Haji Ka-Ta-Na-Ka-La
This short note by C.O. Blagden (1910) corrects a suggestion made by W. George Maxwell regarding the identity of the Javanese ruler “Haji Ka-ta-na-ka-la” as recorded in the History of the Yuan Dynasty.
Summary
Blagden argues that Maxwell’s identification of the name as Haji Kadir Nakhoda (a ship’s captain who had performed the pilgrimage) is incorrect. Citing Groeneveldt’s translation of the relevant passage, he demonstrates that “Haji Ka-ta-na-ka-la” was a ruling prince of Java who had been killed by the prince of Kalang, and that the term “Haji” here represents the old Javanese word haji meaning “king,” not the Malay-Arabic term for a pilgrim (p. 156). Blagden identifies the figure as Kertanagara, the last ruling prince of Tumapel, who was dethroned by Jaya Katong of Daha and whose son-in-law Raden Wijaya went on to found Majapahit. He notes that the Chinese and Javanese accounts are corroborated by contemporary inscriptions (p. 157).