It has been pointed out that lions have never lived in Singapore (not even Asiatic lions), and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was therefore suggested to be a tiger, most likely to be the Malayan tiger. Another candidate for the beast mentioned in the "Malay Annals" is mythical beast called "janggi" told in Minangkabau legends as a guardian of gold mines. Dark red hair called "rambut janggi", said to be of this mythical beast but probably actually from orangutans, adorn lances that were kept by the Minangkabaus as heirlooms. Regardless of the exact species of animal, the symbolism of the Asiatic lion as an emblem of power was strongly established through the spread of Buddhist culture in Southeast Asia.