Kampong Mentiri – Wikipedia

Village in Brunei

Village in Brunei-Muara, Brunei

Kampong Mentiri is a village in the north-east of Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. It has an area of 322.29 hectares (796.4 acres);^[1] the population was 1,215 in 2016.^[2]

The village is named after Mentiri, an obscure and unusual tree. The tree might also have magical properties for a Brunei place name. According to legend, Kampong Mentiri gets its name from a large, ancient tree. The village elders claimed that the trunk’s size was so great that it required six adults to hold hands in order to reach around it. This tree was special and rumored to possess magical abilities. Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that no one can name this tree now. Elderly members of the community claimed that it was once situated where the current roundabout sits.^[3]

The village has gone under numerous names in the past. Kampong Mentiri has also been known as Kampong Pancur Buluh, Kampong Batu Buluh, Kampong Kiau, and Kampong Sungai Sinonok in the past.^[4]

Geography[edit]

Kampong Mentiri is one of the villages in Mukim Mentiri, a mukim in Brunei-Muara District. As a village subdivision, it borders Kampong Sungai Buloh to the north, Kampong Batu Marang to the northeast, RPN Kampong Mentiri to the east, Kampong Pangkalan Sibabau to the southeast, Kampong Sungai Besar to the south and RPN Panchor Mengkubau to the west.^[5]

History[edit]

Archaeologists were shocked to find significant artifacts that demonstrated the region was occupied as early as before the 12th century during working on the Mengkubau Dam in 1997. According to a Berita Muzium article from the January–April 1998 issue, archaeologists found pieces of broken Chinese vases from the Song Dynasty. Additional fragments found in the same location ranged in age from the 13th to the 19th centuries. Together with the vases, shell fragments were discovered.^[4]

Three nearby outdated graveyards were also listed in the same piece. The people called two of these Muslim cemeteries Kubur Sulasih and Kubur Bagunjai, but the third went unidentified. There were about 20 gravestones discovered at Kubur Sulasih. There were just two gravestones in Kubur Bagunjai, and both of them were for the same grave. The graveyards’ presence indicated that locals were present at the time. The ownership of the cemeteries is unknown. The two gravestones at Kubur Bagunjai received extensive inspection from the archaeologists. The presence of two burial markers, or batu nisan, showed the eminence of the deceased.^[4]

The British Resident aimed to promote land ownership, particularly for the cultivation of rice and other agricultural products, and the majority of the village lands were registered at this time. The village elders recall that there were not any concrete houses in the middle of the 1940s. Back then, every home was modest and constructed of wood. These homes had split bamboo walls, bulian wood stilts, and thatched nipah palm roofs. To supply the inhabitants with water, wells were drilled. They transported their rice harvest and other farm items to Brunei Town to be sold. The hamlet only had a few modest grocery stores in the 1970s. The number began to rise by the middle of the 1980s, and shophouse construction is still ongoing in the village today. Local customers are currently served by a department store and a global fast food restaurant.^[4]

Economy[edit]

The loss of the original residents’ primary livelihood, rice farming, comes with the village’s opening to the outside world. The village’s rice production had almost completely ceased by the 1970s.^[4]

Demography[edit]

The majority of the village’s initial residents were Kedayans. Nonetheless, as with other villages in Brunei, the community now hosts residents of various races as a result of its opening to the outside world.^[4]

Transportation[edit]

Although being only 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Muara and 12 kilometers from Brunei Town, the settlement had no road connecting it. The river served as the only exit from the settlement, leading north to Muara and south to Brunei Town. There was no road to Mentiri even in the 1960s when the road from Brunei Town had reached Muara. Those from the villages who were traveling to Brunei Town walked up to Bukit Sibanging and boarded a bus along Jalan Muara. It took until 1972 for the Jalan Kota Batu road between Mentiri and Brunei Town to be finished. The road needed to be finished due to a variety of developments.^[4]

Infrastructure[edit]

Mentiri Fire Station covers the entire mukim of Mentiri as part of the 10th National Development Plan. It is expected to be launched on 9 January 2014.^[6]

Schools[edit]

Schools in Kampong Mentiri include:

• Mentiri Primary School, a government primary school.
• Dato Mohd Yassin Primary School, a government primary school.^[7]
• Pengiran Anak Puteri ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah Religious School, a primary religious school for the Muslim resident.
• Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School, sole secondary school in the mukim.

Mosque[edit]

Kampong Mentiri Mosque is the village mosque; it was inaugurated on 27 January 1984 and can accommodate 600 worshippers.^[8]

Recreation[edit]

Pantai Mentiri Golf Club (PMGC), venue for 20th SEA Games in 1999.^[9]

References[edit]

External links[edit]