Gifts Bell Admiral Cheng Ho in Aceh

Haloo Dear Steemian

There are so many interesting things in Banda Aceh. Includes the gigantic bell in the Aceh Museum which is a gift from Admiral Cheng Ho to Sultan Pasai.

The giant bell hung in a building that was not too big. The color begins to rust. Below the bell, there is a small monument that explains the origin of the object that the Portuguese once seized. Placement location in Aceh Museum complex.

The existence of this bell is a special attraction for the traveler who visited the Museum of Aceh in Banda Aceh. Located on the edge of the fence not far from the road protocol makes it can be seen from various angles. Tourists who visited with two-wheeled vehicles immediately greeted the bell after parking the motor.

His name is Cakra Donya bell. Based on historical records, this bell is a gift from Admiral Cheng Ho to Sultan Pasai. At that time, Cheng Ho was rolling out an expedition to arrive at Tanah Rencong. A century later, Pasai Kingdom is within the power of the Sultanate of Aceh Darussalam.

Well, the bell is then taken to the center of the kingdom by Sultan Ali Mughayatsyah. When the time of Sultan Iskandar Muda took the lead in the seventeenth century, this gift bell was placed in the warship of Aceh. Cakra Donya own name is taken from the name of a warship owned by the kingdom of Aceh.

"Cakra Donya is Aceh's aircraft carrier, almost the same size as the Ma Ho (Cheng Ho) sailing ship," said Aceh Manuscript Collector, Tarmizi A Hamid.

While still under the authority of Sultan Iskandar Muda, Cakra Donya bells are used as a calling device if there are any emergency things happening at sea. However, when the carrier was deprived of Portuguese Aceh, the existence of this bell had changed hands.

"Once the aircraft carrier was seized by the Portuguese, the bell was returned to the sultanate,"

Once returned, the bells are placed in the World Darud Palace complex at the right corner of the Baiturrahman Great Mosque.

Its function also changed. From the beginning as a code if there is an emergency, then a tool to call people prayers and markers of breaking the fast and more.

Based on the information on the inscription under the bell, in the 19th century, Donya Cakra bells were hung under a tree in front of the Dutch regional office Kutaraja. In December 1915, the bell became a collection of the Aceh Museum.

"So this bell Donya Cakra spoils the kingdom of Pasai,"

Then who is Admiral Cheng Ho giving the gift?

Cheng Ho is a devout Muslim. He made an expedition to Aceh to deepen the religion. It was during this expedition that Cheng Ho handed over the bell for Sultan Pasai as a gift. On the inscription at the Museum of Aceh, the bell is written as a marker of harmonization of the Sultanate of Pasai with the Ming Dynasty.

"Cheng Ho is a Chinese Muslim, a devout Chinese,"

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