Mahi), which was the most prominent place of this
country. Forty years later Rajvan Boest refers to this man as
"Dato Sivijaya." This man was the chief of the adat who was
authorized to grant marriage licenses, issue permits for festivities
to be held, the reclamation of land, etc ...
"The existence of extensive ruins in Muara Takus (coupled
with the name "Raja Bichau," the legendary last ruler of Muara
Takus), makes it appear very likely that the capital of Sri Vijaya
was situated near the junction of the Kampar Kanan and Batang
Mahat Rivers, in the heart of Central Sumatra, within the
immediate surroundings of Muara Takus (having been transferred
from the vicinity of Kelantan on the east coast of Malaya, this
after the conquest of the long since known land of Malayu.)"
I followed Moens and located Mo-lo-yu and Malayu at Muara
Takus. But some Indonesian scholars who have been to the site say that
Muara Takus is so far inland that it could never have been a port.
Although other Indonesian scholars disagree, I have to accept it because