Latest / The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History / Srivijaya's Maritime Law: The Undang-Undang Laut Melaka
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Srivijaya's trade, its ships, its ports — but one thing we haven't touched on is how they kept order on the high seas. Every ship that sailed through the Strait of Malacca was a floating community, sometimes for months, and disputes were inevitable. Luna: I'd never even thought about that. Who made the rules? Lucas: That's the fascinating part. We don't have a single Srivijayan law code surviving — but we have something close. The Undang-Undang Laut Melaka, the Maritime Laws of Melaka, compiled in the 15th century under the Melaka Sultanate. And it's almost certain that those laws drew heavily on Srivijayan customs, passed down orally by the Orang Laut for centuries. Luna: So it's like a legal fossil, preserving older practices. Lucas: Exactly. The code covers everything: who's in charge on a ship, how cargo is divided, what happens if someone dies at sea, how to handle a shipwreck. It even specifies the exact shares of salvage — if a ship is wrecked and another vessel rescues the cargo, the rescuers get a portion, but not the whole thing. That kind of rule would have been vital for Srivijaya, where so much wealth moved by water. Luna: There must have been a lot of disputes over salvage. Lucas: Absolutely. And the code also lays out the hierarchy aboard a ship. At the top was the nakhoda, the captain, who had near-absolute authority during the voyage. Below him was the kiwi, the navigator, who read the stars and currents. Then there were the jurubatu, the boatswains, and the awak-awak, the common crew. Each had specific duties and rights. If the nakhoda made a bad decision that cost the ship, he could be held financially liable. Luna: So there was accountability, even at sea. Lucas: Yes. And the code also dealt with crime. Theft on board was punished severely — sometimes with death. Mutiny was even worse. But there were also provisions for accidents: if a sailor fell overboard and drowned, his family got compensation from the ship's fund. It's a surprisingly comprehensive system. Luna: Where does Srivijaya specifically appear in all this? The Undang-Undang is from Melaka, centuries later. Lucas: Great question. The Melaka code itself cites earlier precedents, and scholars have traced its roots to the Srivijayan mandala. The Orang Laut, who were the backbone of Srivijaya's navy and shipping, preserved these customs orally. Chinese records from the Song dynasty — Zhao Rugua's Zhufan Zhi — describe how Srivijayan ships were organized and how disputes were settled. For example, Zhao mentions that if a merchant died on a Srivijayan ship, his goods were held by the nakhoda and returned to his heirs — exactly the kind of rule we see in the later code. Luna: So the Chinese were observing these practices firsthand. Lucas: They were. And there's another layer: Srivijaya's legal system also incorporated Indian influences. The concept of the nakhoda having near-absolute authority at sea mirrors the idea of the captain as a 'king' on his ship, which appears in Indian maritime texts like the Yuktikalpataru. But the actual details — the share divisions, the salvage rules — feel indigenous, rooted in the practical experience of the Orang Laut. Luna: It makes sense that a thalassocracy would develop its own law of the sea. Lucas: Exactly. And the code wasn't just about punishment; it was about creating predictability. If you're a merchant from India or China, you need to know that your cargo will be safe and that disputes will be handled fairly. That trust was a big part of why Srivijaya became such a dominant port of call. The Maharaja's authority extended onto the water, effectively. Luna: I wonder if there are any records of actual cases being decided. Lucas: We don't have court records from Srivijaya, unfortunately. But we do have inscriptions that hint at legal procedures. The Kedukan Bukit inscription, from 683, mentions a maharaja leading an expedition, but it's more a royal decree. The Talang Tuwo inscription, from 684, talks about a park being created as a meritorious act — it's not a legal code, but it shows a society with formal edicts. Luna: So the maritime law was probably unwritten for centuries, then written down under Melaka. Lucas: Exactly. And when Melaka fell to the Portuguese in 1511, the code was preserved by the successor states — Johor, Pahang, Perak — and eventually became the basis for modern maritime law in the region. So in a very real sense, Srivijaya's legal legacy lasted long after the empire itself vanished. Luna: It's amazing how something that practical — how to run a ship — can have such a long echo. Lucas: And you know, it's a reminder that these histories aren't just about kings and temples. The real engine of Srivijaya was thousands of sailors and merchants, and they needed rules to keep the whole thing running. Luna: Speaking of keeping things running — people often ask us how we manage to keep making these episodes ad-free. Lucas: And the honest answer is, it's thanks to listeners who chip in a couple of dollars a month. It genuinely makes a difference — covers hosting, research, the occasional book. If you've gotten something out of these conversations, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's that simple. And it lets us keep diving into these obscure corners of history. Lucas: So back to the Orang Laut — one of the most interesting things about the Undang-Undang Laut Melaka is that it actually distinguishes between different types of ships. The large K'un-lun Po, the smaller perahu, and the swift lancaran. Each had its own set of rules, because the size and crew differed. Luna: Did the code also cover interactions between ships at sea? Lucas: Yes. It has rules about signaling, about giving way, about how to approach another vessel without causing alarm. There's even a section on what to do if you encounter a pirate ship — though the line between trader and pirate was sometimes blurry in that era. The code essentially tried to reduce conflict at sea by standardizing behavior. Luna: It's almost like a precursor to the modern UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Lucas: In a way, yes — but much more localized. The Undang-Undang was designed for the Malay world, not the global ocean. Still, it shows that complex maritime governance existed long before Europeans arrived. And Srivijaya, as the first great maritime empire in the region, was where those traditions were forged. Luna: I guess the next time I see a container ship, I'll think about those Orang Laut captains settling disputes with a code born centuries ago. Lucas: And that's the beauty of history — the invisible framework that still holds up our world.