The swamp coast north-east of Brunei bay, sago country.
Sago flour is the staple starch of the Bornean coast and it keeps at sea, which makes this shore the victualler of anything sailing here; there is no rice surplus worth the name on this side of the island (board). The Padas river runs down from the interior highlands (the Murut and Dusun side, later names) to the sea at Beaufort. No settlement is attested.
Who holds it
- Title
- Headmen of the place (no one named)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No source names anyone who holds this place for 1200.
Lord in 1200
Claimed, if at all, by the king of Po-ni (King of Po-ni); no source says so.
What the town holds
- Sago swamps
- The Padas river mouth
Allies and rivals
Nothing is recorded; neighbours are the villages and ports along the same coast.
How things stand that morning
Not described for 1200.
Wealth
Sago flour for the ships; forest goods from the Padas (inference).
Threats
- A poor monsoon or a failed season
- Raiders from the next coast
Council
No council or court is recorded; headmen and elders decide (inference).
Fairs and markets
Not known; the trade follows the monsoons.
Militia
Not known. No numbers.
Walls and castle
No wall or fort is recorded.
Trade and crafts
Sago flour for the ships; forest goods from the Padas (inference).
Places of note
- Beaufort (Padas): Padas river town (a modern name), standing for the river mouth.
- Kuala Penyu: Klias peninsula (a modern name), position approximate.
Where the sources disagree
- The ethnic names used here are later outsiders' or ethnographic names; the ethnic map of 1200 is not known and differs from the modern one.
Evidence: Geography and the campaign board only. The campaign board marks it 'likely'.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: A coast marker; the Po-ni realm record draws the claimed coast.
Primary sources for Po-ni
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
- A Description of the Foreign Peoples (Records of Foreign Nations), Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua) (1225 at Quanzhou). The best single text for the island world around 1200, written by the superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou from merchants' reports a generation after the date. Read online
- Description of the Foreign Peoples (Chau Ju-kua), Zhao Rukuo (趙汝适) (about 1225, while superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou). The Song customs officer's survey of the overseas world, compiled from merchants and from Zhou Qufei, a generation after 1200 but describing trade routes that were the same in 1200. Read online
- The Description of the Country, called the Nagarakretagama, Mpu Prapanca (1365 at the Majapahit court). A Majapahit court poem of 1365 listed here only for its retrospect. Read online
Sources and studies
- The OMNIA board (September 2026) note for this place: a lead only, not a source
- Background knowledge of Southeast Asian history (Wolters; Hall; Bellwood; Scott; Junker; Reid), recalled and not re-read in this pass
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.