Siantan

I have always wondered what the word "siantan" meant. I've heard it many times but I never knew what it meant. Today, I found the word at a botanical blog and it points to the ixora plant. To the Malay people, it is called siantan or tudung periuk, and the related Malay ballad is Seri Siantan or Sri Siantan.

Siantan or tudung periuk (Ixora). Photos were taken at the USM Herbal Garden, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.

When I wrote my books on the early Malay doctors, and covered the origins of Bugis people, I had thought that Siantan was an island, and therefore the people from "that island" were referred to as Orang Siantan. Just my imagination, because I don't know this Malay language that well to make sense of that word. Well, at least now I know what "siantan" is. A synonym is tudung periuk, and I wonder why. The Malay language is mysterious, and many Malay words have a hidden meaning.

A storm lasting nine days and nine nights stalled their journey and they found refuge among the Indonesian islands. Arong Abdul Rasul and his entourage anchored at Pulau Siantan, Kepulauan Anambas in Indonesia, which became their new home. They established a village, planted paddy and erected mosques. It was recorded by a scribe, Haji Jaafar, that the famous Bugis Daing warrior brothers came to the Riau Archipelago at about this time.
Three generations of Arong Abdul Rasul remained at Pulau Siantan – himself, his son Arong Muda and Arong Muda’s son Daing Abdul Latiff. The fates of the other two brothers, Arong Mustafa and Arong Marang, are unknown at the time of writing.Dr Abdul Latiff’s great-great-great grandfather was Arong Muda (Pulau Siantan),[1] who had three children, two sons and a daughter – Daing Abu, Daing Abdul Latiff and Daing Mahaya.Dr Abdul Latiff’s great-great grandfather was Daing Abdul Latiff (Pulau Siantan),[2] who had nine children, eight sons and a daughter – Omar, Maimon, Jumaat, Abdul Rahim, Haji Abdul Karim, Haji Tahir, Khamis, Haji Mohamed Kassim[3] and Haji Mohd Ali.

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[1] Also styled Arong Muda Pulau Siantan, to mean Arong Muda of Pulau Siantan where he resided.[2] Also styled Daing Abdul Latiff Pulau Siantan, to mean Daing Abdul Latiff of Pulau Siantan where he resided.[3] It is possible that Haji Jaafar could have been the son of Haji Mohamed Kassim.

I know from the old days, ladies would wear the red ixora florets in their buns and when the petals dried out, one by one they fell to the ground. Of course men could trace the ladies' trail by following the fallen ixora florets.

I remember sucking the nectar from the red, pink and yellow ixora florets. There's also the Malaysian Ixora vehicle (van). I wonder why we never used Seri Siantan for our Ixora vehicles.

I have tried planting ixora but it always died. Almost all Malay homes plant this ixora plant except my house. I have to learn how to grow this plant so that my home can also be grouped as a Malay home. Trying my best for 30 years now!! LOL.

External links:
Siantan, tudung periuk or ixora: http://adrydaud.blogspot.com/2010/05/bunga-part-ii.html
Bugis kings in Riau-Lingga-Johor: http://www.rmkhalid.com/2011_01_02_archive.html

Bugis History (2)

Bintan Island in Indonesia


Picture of Bintan Island thanks to yummiec00kies and Ookaboo!


Tanjung Pinang. Picture of Bintan Island thanks to Achmad Rabin Taim from Flickr and Ookaboo!


(Qudwah Bil 1 2012, page 44):
Pulau Penyengat, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia

Pulau Penyengat is a small island off Kota Tanjung Pinang, the capital city of the province of Kepulauan Riau (KEPRI). There were 2 noble men in the history of the island, Raja Haji and his grandson, Raja Ali Haji.

In 1805, the island itself was the dowry (mahar, mas kahwin) of Raja Mahmud Shah for his bride, Engku Putri @ Raja Hamidah bt Raja Haji Fisabilillah Yang Dipertuan Muda Riau ke-4.


Pulau Penyengat. Picture of Bintan Island thanks to Achmad Rabin Taim from Flickr and Ookaboo!

Pulau Penyengat

YouTube video Pulau Penyengat

Wikipedia (Bahasa Indonesia) - Pulau Penyengat


Raja Haji Fisabilillah / Raja Haji

Wikipedia (Bahasa Indonesia) - Raja Haji Fisabilillah

Ancient Mariner - Makam Raja Haji, Pulau Penyengat

He was born at Ulu Sungai in Riau.

His full name was Raja Haji Fisabilillah ibni Daeng Celak (1727-18 June 1784) and was popularly known as Raja Haji. Raja Haji was the younger brother of Raja Lumu, who became the Sultan of Selangor.

He was the Yang Dipertuan Muda Kesultanan Johor-Riau-Lingga (reign 1777-1784).

Raja Haji was a famous poet who created the Bugis poetry Gurindam Dua Belas. Later, he was ennobled as Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia and named Bapak Bahasa Melayu Indonesia.

Raja Haji was a Bugis warrior and fought against the Dutch when they attacked Riau. He had also launched an attack on the Dutch fortress in Banda Hilir, Malacca in 1784 but he lost. He again met the Dutch forces in a battle at Telok Ketapang. He fought hard but died in the hands of the Dutch. His death angered his nephew, Raja Ibrahim and the Selangor Sultanate was also dragged into the conflict of the Dutch-Malacca and Johor rulers.

Even though he died in Teluk Ketapang, Malacca, he was interred at Pulau Penyengat Indera Sakti, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia.


Raja Haji Fisabilillah Monument of Struggle. Picture of Bintan Island thanks to Achmad Rabin Taim from Flickr and Ookaboo!


Raja Ahmad

Son of Raja Haji and father of Raja Ali Haji.

A literary figure.


Raja Ali Haji

Raja Ali Haji was born in 1808 or 1809. He was the grandson of Raja Haji.

Wikipedia (Bahasa Indonesia) - Raja Ali Haji

His full name was Raja Ali Haji bin Raja Haji Ahmad (1808-1873) and was popularly known as Raja Ali Haji.

He was an ulama', historian, and a Bugis icon. He was a Bugis writer of the Malay language. In his book Pedoman Bahasa,  he wrote about the structure of the Malay language.  The book has become a standard Malay language reference text worldwide.His famous poetic masterpiece in 1847 was the Gurindam 12, which is now performed on stage in Pulau Penyengat and in many Malaysian schools.

Pembacaan Gurindam 12


Masjid Sultan Riau, Pulau Penyengat

There is a mosque on the island of Pulau Penyengat. The Masjid Sultan Riau was built in 1832 during the reign of Abdurahman Muazham Shah, Yang Dipertuan Muda Riau-Lingga (reign 1832-1844), who succeeded Raja Jaafar. A call was made for the people to help clean the area for construction of the mosque. The people had brought along a lot of raw materials and there were a lot of leftover eggs/egg whites after the Aidilfitri festivity. These egg whites were used for building the mosque. The mosque was initially white but was later painted, green for Islam and yellow for Malay royalty.

External links
http://www.rmkhalid.com/2011_01_02_archive.html

Bugis History (1)

I have copied and pasted this text below from the Ancient Mariner's blog. He is deceased and I have never met him. I wrote to him once to ask about ex-MB Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Said bin Mohamed but he never replied. Tan Sri was an early Malay doctor. Dr Yusof is his only son, the others are girls.

This text is on Bugis History about a family who got together and there were 1,400 of them in the get-together. I feel this is great and the Bugis people must pursue their culture and tradition. They are already great as a civilised society but they are not properly portrayed by the western media.

Original website of the Ancient Mariner (deceased July 2009)

Hj Amir Abdul MajidMay 9, 2009 09:12 AM

Hj Amir bin Abdul Majid
Kamirmajid@gmail.com

Ampang Jaya,
10.05.09

Dear Capt Yusof,

The Bugis from Linggi
(in response to Homecoming in “The Ancient Mariner” April 29th 2009)

I was introduced to your blog today by your cousin Dr Yusof Tan Sri Mohd Said. He is close friend of mine. Our friendship started when he introduced himself as a descendent of Daeng Chelak and hails from Linggi. When I told him that both my maternal and paternal great grandfathers descended from Daeng Chelak, he declared that we are related. Our usual conversation topics centered on Bugis: Riau, Sulawasi, Daeng Chelak, Raja Haji and our own family connections. How proud was he to declare himself a Bugis! Yes, the Bugis ancestry brings with it dignity and honor, because the Bugis are people who place family honor above everything else, and even prepared to die in defending their dignity. They work hard to achieve stature in the community, and would not allow anything to wreck what had been achieved. The proverb “Biar putih tulang, jangan putih mata” may have its origin in the Bugis psyche.

My paternal great grand father followed his three elder siblings, one of them my maternal great grandfather, to start a new life in Merlimau, Melaka 154 years ago. They were from Pulau Penyengat and were of Bugis origin. Their mother was descended from Daeng Parani, while their father was a grandson of Raja Haji bin Daeng Chelak. They never revealed their origin outside the family circle. After three generations had lapsed, we felt it was time to reveal our identity. On 8th December 2002, the descendents of Rimbun, Pajar, Ismail and Masrobiah met for the first time, all 1400 of them, under one roof in Padang Temu Melaka. The gathering was recorded in the Malaysia Book of Records as the largest family gathering ever. Our family members, called the Masparimbunis Family, are found residing mainly in Merlimau, Muar, Batu Pahat and Kluang. The family head is called Ketua Limpo. He is Tuan Hj Kassim bin Ahmad bin Pajar bin Raja Ali bin Raja Jaafar bin Raja Haji bin Daeng Chelak. The four branches of the family are each headed by an Anang. We have a Lembaga Adat, the supreme council where the Anangs (branch heads) and Matoas (family heads) meet annually to discuss matters of interest. I am the General Secretary to this Lembaga Adat.

So Capt, that’s our story. As for the Ancient Mariner, do continue the good work. Selamat Berkenalan!

External links
http://www.rmkhalid.com/2011_01_02_archive.html