Sri Lankan Malays and their coexistence
J. M. M. NIZAM
HISTORY: Portuguese who arrived in Sri Lanka in year 1505
captured certain parts of Sri Lanka and brought them under their reign.
In 1638 Rajasinghe II, the Sinhala King who was ruling from Kandy
sought the help of Dutch to redeem the country from the rule of
Portuguese.
Eastern Dutch Trading Company, which was the representative of the
Dutch King was having its Head
Early Malay settlers
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Quarters in Java islands consisting of Malays and Indonesians.
Dutch Company which accepted the request of the Sri Lankan King sent a
fleet ship to Ceylon under Admiral Rickloff Panhunee.
He recruited some nationals of Java to his army. Portuguese were
chased away from Sri Lanka in 1658. Malays of Sri Lanka are the
descendants of the nationals of Java who came here to fight for Ceylon
against Portuguese. They are called Javas and Malays, after names of
those countries.
Lots of Elephants were exported to India. cinnamon, arecanuts,
shells, bee’s honey, trees were the major export items. North Indian
Kings and Nawabs paid handsome prices for the elephants. Rice and
clothes were mainly involved in this business.
Kalpitiya was the important harbour along the wide beach from Negombo
to Puttalam. The King communicated with foreigners from this port. Here
the trees from which the raw materials for textile colouring are
extracted were available in plenty.
Dutch who realised the value of the above specialities captured the
Kalpitiya Port. Sinhala King, who was angry over this, proceeded to
Kalpitiya with 9000 soldiers to wage war.
As the Malay Army which was with the Dutch refused to fight against
the Sinhala King, Walsh, the Captain of the Dutch Army had to give back
Kalpitiya. Galle Harbour in the South, Trincomalee and Batticaloa
Harbours in the East were the important harbours.
Dutch who built Forts in the harbour cities stationed their armies in
those Forts. The Army was mostly consisted of nationals of Java Island
(Malays), Dutch put up another Fort at Hambantota.
“Hamban” is a small catamaran in which the people can travel. Muslim
merchants mostly travelled by these.
In 1664, British used “Hamban” to send secret messages to King of
Kandy. Owner of it was a Muslim. The place where most of the “Hambans”
are parked was called “Hamban Thurai” (Hambantota).
The people who travelled in these were called “Hambayo” (This name
has been retained as a nickname to call Muslims).
Muslims have also mostly used ships called “Sampan”. The People who
travelled in them were called “Sampinar”. Malays still call the Moor
Muslims as “Sampinar”. This is the reason that Malays live in numbers in
the towns where Dutch built Forts.
Kompanyveediya (Slave Island)
During the reign of Dutch, in 1659-60 period South India experienced
severe drought and famine. In some families, members were sold as slaves
to avoid death through starvation. Sale of slaves too, commenced.
The Dutch General made efforts to grow paddy inland, with a view of
making good money. Workers were needed to work in paddy fields captured
by them.
Therefore, he bought hundreds of slaves to serve this purpose. Number
of slaves bought rose to 2000 within a year. Until the slaves could be
dispatched to paddy fields, a place was required to accommodate them.
Present Kompanyweediya (Slave Island) area is the place where these
slaves were kept. The Beira Lake (Constructed by Dutch) was the fort. As
the Dutch were attached to Dutch Company they were called Company
People.
The street in which Company People were called Kompany Street. The
place where the slaves were kept was an island surrounded by the Beira
Lake.
So it was called Slave Island. Java Nationals were settled there to
protect the slaves under the supervision of Dutch General. Barracks were
made for them. They were called Karthel (Old Malays are still calling
Slave Island as Karthel). Later Kompanyveediya became Malay Street.
Rights of Malays
Malays came to Sri Lanka as soldiers. Malays were followers of Islam
and had great respect and belief in the religion. During the Portuguese
regime, hundreds of thousands Sinhala/Tamil people were converted as
Roman Catholics.
Dutch who were Protestants were not that successful in converting
people. Principal reason for the failure was the conviction the Malays
had towards their religion. The Nationals of Java Islands who came with
Dutch married Sinhala women, who were family members of high caste
officers of the Sinhala King.
These Sinhala wives could not pronounce Malay in the correct way. The
Malay language existing in Sri Lanka today is not pure Malay but the
mixture that was spoken by these Sinhala wives with the children.
Therefore, no one will deny that the blood in present Malays of Sri
Lanka is Sinhala blood.
Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka around 2,500 years ago. By that
time Buddhism was already in Malaya and it was a Buddhist country. Once
the Muslim army of Tharik Bin Ziyath (Rah) captured (Jabal Al Tharik)
Gibraltor which divided France and Spain, Islam started spreading to
Eastern countries.
The Buddhist King of Malaya was suffering from an incurable disease.
One night he dreamt four long robed foreigners and there he heard
someone calling him to obey them and that he will be cured.
Therefore, daily he sent a messenger to the Port to find out whether
any foreigners had arrived. One day, he heard that four ‘new people’ had
arrived and got them down to the courtyard.
These devotees could convince him of the greatness of God. He became
a follower of Islam and the countrymen too became the followers of
Islam. The soldiers who visited Sri lanka are descendants of these
Muslim converted Buddhists.
Dignity of Malays
During the rule of British, after Dutch, Malays became Sri Lanka
citizens owing to marriages. Their military experience, courage and
honesty helped them to join the British forces and be part of the
rulers. Some were promoted Captains of the Forces.
Their fluency in Sinhala, in addition to foreign languages enabled
them to be interpreters and translators in the Courtyard. In his
autobiography, Robert Knox had stated that the Malay soldiers were
performing their religious rites even at the war front.
The grave of Tuan Thunkoos the secretary to the British Governor
could be seen in Kandy. He is praised as “Performer of a Miracle” for
winning a war almost lost, even without going to the war front.
This is stated on the plaque erected at his graveside. Body of Tuan
Pingera The Malay General which was buried in Makam Feersahib - Colombo
was exhumed in the present of British Governor. To his amazement, the
body was found as fresh as just died. History shows that the General
saluted the body and despatched it by sea.
Malays were very keen in putting up mosques in the first instance,
wherever they settled down.
When the slaves were kept behind in Slave Island, the Malays were
worshipping at a small Thakkiyah, opposite Akbar Mosque (Markaz) which
was reconstructed as a Quran Madhrasa some time ago. First siblings of
those Malays put up the Jummah Mosque at Wekande, Slave Island.
The Zahira Mosque at Maradana, Jawatta Mosque and all the ancient
mosques at Chilaw, Kurunegala and Hambantota were constructed by Malays.
Even today, Malays are instrumental in putting up Mosques in Sinhala
Villages and settlements. (Some of them are at Mattegoda, Jayawadanagama,
Battaramulla, Athurugiriya, Boralesgamuwa).
During the British Regime, Chief Justice was only next to the
Governor. The first Sri Lankan to be the Chief Justice was a Malay named
“Tuan Akbar”, who was called “Akbar Raja” (King).
One day, when he was about to enter the Courts, a rich Muslim, who
knew that the Justice was a Muslim, bowed and greeted him.
Immediately, the rich Muslim was put behind bars until the Court
sessions were over that particular day. While releasing him, Justice
Tuan Akbar said “No Muslim should bow to another other than Allah -
that’s why I put you behind bars. Let this be a lesson for you and your
descendants”.
He, who was born in Kalpitiya was buried in the Jawatte Cemetery. He
married a widow from Hambantota and his present to the villagers were
Bolana village, which is called “Malay Colony” - eight miles away from
Hambantota. Thereafter, the Malay leaders like T.B. Jayah did yeoman
service to this country and Muslims.
There are fifteen thousand Malay families in Colombo district itself.
Other than that around 1000 Malay families live within Hambantota city
limits. There are considerable number of Malay families living in the
Badulla, Kurunegala and Gampaha districts.
In Parliament
When the Senate was in existence, there was a seat for Malays too.
That right too has gone with the wind. President Premadasa appointed
Amith as the appointed member of Parliament.
He resigned his membership in Parliament to pave way for Gamini
Dissanayake to enter the Parliament. President J.R. Jayewardene, while
addressing the gatherings made special mention of the Malays too.
The Malays are the smallest minority community living in Sri Lanka
with their history dating back 350 years.
It is notable that where there is a concentration of Malays, the
others in the community also spoke Malay fluently. I am from Hambantota,
and my father’s Sinhala friends converse with me in fluent Malay.
The Sinhala language is used quite widely by members of the Malay
community. They are also well versed in Tamil and English languages.
There is no record of the Malays being ever in conflict with other
communities in Sri Lanka.
They have had ample opportunities to go back to Malaysia from where
they originated or to Australia as migrants, but they opted to remain in
Sri Lanka considering it as their beloved homeland.
They respected other religions and other communities help them during
their religious occasions. The economy of the average Malay households
deeply depends on the Middle East petro dollars, remitted by Malay girls
and young women employed in the region.
There comes to mind a pertinent question when we look at the past -
Why is that the smallest minority of Malays with a 350 year long history
is able to peacefully coexist when the Tamils who constitute the biggest
minority with a history dating back several thousand years are living in
turmoil?
About ninety nine per cent of Tamils are able to either talk or
understand the Sinhala langauge. Conversely, how many Sinhalese among us
are able to speak the Tamil language? When the Malays who lives in the
palaces of Sinhala kings, having married Sinhala women, on numerous
occasions sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country.
We have a chequered history. At one time we were ruled by the
Portuguese. Then the Dutch became the Colonial rulers. Then came the
British. Some parts of country had been ruled by Tamil kings and at
other times by representatives of the Chola or Pandiya kings.
Finally, the Nayakkar family took over the reigns of the country.
They ruled without claiming ownership of the Sinhalese country since
they did not dispute that it was the land of the Sinhala nation.
Emperor Barbar conquered India and the Mogul rule extended over the
length and breadth of India. But it is significant that none of the
Muslims claimed that it was their land.
It is equally important that in India where there are thousands of
clans, a Muslim from a minority community, Abdul Kalam became the
President, serving as a beacon of light to the student generation,
urging them to greater heights.
Writing in the same vein, the Chinese who make up 26 per cent of the
population of Malaysia, never demanded a separate country.
Therefore, it is the duty of all the sons of this soil, to create the
conditions for the Tamil people to live peacefully in this country like
in the case of the Malays who constitute the smallest minority community
in Sri Lanka. |