Terengganu – funny origins behind the name

Terengganu (or ‘Tranung/Ganu’ to the locals) is known for having nice islands, a booming fishery industry, and sea turtles. Besides being perhaps the earliest Malay state where Islam was spread, there is a considerable Chinese-Peranakan influence on its history and culture as well.

Interestingly, its name was quite possibly given by people from the other Malay states.

Theory #1: The name came from something bright seen at the place

One of the prevalent theories is that the name ‘Terengganu’ may be derived from the Malay word ‘terang ganu’, although there are several versions of what the bright ‘ganu’ was. In one version, it was a rainbow: some traveling students from Kelantan had gone to Kuala Terengganu, where they saw a rainbow in the sky. They said, “terang sungguh ganu di sini” (how bright the rainbows are here), hence when they returned home to Kelantan, they reported that the ganu in the neighboring state was very terang, and people started referring to the state as Terangganu, and later Terengganu.

In another version, it was unusually bright lightning. As the story goes, one night long ago there was an event where bright lights were flashing over the horizon, accompanied by splitting thunder. It was so bright that people came out of their homes and sat by the beach to witness it, and the brightness seemed to reach all the way to Kuala Terengganu. To remember the event, they named the place Terang Ganu, a contraction of ‘terang hingga nu‘ (so bright that it reaches there), and the name eventually morphed into Terengganu.

Theory #2: The name came from an unidentified animal fang/tusk

The other, more entertaining story in our opinion, was recounted by the ninth Sultan of Terengganu Baginda Omar (1839-1876). As the story goes, a hunting party from Pahang was in the yet-unnamed state of Terengganu to hunt. When they arrived at a river (now known as Sungai Terengganu Mati), a member of the party stumbled upon a taring, which is an animal fang. The guy who found it couldn’t remember the name of the animal it came from, so they called it ‘taring anu’, anu being basically the Malay version of whatchamacallit or thingamabob.

And that was the extent of that conversation. Flash forward some time later, and some members of the hunting party managed to bring down a deer. After they hauled it back to camp, the other guys asked them where they got the deer, and they simply said the place where they found taring anu. Over time, people just kept referring to the place as taring anu, and the phrase eventually morphed into Terengganu.

A similar story exists involving an elephant tusk found on Pulau Duyung, which they mistakenly called ‘taring anu’ as well.

Theory #3: The name came from a river’s directions

There is another theory that claims that Terengganu’s name was derived from a river called Sungai Terengan, which meets Sungai Kerbat at a settlement. Rivers were main modes of transportation back then, so when you see someone head out, you might ask them where they’re going, and they would answer “Terengan ni” (this Terengan) or “Terengan nu” (that Terengan) if they’re taking the Terengan river. It’s like asking someone today where they’re going, and they would answer “this LDP” or “that Federal Highway”.

As you can probably guess, Terenggan nu stuck, and people started referring to the destination as Terengganu.

Anyways, 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