MyStory

"Arte (factually) Speaking" Story-Writing Competition

Shortlisted Entry (Upper Primary Category)

Contest ID: 72

Name: Lynn Yeo
Gender: Female
Age: 11-year-old
NRIC: SXXXX251K
Nationality: Singaporean
School: Bukit Timah Primary School

Artefact: Iranun Pirate

Museum: National Museum of Singapore

Image Courtesy of National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board

The Sword

A very long time ago, there was an island called Kimbutan. The island was split into four parts - three consisting of villages and one consisting of plantations.

The village to the east was known as Hew, the village of food. It was built on fertile soil and located nearest to the fishing area. The villagers were taught to catch fish using their hands and they could grow crops and vegetables very easily. It was the village that had the most population.

The village to the south was known as Mik, the village of work. The villagers living there worked at the rubber, banana and rice plantations in the western part of the island. They provided raw materials to Hew and sometimes aided them with cooking.

The village to the north was known as Hoi, the village of warriors. The warriors of the island lived in that village and they practised day and night. There were male and female warriors, both strong and powerful. The whole island was controlled by the Hoi’s village chief, Kai. He was the strongest man on the whole island and no one dared to challenge him. He was greatly respected by the people on the island and they offered him their local delicacies.

One day, an unexpected arrival came. A large ship with black sails anchored at the coast of Kimbutan. A group of fierce-looking people wearing rugged shirts and armed with daggers and spears jumped down the ship and onto the white, sandy beach. They were pirates!

"Attack!" yelled one of them.

They charged into Hew and killed every villager who lived there. They even burnt down the huts and destroyed all the crops! When Hoi received the message, Kai immediately sent out the warriors to fight against the pirates. The battle for their island was useless as they were outnumbered, but they still carried on fighting to the only person left standing was their village chief, Kai.

The captain of the pirate ship was a bald man, wearing a netted shirt and tattered shorts. He was wielding a spear and a sword with ornate carvings on it.

"You shall die!" he stabbed Kai’s chest and blood started flowing out from the wound.

The captain led his crew back to the ship and set sail. Soon, the blood created a little river that flowed all the way to the open sea. The sword followed the "river" and floated away with the help of the strong currents. It floated to Sentosa and a man picked it up. He named it the Kampilan and sent it to the National Museum of Singapore.

(437 words)