
<figure class="image-550">
<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-29/queen-sima.webp" alt="A black-and-white line drawing of a serene precolonial woman representing Queen Sima, wearing a decorated headband, large hoop earrings, and a patterned collar." loading="lazy"/>
<figcaption>
An illustration of Queen Sima, traditionally labeled in older Philippine historical books as a precolonial ruler of Cotabato in Mindanao. Modern research shows this character actually represents the historical Queen Shima of the Kalingga Kingdom in Central Java, Indonesia.
</figcaption>
</figure>

<h2>
The Original Narrative of the Law and the Bag of Gold
</h2>
<p>
The core of the legend centers on a test of honesty conducted by a foreign ruler. An Arab ruler, curious about the kingdom's reputation for absolute honesty, decided to test the people by placing a heavy bag of gold in the middle of a busy road. Under the laws of the kingdom, citizens were strictly forbidden from touching anything that did not belong to them. The bag of gold sat untouched in the road for three years, with travelers actively walking around it.   
</p>
<p>
The peace was broken when the crown prince, who was the queen's own son, accidentally touched or stepped on the bag with his foot while walking. When Queen Sima learned of this, she was furious that the future ruler had shown such carelessness. Believing that leaders must set the highest moral example, she initially ordered his execution. Her court ministers pleaded for the prince's life, pointing out that his action was accidental and limited to his foot. The queen relented but insisted on a strict penalty to show that no one was above the law. She commuted the death sentence to the amputation of the toes on the foot that had touched the gold. This severe punishment cemented her reputation for absolute legal equality and deterred foreign nations from attempting to invade her kingdom.   
</p>
<h2>
The Source of the Geographical Shift
</h2>
<p>
This Javanese historical event was mistakenly placed in the southern Philippines by the historian <a href="/kauswagan/articles/1716/today-in-philippine-history-february-22-1872-austin-craig-rizal-research-professor-of-history-was-born-in-eddytown-new-york" class="news_link">Austin Craig</a> in his 1924 book, <b>Gems of Philippine Oratory</b>. Craig wanted to gather examples of early Southeast Asian speeches and laws to prove that precolonial Filipinos had a highly developed society. To find these accounts, he relied on W.P. Groeneveldt's 1880 translation of Chinese dynastic records, titled Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca compiled from Chinese sources.   
</p>
<p>
In these Chinese records, the kingdom was referred to as Holing, which is the Chinese phonetic name for Kalingga. The Chinese texts stated that the capital of this kingdom was a town called Djava, Djapa, or Djapo. Groeneveldt noted in his work that Djapa might refer to Japara on the northern coast of Java. However, Craig misread these terms and concluded that Dj-Apo referred to the region around Mount Apo and the Cotabato valley in Mindanao, Philippines. He also assumed that the name Kalang mentioned in the records referred to a precolonial settlement in southern Mindanao.   
</p>



<p>
This misidentification was quickly adopted by other writers and eventually found its way into Philippine history textbooks. For decades, it was taught as a factual event of precolonial Philippine history, despite the complete lack of local archaeological or written records to support it.   
</p>
<h2>
Comparing the Historical Identity and Evidence
</h2>
<p>
To understand the true context of Queen Sima's reign, it is necessary to examine the primary historical evidence from Central Java, which contrasts sharply with the lack of evidence in the Philippines. While the Philippine account relies entirely on Craig's reading of Groeneveldt, the Javanese historical record is supported by stone inscriptions, Chinese trade records, and temple ruins.   
</p>

<div class="table-wrapper">
  <table>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th>Category of Comparison</th>
        <th>The Javanese Historical Record</th>
        <th>The Philippine Historical Myth</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <td>Actual Kingdom</td>
        <td>Kalingga (Chinese: Holing or She-po)</td>
        <td>Kalang or Dj-Apo</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Geographical Area</td>
        <td>Northern Coast of Central Java, Indonesia</td>
        <td>Lower Cotabato Valley, Mindanao, Philippines</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Local Written Evidence</td>
        <td>Tuk Mas and Sojomerto stone inscriptions</td>
        <td>None</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Physical Relics</td>
        <td>Candi Angin and Candi Bubrah stone temples</td>
        <td>None</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Ruling House</td>
        <td>Shailendra Dynasty</td>
        <td>None recorded</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Foreign Records</td>
        <td>Tang Dynasty Chronicles (Hsin Tang-shu)</td>
        <td>Mistranslated Chinese records</td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
</div>

<p>
In Java, physical evidence confirms that Kalingga was a prosperous, Indianized Hindu-Buddhist state that flourished between the sixth and seventh centuries. The Sojomerto inscription, written in Old Malay, connects the ruling elite of Kalingga directly to the rise of the powerful Shailendra Dynasty, which later built the Borobudur temple complex. The Tuk Mas inscription, written in Sanskrit, shows that the kingdom shared deep cultural and religious ties with India. In contrast, the Cotabato region of the Philippines has no physical artifacts, inscriptions, or local oral histories from the seventh century that mention a queen named Sima or a kingdom named Kalang.   
</p>
<h2>
The Political and Trade Context of Kalingga
</h2>
<p>
According to the Chinese Tang Dynasty chronicles, the kingdom of Kalingga was highly prosperous. It was a key trading hub in the maritime network connecting China, India, and the Middle East. The chronicles record that Kalingga exported valuable natural resources, including gold, silver, tortoise-shell, ivory, and rhinoceros horns. The people were also known to have had their own writing system and a basic understanding of astronomy.   
</p>
<p>
This wealth attracted the attention of the Ta-shih, a term used by Chinese chroniclers to describe Arab and Persian traders. During the Umayyad Caliphate, under Caliph Mu'awiyah, Arab trade networks expanded rapidly in Southeast Asia, establishing bases on the western coast of Sumatra. The Hsin Tang-shu notes that the Ta-shih planned to send a military force to attack Kalingga. However, their plans were abandoned after their scouts reported on the formidable defense and strict discipline maintained under Queen Sima's rule. This geopolitical encounter shows that the story of the "bag of gold" reflects a real historical climate of trade rivalry and military deterrence between Javanese kingdoms and early Arab merchants.   
</p>



Queen Sima: Debunking a Philippine Myth


Discover how Queen Sima of Java's Kalingga Kingdom was mistakenly placed in precolonial Philippine history textbooks due to a twentieth-century translation error.



Queen Sima: Correcting a Precolonial Philippine History Myth