The Queen Who Taught a Kingdom to Be Honestejujuran dari Pesisir Jawa
Hello, Friends of Cita & Nesia!
Long, long ago, on the northern coast of Java, there was a kingdom called Kalingga.
It was a place close to the sea.
Ships travelled across the waters. Traders came from distant places. People carried goods, stories, languages, and new ideas from one harbour to another.
And in this busy maritime kingdom lived a remarkable ruler.
Her name was Queen Sima, or Ratu Sima.
Ratu Sima was known for something very important.
She believed that a strong kingdom needed honest people.
Not only honest traders.
Not only honest citizens.
But also honest leaders.
And there is an old story about her that has been remembered for generations.
The Mysterious Bag of Gold
One day, a visitor wanted to find out whether the people of Kalingga were really as honest as everyone said.
So, he placed a bag filled with gold beside a road.
Then he waited.
People walked past it.
Some may have noticed it.
Some may have wondered who had left it there.
But nobody took it.
One day passed.
Then another.
And another.
Still, the bag remained in the same place.
Imagine that!
A bag of gold sitting beside a busy road, and nobody carried it home.
Why?
Because the people knew that something that did not belong to them should not be taken.
Then one day, someone from the royal family passed along the road.
By accident, his foot touched the bag.
When Ratu Sima heard what had happened, she faced a difficult decision.
Should she ignore it because the person belonged to her own family?
Ratu Sima said no.
Rules could not be only for ordinary people.
A leader and her family also had to respect them.
According to the story, Ratu Sima first ordered a very serious punishment. After discussion with her advisers, the punishment was directed only towards the foot that had touched the bag.
The story may sound very strict to us today.
But the message remembered through generations is much simpler:
Honesty matters, even when nobody is watching.
What Does This Have to Do with the Sea?
You might be wondering:
“Cita, Nesia, this is a story about a bag of gold. Where is the ocean?”
Good question!
Kalingga was part of a world connected through the sea.
Ships could carry spices, ceramics, textiles, food, and many other things.
But successful maritime connections needed something else too.
Trust.
Imagine being a trader arriving by ship in a place you had never visited before.
Would you feel comfortable trading with people you could not trust?
Would you return to a harbour where agreements were often broken?
Probably not.
Ships and ports may connect places physically, but trust connects people.
That is why values such as honesty, fairness, and responsibility can also be part of a maritime society.
A Maritime Mindset Can Begin with Character
Sometimes, when we hear the words maritime nation, we imagine big ships, busy ports, fishing boats, sailors, or naval fleets.
Those things are certainly part of a maritime world.
But CitaNesia invites us to look a little deeper.
A maritime society is also made of people.
And people bring their values wherever they go.
They bring them onto boats.
Into markets.
Across harbours.
Into communities.
And into the decisions they make.
Ratu Sima’s story reminds us that maritime strength is not only about how many ships a country has.
It can also be about the character of the people who live within that maritime world.
CitaNesia Insight
Ratu Sima’s story gives us a simple but powerful lesson:
A maritime mindset is not only about understanding the sea. It is also about developing the values that allow people to live, trade, travel, and work together across it.
Honesty creates trust.
Trust strengthens relationships.
And strong relationships help connect communities across islands and seas.
Indonesia’s maritime story, therefore, is not only a story of ships, ports, sailors, and oceans.
It is also a story of people and values.
Perhaps that is one of the most important things we can learn from Ratu Sima.
The sea connects our islands.
Character helps connect our people.
A Little Question for KawanCita
Imagine you found something valuable that did not belong to you.
What would you do?
And why do you think honesty is important when people live and work together?
Maybe the first step towards developing a maritime mindset begins with something very small:
learning how to become someone others can trust.
— Cita & Nesia
Part of CitaNesia’s Serial Punggawa Laut, sharing stories of people, values, and ideas that have shaped the maritime world of the Nusantara.
CitaNesia 