Selangor could have been named after an undefeatable… fly.

Selangor is the most populous state in Malaysia, so we’re sure that most of our readers have heard of the name. But what even is Selangor? Is it an actual word? Was it someone’s name? Is there a meaning to it?!

Unfortunately, like much of Malaysian history, we have only oral accounts to go by here. There is evidence to suggest that the name of Selangor (back then known as Samarlingga) had existed even before the time of Paduka Seri Maharaja (1301-1400), ruler of Singapore at the time. But despite being Malaysia’s most populous state, we don’t really know much about where Selangor got its name. There are a few theories, though.

Theory #1: It was named after an annoying blowfly

The most popular story we could find was that of a warrior from Melaka who wanted to rest under a tree because he was tired. As he sat down to sleep, a blowfly (called ‘langau’ in Malay) flew repeatedly onto his nose, which of course, would annoy anyone.

The warrior, being a regular human with emotions, wanted to wipe that little insect off the face of the Earth, so he told himself he would smack it the next time it tried. He did, but of course, the fly being a fly, it flew away and he ended up smacking himself in the face and leaving a mark on his nose. This incident impressed him, because he had never been defeated in battle, yet he was bested by a tiny fly. It got him wanting to explore more of the place, and he named it ‘Se-langau’. True story? We don’t know. Hilarious? Definitely.

Theory #2: It was named after an ‘unknown town of Salang people’

A more plausible explanation available from the government of Kuala Selangor is the words ‘Salang’ and ‘Ur’ (‘town’ in Tamil), meaning ‘a village of Salang people’. Whether ‘Salang’ is the name of a tribe or an ethnic group, we’re not sure, because the government source we got that from didn’t specify. Personally we still prefer the fly story though.

Theory #3: It was named after the mentangau tree

Another possible theory is the abundance of mentangau trees that grew there, with ‘Selangor’ being a lisped version of that word. It is reported that the name of the state was derived from the river Sungai Selangor, which was in turn derived from the mentangau tree. The trees were reportedly so tall that sailing traders used it as a point of reference: “I stopped over at Kuala Mentangau (Kuala Selangor)”.

It would make sense, since back then it was normal for places to be named after trees; Assam Jawa, Api-api, Sungai Buloh, Bukit Rotan, and Ijok to name a few.

Theory #4: Selangor was named after a brutal punishment for traitors

But perhaps the most morbid of all is the theory that the name Selangor came from the Malay words ‘salang (to slice across the collarbones)’ and ‘jemur (roast in the sun)’, as this was a punishment for traitors that was commonly practiced there at the time. According to witness testimony, this very violent method of execution was described as:

“… the same as in other Malay countries, the criminal being taken down to the banks of the river, where a long “kris” is thrust down through the shoulder into the heart, and is then twisted about till the man is dead.” – excerpt from ‘Wanderings Among South Sea Savages and in Borneo and the Philippines‘, H.W. Walker, 1909

So which theory is more likely? Your guess is as good as ours, but if you want to discover more interesting origins of our states’ names, pick one from the list below!

Kedah | Terengganu | Kelantan | Perlis | Johor

Selangor | Penang | Perak | Pahang | Malacca

Negeri Sembilan | Sabah | Sarawak | Federal Territories