The Majapahit dependency Udama Katraya

In the N?gara-Kert?gama, the last line of Canto 14, stanza 4, mentions among the dependencies of Majapahit to the east of Java a region referred to as 'uda makatray?dinikanang san?s?pupuV(Pigeaud 1962,1:12), which is translated by Pigeaud as 'the (countries) of Uda making a trio; these are the most important of those that are one island, altogether' (Pigeaud 1962, 111:17). In contradiction with this 'one island', Pigeaud in his commentary (Pigeaud 1962, IV: 3 4) reverts to Kern's identification of Uda with the three major Talaud islands, albeit with the proviso that 'the identifications of many names in the eastern part [...] are dubious', and also cites a remark by Rouffaer that the N?gara-Kert?gama does not include any geographical names for North Celebes. I shall attempt in this article to sustain the gist of Pigeaud's translation against the opinions of both Kern and Rouffaer. In 1903 Kern (1903:352) still queried the name 'Udamakatraya', but a few years later, in an apparently private communication cited by Van Eerde (1911:475), explained uda as referring to the second part of the toponym Taloda, the indigenous name of the Talaud Islands. Kern believed tala to be an alternative form of tara, 'inhabitants'. Makatraya meant 'forming a trio' in Old Javanese, hence the meaning of Uda Makatraya was 'the three major Talaud islands'. Gonda (1973:342) suggested as trans lation for Udamakatraya 'the triad (Skt. tray a) of the Udamakas (a corrupt Skt. word?)', indicating the Talaud islands. In fact, like Pigeaud in 1962, Gonda seemed to doubt Kern's etymology, but endorsed his identification with the Talaud islands. At about the same time an entirely different etymology of the name Talaud was proposed by Adriani (1909:2), suggesting that both the local name Taloda and its Sangirese equivalent Ta/aoede meant taoe laoede 'seafarers'; as the endonyms of the three main islands he stated Ara'alana, Saliwaboede and Awatjoeana (the modern Indonesian names are Karake lang, Salibabu and Kaburuang (a village on the east coast)). Against the weight of Kern's authority, Adriani's interpretation was never cited again in connection with Udamakatraya. It is unlikely, though

Contradiction · Genealogy · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Asian Studies and History · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy

• Afonso de Albuquerque's pre-Portuguese 'Javanese' map, partially reconstructed from Francisco Rodrigues' book

  Open Access•J H F Sollewijn Gelpke•Bijdragen tot de taal- land- en…•1995

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