Some background notes on place names (toponymy)
1828 Map indicating three rivers just east of Singapore Town: ‘Sungei Rochor’, ‘Sungei Kilang’ and ‘Sungei Gilang’ (underlined in yellow).
Source: Frontispiece to Vo1.2. In Buckley, Charles Burton. An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore. (Singapore: Fraser & Neave Ltd , 1969)
A Map published in 1828 (shown above) indicates three rivers just east of Singapore Town:
‘Sungei Rochor’, ‘Sungei Kilang’ and ‘Sungei Gilang’ (underlined in yellow).
Together with the word “Gelam”, the place names in this region of Singapore provide a picture of boat-building and related activities.
Glossary of Malay words / place names
Gelam: The melaleuca tree whose bark has the remarkable property of expanding upon contact with water. The Gelam bark is therefore used to caulk boats (ie. strips of teh bark are inserted between boat planks as a watertight sealant).
Rochor: variant spelling of the Malay word rocoh, which refers to stakes driven into muddy embankments to hold it up and prevent silting of the river. This practice is related to places used for ship repair
– see GalangKallang: a clan of Singapore’s own Sea Nomads (Orang Laut) was named Orang Biduanda Kalang (The Kalang Royal Messengers). Numbering around 500 in 1819, they lived along the Kallang River, and served the Johor-Riau Sultanate’s Temenggong (Chief of Security) who had chosen to reside in Singapore since c.1812.
Galang: to put a boat on wooden stocks or rollers for repairs, an activity common around the mouths of Kallang and Rocher Rivers where Bugis traders and shipbuilders settled in 1820.
Kilang (key·lang): mill/factory. Saw mills and rice mills were found near the mouths of Rochor, Kallang and Geylang Rivers in the 1820s. This name appears as the name [Sungei Kilang] of what is today “Sungei Kallang” in the 1828 map shown above.Gilang (gee.lang): bright/radiant. This word appears as the name [Sungei Gilang] of what is today known as “Sungei Geylang” in the map from 1828 shown above.
Serai: the citronella plant. whose oil (extracted when pressed) is aromatic and is favoured as a cure for rheumatism and also as an insect repellant.
Kelapa / Klapa: the coconut. The old name for Geylang Serai was Geylang Kelapa.
Sungai/sungei: river
Pulo/pulau: island
Tanjong/tanjung: cape, headland
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