Hang Kasturi's Tomb
One of the surprises to be found in Melaka’s Chinatown is the Tomb of Hang Kasturi. This is quite unlike any of the structures I have seen in Melaka so far and it is also a reminder that Melaka is after all, in Malaysia, which is a predominantly Malay country. I would profess not to know much about Malay history, I guess this is good time to start knowing more about it. Hang Kasturi is known as one of the five great warriors during the Melaka Sultanate in the 1400s. The names of the warriors read like street names here in Melaka. Hang Jebat was one of those warriors, and his name now graces Melaka’s most famous street, formerly known as Jonker St. Being the great warrior that he is, he helped the empire expand its reach from Peninsular Malaysia to large parts of present day Sumatra.
Another Angle of the Tomb of Hang Kasturi
Unfortunately, the story starts to become rather confusing. The cause of his death vary from Hang Kasturi being killed by a traitor to him being killed for being a traitor himself. Nonetheless, he was prominent enough to be given a tomb here in Melaka. It is a rather strange place have a tomb and it is obviously not really visited that much as tourists tend to shun away from places like that. Besides, it wasn’t really as flashy as the Chinese temple and shophouses in Chinatown. The tomb itself is rather unremarkable, it is a whitewashed tomb with elements of Indian design. The rather sorry gate opens to reveal the tomb itself. Other than that, there is hardly anything to keep you from moving on.
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