Pulau Hantu
Encyclopedia
Pulau Hantu is located to the south of the main island of Singapore
, off the Straits of Singapore. Pulau Hantu is actually made up of two islets: Pulau Hantu Besar (Big Ghost Island) and Pulau Hantu Kechil (Little Ghost Island), with a total area of 12.6 hectare
s. At low tide, it is possible to wade across the shallow lagoon between the two islands, but not at high tide.
. It may refer to the "disappearing" moment of the island during the high tide.
During the low tide, Pulau Hantu can be seen as one island with two large bays on the northern and southern side of the island. However during the high tide, the water level in the bays would rise and the mid-section of island (which is geographically lower than other parts) would disappear under the tide
and resulting in two smaller islands.
There were once two great warriors locked in a fierce battle at sea. Many people died and the blue seas slowly became polluted with human blood, upsetting the Jinns at the bottom of the ocean. In anger, one powerful Jinn created a whirlpool
and sucked the two warriors into the deep sea to drown them. Not deterred, they continued their battle. Suddenly, the Jinn sprayed water on one of them. The other warrior, seeing his opponent blinded, thrust his sword into his abdomen. At the same time, the wounded warrior plunged his sword into the other man. Both collapsed and died.
The gods felt it was wrong for the sea spirits to interfere in human affairs. Thus, the Jinn transformed the two warriors into islets so that their spirits can continue to live on them. As one of the warriors was smaller than the other, his islet was known as Pulau Hantu Kechil while the bigger one was called Pulau Hantu Besar.
Pulau Hantu has rich reefs despite its proximity to Pulau Bukom
's refineries. A wide variety of corals can be found on Pulau Hantu, and mushroom corals are particularly abundant in the waters surrounding the islands. Common sea life that can also be found include the clown fish or anemonefish, damselfishes, wrasses and angelfish. The rare giant clam
and the seahorse
can sometimes be seen. There is a small patch of mangroves between Pulau Hantu Kecil and Pulau Hantu Besar, where native seashore plants also line their beaches.
Visibility, like most of Singapore's waters, is chronic, ranging from as low as 0.1 m to more than 3m.
It was reported in the June 3, 2006 edition of The Straits Times
that a plan to create a "marine sanctuary" has been dropped due to opposition from conservationists. The plan, known as Project Noah, was to install mechanical filters at the two ends of the lagoon separating Pulau Hantu Kechil and Besar, to clear the waters of excess silt and pave the way for coral growth within the lagoon.
, National Biodiversity Centre, Blue Water Volunteers and volunteers from the public started a coral reef surveying programme in 2005 to monitor the status of hard corals, mobile invertebrates and reef fish at several locations around 5 southern islands, including Pulau Hantu . Internationally recognised techniques developed by Reef Check and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network were adopted for this programme.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, off the Straits of Singapore. Pulau Hantu is actually made up of two islets: Pulau Hantu Besar (Big Ghost Island) and Pulau Hantu Kechil (Little Ghost Island), with a total area of 12.6 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. At low tide, it is possible to wade across the shallow lagoon between the two islands, but not at high tide.
Etymology
The name Pulau Hantu literally means "Ghost Island" in MalayMalay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
. It may refer to the "disappearing" moment of the island during the high tide.
During the low tide, Pulau Hantu can be seen as one island with two large bays on the northern and southern side of the island. However during the high tide, the water level in the bays would rise and the mid-section of island (which is geographically lower than other parts) would disappear under the tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
and resulting in two smaller islands.
Legend
Pulau Hantu was where Malay warriors once dueled to the death and their ghosts are said to wander the island.There were once two great warriors locked in a fierce battle at sea. Many people died and the blue seas slowly became polluted with human blood, upsetting the Jinns at the bottom of the ocean. In anger, one powerful Jinn created a whirlpool
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft...
and sucked the two warriors into the deep sea to drown them. Not deterred, they continued their battle. Suddenly, the Jinn sprayed water on one of them. The other warrior, seeing his opponent blinded, thrust his sword into his abdomen. At the same time, the wounded warrior plunged his sword into the other man. Both collapsed and died.
The gods felt it was wrong for the sea spirits to interfere in human affairs. Thus, the Jinn transformed the two warriors into islets so that their spirits can continue to live on them. As one of the warriors was smaller than the other, his islet was known as Pulau Hantu Kechil while the bigger one was called Pulau Hantu Besar.
Current
Despite its forbidding name, Pulau Hantu is a favourite haunt for fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling enthusiasts because of its sheltered beaches, swimming lagoons and inviting waters. The islands are also popular with campers and day-trippers who prefer a unique outdoor experience.Pulau Hantu has rich reefs despite its proximity to Pulau Bukom
Pulau Bukom
Pulau Bukom, also known as Pulau Bukum, is a small island located about five kilometres to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. The size of Pulau Bukom is about 1.45 km²....
's refineries. A wide variety of corals can be found on Pulau Hantu, and mushroom corals are particularly abundant in the waters surrounding the islands. Common sea life that can also be found include the clown fish or anemonefish, damselfishes, wrasses and angelfish. The rare giant clam
Giant clam
The giant clam, Tridacna gigas , is the largest living bivalve mollusc. T. gigas is one of the most endangered clam species. It was mentioned as early as 1825 in scientific reports...
and the seahorse
Seahorse
Seahorses compose the fish genus Hippocampus within the family Syngnathidae, in order Syngnathiformes. Syngnathidae also includes the pipefishes. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning “sea monster”.There are nearly 50 species of seahorse...
can sometimes be seen. There is a small patch of mangroves between Pulau Hantu Kecil and Pulau Hantu Besar, where native seashore plants also line their beaches.
Visibility, like most of Singapore's waters, is chronic, ranging from as low as 0.1 m to more than 3m.
It was reported in the June 3, 2006 edition of The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
that a plan to create a "marine sanctuary" has been dropped due to opposition from conservationists. The plan, known as Project Noah, was to install mechanical filters at the two ends of the lagoon separating Pulau Hantu Kechil and Besar, to clear the waters of excess silt and pave the way for coral growth within the lagoon.
Coral Reef Surveys
The National Parks BoardNational Parks Board
The National Parks Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government.The National Parks Board is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of Singapore. NParks manages around 300 parks, the park connector network and the roadside greenery in Singapore...
, National Biodiversity Centre, Blue Water Volunteers and volunteers from the public started a coral reef surveying programme in 2005 to monitor the status of hard corals, mobile invertebrates and reef fish at several locations around 5 southern islands, including Pulau Hantu . Internationally recognised techniques developed by Reef Check and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network were adopted for this programme.
External links
- Pulau Hantu - A celebration of marine life A non-profit, environmental awareness initiative for Pulau Hantu, an island recognised by most divers as Singapore’s most popular Southern Island, known for its sheltered and biologically diverse reefs.
- Hantu Blogger's photostream
- Hantu Bloggers
- Info for visitors on wildsingapore
- Photos of Hantu's marine life on the intertidal from wildsingapore
- Blog posts about Hantu's marine life from various blogs compiled on the wildsingapore google reader
- Pulau Hantu Coral Reef Survey Data on Coral Reefs of Singapore
- Project NOAH sunk
- Satellite image of Pulau Hantu - Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...