Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalof192018871889roya).pdf/337

 NOTES ON NAMES OF PLACES IN THE ISLAND OF SINGAPORE AND ITS VICINITY.

ERHAPS the following notes on some of the names of places in the island of Singapore and its immediate neighbourhood, may not be without interest to the readers of the Journal. In Singapore the population is continually changing and, as the old Malay inhabitants have for the most part died out or migrated, it is probable that, before very long, the names of places may become corrupted (as some already have been) almost beyond recognition. That this should be the case is not surprizing when we consider the various nationalities that have settled down in the island for purposes of trade and commerce, and how few and scattered are the remnants of the old Malay settlers and the remnants of the aboriginal "Orang Laut." It will doubtless seem to Malay scholars to be superfluous to notice the meanings of some of the names, but my object has been to write for the information of those who, although they are not thoroughly conversant with Malay, yet are disposed to take an intelligent interest in the subject.

I have confined myself in these notes to the names of places in the Settlement of Singapore, but I may perhaps instance two cases in which the names of places in Johor territory have become curiously corrupted. There is a place on the shores of the Old Straits near Lěnduyong called Janggut Ma' Dudok. This figures in the Government map of the island (1885) as "Jaman Dulu" and in the charts as "Jaman Dudu." Again, there is the point known to Malays as