Kedahan Malays

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Kedahan Malays
Oghang Utagha / Melayu Kedah
ملايو ﻗﺪﺡ‎
Trang, western part of Southern Thailand
)
 
Kensiu, Jahai

Kedahan Malays (

Jawi: ملايو ﻗﺪﺡ‎) or commonly known as Orang Utara ('Northerners'), are a sub-group of Malays native to northern Malay Peninsula in areas of both current and historical area of Kedah (which is now divided into the modern states of Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar). They are among the oldest ethnic groups in the Malay peninsula with a history dating back 2,800 years as proven by the discovery of sites in Bujang Valley and historical documents from India, China and Arabia. Kedahan Malays are one of the largest Malay sub-groups in Malaysia, comprising at least 15% of the total Malaysian Malay
population including those with Kedahan ancestry.

History

A Kedahan Malay man and his son standing in front of a decorated vehicle in Alor Setar, Kedah, 1937.

The early history of Kedah can be traced from various sources, from the prehistoric period, archaeological site of Bujang Valley, early maritime trade of India, Persia, and the Arabs to the written works of early Chinese pilgrims and early Chinese records. The Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (known as Kedah Annals) and Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah are the most important documents about Kedah history.

By around 788 BCE, a large settlement had been established on the northern banks of the Merbok River which is located near the city of Sungai Petani today. The settlement was one of several in the Bujang Valley which makes it the largest archaeological site in the country. The Merbok settlement was built near the estuary of the tributary river, Sungai Batu.[1][2] Around 170 CE, Hinduism was introduced to Kedah by traders or migrants from the Indian subcontinent, joining them soon were peoples from nearby islands (mainly Austronesians) and northern regions of the Kra Isthmus (mainly Mon-Khmers) that migrated to Kedah and assimilated with the local population. At the same time traders from China, Persia and Arabia, arrived at the brink of the Malacca Strait to Kedah, using Gunung Jerai as a marking point. Ancient Kedah civilization covered the areas of today's Kuala Kedah, Kuala Bara, Kuala Pila and Merpah.

In the 7th century, Kedah became part of

Rajendra I of the Chola dynasty.[4][5]

Even though Old Kedah was founded as a Hindu kingdom, the arrival of Arab Muslim traders in the 7th century introduced Islam to the kingdom. King

Phra Ong Mahawangsa became the last Hindu king of Kedah before converting to Islam in 1136, which marks Kedah as the earliest Muslim kingdom in the Malay Peninsula and one of the earliest in Southeast Asia.[6]

Kedah's prestige and influence declined significantly in the 14-15th century after the rise of its southern neighbour,

Malacca and Ayutthaya Kingdom in the north. Kedah came under the influence of Ayutthaya until the 1456 Malaccan-Siamese war[7][8] which led to Kedah becoming a vassal state for Malacca.[9] The influence of Malacca led to the Malayisation of Kedahan people in the mid 15th century. In the early 17th century, the Aceh Sultanate became the new regional power in the region and invaded Kedah in 1629. Many Kedahans were forced to relocate elsewhere or were taken to Aceh as exiles.[10]

The arrival of the

Straits Settlements
alongside Singapore and Malacca until 1948, where it became a sovereign state within Malaya and later Malaysia.

Constant aggression from the Siamese against the strategically important Kedah led to the 1821

Anglo-Siamese Treaty caused the division of British-influence Perlis and Kedah and Siamese-controlled Setul (which would later become the province of Satun). Kedah, along with 11 other states joined the Federation of Malaya
in 1948 and later as a state within Malaysia in 1963.

Demonym

Nowadays, the term Kedahan Malay only refers to the Malays living in Kedah. Despite being ethnically similar to Kedah Malays, the Malays of Perlis and Penang prefer to identify themselves as Orang Utara or "People of the Northern Region" instead of Kedahan Malay as the term Orang Utara is more politically neutral. This also extends to their language, which is called Pelat Utara or Northern Dialect. However, the Kedahan population in Langkat (Indonesia), Pulau Dua (Myanmar) and Satun (Thailand) still call themselves as Orang Kedah or Kedah people due to their historical ties to Kedah Sultanate prior to the partition.

However, not all Malays living in Kedah call themselves as Melayu Kedah. In the interior parts of Kedah such as in Baling and Sik, they usually call themselves as Orang Patani as the people there are the descendants of Malay settlers from the historical region of Pattani which is now in modern day southern Thailand. They maintain their own unique dialect/language, tradition and identity from Kedahan Malays.

Language

An old traditional Kedahan Malay style house.
Main article: Kedah Malay

The Kedahan Malays have their own unique variety of

Kelantan-Patani Malay but has absorbed influences from Kedah Malay. Kedah Malay is considered distinct enough to have its own ISO code
that is meo.

Customs and culture

Kedahan Malay woman in traditional attire, 1930

Due to their long history, Kedahan Malays have their own unique cuisines, customs and traditions compared to the rest of Malaysia.

Cuisine

Kuih Bunga Pundak

Dance theater

  • Mek Mulung[14]
  • Mak Yong Kedah[15]
  • Jikey[16]
  • Boria (theatre): The most famous Kedahan culture of Indian origin. It is quite similar to a musical theater. The theater used a fully Kedahan Malay language while the song used a mix of standard Malay and Kedahan accent or sometimes, a fully standard Malay. This theater is said to be created after the hybrid of Malay and Indian culture in Penang.[17]
  • Inai dance[18]
  • Canggung dance: A dance originating from Perlis but also very popular in Kedah and Penang[19]
  • Cinta Sayang dance: a popular opening dance in Kedah.

Art theater

Customs

  • Berendul (pronunciation: be-ghen-doi): A group of men would sing traditional Kedahan folk songs to a newborn baby in celebration of birth of the child.[21]

Poetry

Martial arts

  • Silat Kuntau Tekpi: A Silat Melayu style that was founded by Panglima Taib bin Wan Hussain who was a Panglima (Palace Warrior-General) of the empire of Kedah. It is also a 'sister-art' of silat styles that stemmed from Panglima Tok Rashid, including Silat Kalimah and Silat Cekak.
  • Silat Cekak:[23] A Silat Melayu style that was founded by Ustaz Hanafi, a Kedahan Malay but is now popular throughout Malaysia and to some extent in Indonesia as well.

Films

  • Raja Bersiong
  • Rempit V3
  • Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa
  • Cun (2011)

Television series

  • Cinta Anak Kedah
  • Makbul
  • Dari Kodiang ke Kolumpo.
  • Mak Cun
  • Kak Marr

Notable Kedahan Malay

See also

  • Kedah Wayang kulit Seri ansun
  • Malays (ethnic group), the ethnic group located primarily in the Malay peninsula, and parts of Sumatra and Borneo
  • Malay race, a racial category encompassing the people of South East Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands
  • Malaysian Malays, a constitutionally defined group of Muslim Malaysian citizens
  • Malay Singaporeans
  • Malay Indonesians, ethnic Malays in Indonesia
  • Thai Malays, ethnic Malays in Thailand
  • Sri Lankan Malays, an ethnic group in Sri Lanka of Indonesian ancestry
  • Cape Malays, an ethnic group or community in South Africa
  • Cocos Malays, the predominant group ethnic group of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, now part of Australia
  • Overseas Malays
    , people of Malay ancestry living outside Malaysia and neighbouring ethnic Malay home areas
  • Burmese Malays

References

  1. ^ "Sg Batu to be developed into archaeological hub". The Star. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  2. ^ "FIVE REASONS WHY YOU MUST VISIT THE SUNGAI BATU ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR LIFETIME". Universiti Sains Malaysia. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. ISBN 981-4155-67-5
    .
  4. ^ Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke, K Kesavapany, Vijay Sakhuja p.170
  5. ^ Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India by Moti Chandra p.214
  6. ISBN 978-983-62-2841-3
    .
  7. ^ "Siamese Nemesis".
  8. ^ "Tales from the Malay Annals: The Wisdom of Tun Perak". 19 April 2021.
  9. ^ https://melayu.library.uitm.edu.my/445/1/K_RAMLAH%20ADAM%20UniMAP%2016.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  10. ^ Ahmat, Sharom (1971). "Kedah-Siam Relations, 1821-1905" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 59 (1): 97–117.
  11. ^ Petah Wazzan Iskandar & Embun Majid (26 March 2018). "Peknga, gulai ikan temenung memang terbaik". Harian Metro. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  12. ^ Aizat Sharif (23 November 2016). "48 jam buat cucur peneram [METROTV]". Harian Metro. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  13. ^ "KUIH TRADISIONAL DI MALAYSIA: Kuih bunga pudak". 4 November 2015. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  14. ISBN 978-96-743-0772-1
    .
  15. ISBN 01-958-8931-2
    .
  16. ISBN 978-14-828-5534-0
    .
  17. ISBN 99-719-8858-5
    .
  18. ISBN 98-362-6479-5
    .
  19. ISBN 98-362-0257-9
    .
  20. ^ Siti NurazlinaJamaludin (4 October 2018). "Wayang gedek masih subur di Kedah". Utusan. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  21. ^ "Berendul". MyKedah.Com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  22. ISBN 978-13-518-3965-5
    .
  23. ^ "Budaya Melayu". Melayu Online. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  24. ^ "Surin Abdul Halim bin Ismail Pitsuwan". The Patriots. 2017-12-04. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  25. ^ Ryan McChrystal (4 May 2016). "Zunar wins Cartooning for Peace Prize: "Talent is not a gift but a responsibility"". Index On Censorship. Retrieved 2017-02-12.

Further reading

  • Asmah Haji Omar (2008). Susur Galur Bahasa Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP).
  • Dato’ James F. Augustin (1996) Bygone Kedah. Alor Setar: Lembaga Muzium Negeri Kedah Darul Aman
  • Intisari Kebudayaan Melayu Kedah (1986). Alor Setar: Majlis Kebudayaan Negeri Kedah.
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