By B. A. Hussainmiya, Ph.D
Sri Lanka, hailed as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, is in the throes of a long drawn out ethnic conflict between the majority Sinhalese population and the minority Tamils who form nearly 70 per cent and 20 per cent respectively of the population.
However, the island nation does not belong to only these communities as highlighted in the international press coverage. The island is blessed with an interesting cultural mosaic that has enriched its history and civilisation in the past.
Known in the ancient times to the Arabs as the Serendib, and Taprobane for the Greeks, the mango-shaped island of some 25,000 square miles of natural beauty has been a home for a mosaic of several ethnic minorities.
Some are indigenous people like the Veddas, others were lured to the island by trade like the Arab-Moors, while some others such as Chetties Borahs and Memons settled during the colonial period beginning from the 16th century.
Not the least interesting of these is the Malay community, now totalling about 80,000 people out of a total population of about 18 million. This article deals with this colourful community, especially the cultural contributions of the Malays to both Sri Lanka and the larger Malay-speaking world.
The Early Contacts
Unlike Indians and Chinese Diaspora, the Malays did not engage in mass scale migration in search of a livelihood. They roamed freely within the Nusantara region of Malay-Indonesian archipelago. In the early Christian era there is evidence of some sea-faring activities by the Malays whose ancestors sailed to and settled in as far West as Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
It is likely that the original sea-farers also touched down in the southern coast in Sri Lanka situated centrally in the sea lanes linking the east and the west. The sea coast town of Hambantota (a Sinhalese variant of Sampan and Tota standing for landing bay) probably had welcomed the Sampan-sailing Malays who settled and merged with the ancient Sri Lankan population.
Medieval Sri Lankan historical chronicles record an invasion by a Javaka `Malay` ruler Chandrabahanu from the Nakhon Sri Dhammarat or better known as Pattani who was keen to possess a relic of Lord Buddha revered by the Sinhalese rulers. Chandrabhanu not only defeated the Polonnaruwa Kingdom, but also established his own Java kingdom in the North of Sri Lanka which forms the present day Jaffna region. The Pandyan Ruler in South India killed the son of Chandrabhanu according to the Kudumiya Malai inscription, and that ended the brief episode of Malay monarchic rule in Sri Lanka in the early 13th century.
The Origins
The ancestors of the present day Malay community of Sri Lanka arrived mostly during the period of the Dutch colonial rule. The Dutch had ousted the Portuguese from the coastal regions of the island in the middle of the 17th century.
The Malay/Javanese soldiers served in the regular army of the Dutch led by the princely class of Malay/Javanese families. Aside from these soldiers, the early Sri Lankan Malay population was comprised significantly of the Javanese/Malay ruling class who were exiled to the island by the Dutch in Java.
An important Javanese ruler thus banished to the island in 1707 was Susunan Mangkurat Mas who lived in Sri Lanka with a large retinue of royal families. A host of other rulers from the Dutch East Indies, presently Indonesia, spent their time in Sri Lanka as political exiles.
The list is a long one from Rajas and nobles from as far as Goa in Celebes, Tidore, Ternate, Bacan, Kupang, Timur and other spice islands. There were so many political exiles in Sri Lanka that in the Indonesian language the word `disailankan`, or to be sent to Ceylon came to mean banishment. The other place of exile was the Cape Town in South Africa where a similar Malay community emerged in later years.
When the British fought the Dutch in 1796, the Malay soldiers in the latter`s service provided stiff and brave resistance. The bravery and discipline of the Malay troops appealed to the British who decided to retain their services and formed a full battalion in Sri Lanka. Thus was born the Malay regiment of Sri Lanka, the first ever Malay regiment to be formed and receive Queen`s colours in 1802.
Later the name was changed to the Ceylon Rifle Regiment composed of the Malay majority, some Indian Sepoys and some Kaffirs. During the 19th century, Malay life in Sri Lanka was dominated by the military that became their family occupation until the Regiment was disbanded in 1873.
The original Malay population of Sri Lanka consisted of diverse East Indian nationalities, preponderantly of Javanese origin, while others belonged to Sundanese, Bugis, Madurese, Minangkabaus, Amboinese, Balinese, Tidorese, Spice Islanders, and not the least the Malays themselves.
In Dutch records they are referred to as Oosterlingen, or Easterners. Most of them already formed their own kampongs outside the fort of Batavia (now Jakarta) founded by the Dutch Governor Cohen in 1619. When the Dutch fought wars in Sri Lanka and in the Malabar coast these kampongs became depopulated due to heavy recruitment to serve in the Dutch army.
Though the Batavians spoke different dialects within their own communities, they used a common lingua franca, namely the Batavia Malay, or Pasar Melayu to interact among themselves. Besides, they were bound by the common Islamic religious bond. Based on these two strong markers of identity, a strong localised Malay community emerged in Sri Lanka with its own culture and characteristics. It is this community which the British came across when they occupied Lanka in 1796.
The British not only `martialised` the Malays like the Gurkhas to serve in their native army, but also took firm steps to strengthen the numbers of Malays in Sri Lanka by inviting Malay families from the areas in the Peninsular Malaya which were under their control.
In 1802, the Sultan of Kedah had sent a contingent of his Malay subjects to serve in Sri Lanka who were also joined by a number of Malays from Penang, Malacca and Singapore. Reinforced by new blood from Malaya, the Sri Lankan Malay community truly gained roots in Sri Lanka and was thoroughly indigenous with its own culture and language.
Source: http://www.rootsweb.com/~lkawgw/malays1.htm
