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Kucing, Kuching, Cochin, Ku - Ching

Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia

Kiki (male) and Misty (female) are both our beloved cats. Somehow Misty reminds me of Tampuk in Jowopinter's blog.... his mum's cat. Speaking of the witch, many people curious how did Kuching city get its name?

The question of how Kuching got its name has puzzled and discombobulated. It spawned many stories, ranging from the plausible to outright nonsense in explaining how the name came about.

Most people believe it something to do with cat. There was a small river named Sungai Kuching which was always visited by wild cats. Not far from the river there was a small hill occupied by pokok Buah Mata Kuching (an edible fruit Nephelium Malarese) and the hill was named as Bukit Mata Kuching. According to this story that is how the origin of the name Kuching

Another speculation how Kuching get its name is from the word ‘Cochin’. Cochin is derived from the word Kaci meaning harbour. During the Brooke dynasty, Kuching was the important harbour among the Indochina.

The Chinese believe Kuching got its name for the Mandarin word for ‘old well’ is ‘ku (old) ching (well). The well was either dug by the earliest Chinese settlers or was already there when they first set foot in the area because the well was referred to as the ‘old well’ among them. The exact site of the well is at number 59 Upper China Street, a shop selling and repairing scales. The floor of the shop is slightly sunken because it was built on top of the filled-up well.

In fact there are many other tales but which is the right one? Ahaks..leave it to the historian to decide…