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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2009
The kingdom of Lingga-Riau, with its dependencies of Johor and Pahang, traced its line of authority back to the earlier Malay kingdoms of Melaka, Singapore, Bintan and to the ultimate source Bukit Siguntang, Palembang. It was officially ended by the Dutch in 1911 when Sultan Abdul Rahman Muazzam Syah refused to sign a treaty of total submission to the colonial government of the Netherlands East Indies, and was obliged to leave the Riau-Lingga area and live in exile in Singapore until his death in 1930. Although the end of the kingdom was, and still remains, a trauma for those of noble descent in Lingga and Riau, the sultanate had in fact survived longer than most of the other indigenous kingdoms of the Malay-Indonesian world. The trauma of the ending of the kingdom prompted one descendant of the Malay royal line in Lingga to compile in 1930 an account of the Malay kings from Bukit Siguntang to Lingga. It is an account which highlights particular concerns of the author (and presumably of others in his position) about the Melaka-Johor-Lingga Malay royal lines, their relationship with other Malay royal lines and their relationship with their subjects.
This paper is a revised version of one delivered to the Fifth National Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia at Adelaide University, May 1984. The author wishes to thank the Australian National University for a Faculties Research Fund Grant which enabled her to visit the Riau-Lingga area. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the suggestions, questions and comments of Prof. O. W. Wolters, Dr Dianne Lewis, Dr Barbara Andaya, Dr Tony Milner and Vivienne Wee on the original paper.
1 The name of the sultanate changed according to the current royal capital. In the seventeenth century it was known as the kingdom of Johor, in the eighteenth century as Riau-Lingga (with the sultan's residence at various sites on the island of Riau/Bintan) and after ca 1790 when a sultan moved to Lingga, the kingdom was officially known as Lingga-Riau. Between 1903–1911 when the last sultan, Abdul Rahman returned to Penyengat, the kingdom was again Riau-Lingga.
2 Tengku Ahmad Abu Bakar gives the date of his death as 28 December 1930 (unpublished typed note prepared by Tengku Ahmad, Singkep, no date).
3 The Johor, Pahang and Trengganu offshoots of the sultanate survived under the British, and still function today in modern Malaysia.
4 As outlined in Milner, A.C., Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule (Arizona, 1982)Google Scholar.
5 Dutch officials working on Riau comment on Raja Ali Haji, see for example Swellengrebel, J. L., In Leidjdeckers Voetspoer, Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut 67, pp. 185–91 (s-Gravenhage, 1974)Google Scholar. He was an acknowledged expert on matters of Malay protocol and genealogy and was consulted by Temenggung Abu Bakar in 1868 about the latter's assumption of the title raja. Many of Raja Ali's ideas on statecraft were incorporated into the 1895 State Constitution of Johor (see further Basri, Fawzi, “Kisah Pelayaran ke Riau: Suatu Pengenalan dan Anotasi”, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 21, 9 (1977): 582–95Google Scholar. At the recent Hari Sastera in Johor organized in December 1983 by GAPENA, Raja Ali Haji's contribution to Malay culture was the subject of several papers.
6 Andaya, B.W. and Matheson, V., “Islamic Thought and Malay Tradition: The Writings of Raja Ali Haji of Riau (ca 1809–1870) in Perceptions of the Past in Southeast Asia, ed. Reid, A. and Marr, D. (Singapore, 1979), p. 122Google Scholar.
7 Ibid., p. 123.
8 This paper was originally prepared for a conference panel entitled “Malay local history: varieties of Malay experience”, chaired by Dr A.C. Milner. Dr Milner was interested in applying Prof. O. W. Wolters' ideas on local history to Malay cultural areas. For these ideas see Wolters, O. W., History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives (Singapore, 1982)Google Scholar, particularly chapters 4 and 5.
9 See for example Netscher, E., “Beschrijving van een gedeelte der residentie Riouw”, Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (TBG) 11 (1854): 149Google Scholar; and B. Andaya and V. Matheson, “Islamic Thought and Malay Tradition”, passim.
10 For further details see Matheson, V., “The Tuhfat al-Nafis: Structure and Sources”, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (BKI) 127 (1971): 375–92Google Scholar.
11 This trip is described in more detail in Matheson, V., “Kisah Pelayaran ke Riau: Journey to Riau 1984”, Indonesia Circle, forthcomingGoogle Scholar.
12 As described for example by Winstedt, R. O., A History of Johore 1365–1895, Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Reprints No. 6 (1979)Google Scholar; Andaya, L. Y., The Kingdom of Johor, 1641–1748 (Kuala Lumpur, 1975)Google Scholar; Andaya, B. W. and Andaya, L. Y., A History of Modern Malaysia (Hong Kong, 1982)Google Scholar; Lewis, D. N., “The Dutch East India Company and the Straits of Malacca 1700–1784: Trade and Politics in the Eighteenth Century”, PhD thesis (Australian National University, 1970)Google Scholar and Trocki, Carl A., Prince of Pirates (Singapore, 1979)Google Scholar.
13 Lewis, Dianne, “The Last Malay Raja Muda of Johor”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies XIII, 2 (1982): 226–28, 232Google Scholar.
14 Ibid., p. 233.
15 The rumour was recorded by Begbie and noted in Winstedt, R. O., A History of Johore, p. 75Google Scholar.
16 “Aquatic populations”, following the usage in Andaya, L. Y., “Historical links between the aquatic populations and the coastal peoples of the Malay world and Celebes”, paper presented to the Eighth Conference of the International Association of Historians of Asia,Kuala Lumpur,August 1980Google Scholar.
17 See Netscher, E., “De Nederlanders in Djohor en Siak 1502 tot 1865”, VBG 35 (1870): 229Google Scholar.
18 For further details on Queen Fatimah see Wee, Vivienne's forthcoming PhD thesis, “Melayu: Hierarchies of Being in Riau”, Australian National UniversityGoogle Scholar.
19 For example see Matheson, V., “Problems arising from a nineteenth century Riau Syair”, Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 17 (1983): 1–60Google Scholar.
20 I have seen two copies of this text, one at Dabolama, Singkep, owned by T. Mohd Saleh's younger brother, T. Ahmad. The other is at Kampong Glam, Singapore and was given to T. Jamil, a descendant of Sultan Mahmud (died 1812), by his Singkep relatives. Tengku Jamil is anxious to have his copy of KSM translated and published for the tourist market in Singapore.
21 The quotation is from the Qur'an 3:25. The same quote appears in Tuhfat al-Nafis when Sultan Sulaiman II is chosen to succeed the deposed Sultan Mahmud, see Matheson, V. and Andaya, B. (eds.), Tuhfat al-Nafis (Kuala Lumpur, 1982), pp. 294–95Google Scholar.
22 According to the Raffles 18 manuscript of “The Malay Annals”, the author of the text named it “Sulalatu's-Salatina”, see Winstedt, R. O., “The Text of Raffles MS. no. 18”, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society xvi, pt. III (1938): 42Google Scholar.
23 Although not stated explicitly in KSM, the implication is that the kings of Minangkabau and Melaka are descended from a common ancestor.
24 It may not be a coincidence that Temenggung Abu Bakar of Singapore used very similar words in 1868 when asking Raja Ali Haji for information on the correct ceremonial procedure to use at a royal court, see Kesah Pelayaran ke Riau, Microfilm JQ Mal. 3, Library of the National University of Singapore, p. 7.
25 Tengku Adenan of Singkep recounted a confused story about a royal line from Pahang moving to Lingga and settling at Mala(r). They later moved to Singkep, but were returned to Mala(r) for burial (fieldnotes 28/12/83). A grave said to be that of the daughter of Tengku Busu of Dungun is at Tanjung Unggat, Riau.
26 This seems to be a factual slip by the author of the text, because Singapore was not established as a trade centre until after 1819. It provides evidence however, of the texts' concern with Singapore's impact on local trade.
27 Sultan Sulaiman's industry was remarked on by the Dutch. One resident said he persuaded his people to take up agriculture and improve the condition of the land, see Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indie 3 (1919): 621Google Scholar. Sultan Sulaiman is still remembered on Lingga. We were shown the remains of a long irrigation ditch and a chimney stack/kiln which had been built on his orders for the preparation of sago.
28 These are the author's own ancestors, see Appendix 2.
29 The oath of loyalty (sumpah-setia) was a pledge made between each new Malay sultan and each Bugis Yamtuan Muda of Riau. Though the actual words of the oath are not given in the Tuhfat, the following reference to it, after the death of the second Yamtuan Muda, Daing Cellak in 1745, makes its purpose clear — “His Majesty Sultan Sulaiman…had difficulty in selecting a successor, as stipulated in the oath of loyalty between the Bugis and Malays” (Tuhfat al-Nafis, ed. Matheson, and Andaya, , p. 92Google Scholar). That is, the Malay sultans had to perpetuate the office of Yamtuan Muda. When the last sultan of Lingga did not appoint a Yamtuan Muda, Raja Ali Kelana sent him a letter, warning him of the consequences of breaking the oath. Vivienne Wee was given a copy of that letter.
30 T. Mohd Saleh is well known in the Lingga-Riau area. Vivienne Wee and I visited his grave (behind the Mesjid Jami at Daik), and saw his now empty house and his collection of religious books kept in the house of Encik Khalid of Daik. According to his grave he was born 5/10/1318 (1900A.D.) and died 10/10/1965. He attended high school (H.I.S.) in Batavia and was called to Singapore when ex-Sultan Abdul Rahman was ill (his final illness?) and “told many things”. He was also said to visit the ex-sultan's palace at Robat (Lingga) often, (these were details supplied by Raja Hamzah Yunus, Penyengat 6/1/84). T. Mohd Saleh was descended from Sultan Muhammad of Lingga, but after Sultan Mahmud's reign (1857) the ruling line shifted to another branch of the family (see Appendix 2). T. Mohd Saleh is highly regarded as a religious teacher and is recognized as the local expert on Lingga history. Although offered the position of hakim he refused it. Hamka visited him at Daik in the late 1950's to see his religious books. His personal collection of documents, texts and books must have been extensive. After his death it was dispersed with most of the historical documents going to his brother T. Ahmad. His religious books are kept by Encik Khalid, Mohd Saleh's successor as local religious teacher. Vivienne Wee and I are preparing a description of some of the documents from his collection. Encik Khalid studied the history of Lingga with T. Mohd Saleh during the fasting month, so that this knowledge of the past would not be lost. T. Mohd Saleh used to visit the graves of the former sultans regularly and perform the ruh-arwah and tahlil prayers. T. Ahmad and Encik Khalid continue this tradition. We were present during E. Khalid's prayers for some of the sultans who are buried at Bukit Cengkih, the beautiful site of the royal graves of Lingga.
31 The Malay is given in KSM as follows:
“BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRAHIM Bahwa inilah Radja Keturunan dari Bukit Seguntang (Palembang), asalnja dari pada ISKANDAR ZULKARNAIN dan ialah RADJA Jang adil lagi BERDAULAT jang mempunjai TACHTA Keradjaan serta Kebesaran dan Kemuliaan kapada segala Negeri Daerah Tanah Melaju dengan Kurnia Tuhan Subahannallahu Ta'alla diatas Keradjaannja di Tambahi Allah Pangkat jang kebesaran serta Dardjah jang Kemuliaan.”
32 I have a photocopy of T. Ahmad's text which is in reasonable condition, though blots (or waterstains) make some pages difficult to read. Tengku Ahmad romanized and “improved” his elder brothers' text, and the resulting document is a single-spaced typed text of about 20,000 words in length.
33 This resume is based on the English translation of the Tuhfat published by Matheson and Andaya (Kuala Lumpur, 1982)Google Scholar. The author of the Tuhfat says his aim is to outline the inter-relationships and inter-actions between the Malay, Bugis and Siak kings. It ends in the early 1860s.
34 An edition of this text was published by E. U. Kratz (Wiesbaden, 1973). PSNJ begins where the Shel-labear version of Sejarah Melayu ends, that is, with the Jambi attack on Johor. It is in the form of notes recording the dates of arrivals and departures from the Malay court at Riau as well as the dates of births and deaths of nobles. The text shows particular interest in events at Pagar Ruyung, Trengganu and Inderagiri.
35 The SRR is a didactic text which tells the story of Bugis-Malay relationships so that readers may learn from it. It ends in 1804 with the reconciliation of Yamtuan Muda Raja Ali and the Engku Muda. I have relied on a translation of the text by Muljadi, Rudjiati, “The History of the Kings of Riau”, Sixth International Conference of Historians of Asia,IAHA,Jogjakarta,1974Google Scholar.
36 This modern account of Inderagiri's past was compiled by Tengku Arief in 1963, its aim is to show the “hubungan darah dan adat kesultanan Melaka dan Inderagiri” (p. 11). It includes accounts of popular traditions about Inderagiri's past.
37 In the Siak version of Sejarah Melayu (Cod. Or. 7304), Sri Tri Buana appointed Demang Lebar Daun as his menteri with the title “Bendahara”.
38 Throughout the KSM the importance of the rakyat is stressed. Si Badang and Hang Tuah are members of the rakyat who brought great glory to the kingdom. Both these figures are well-known today in the archipelago. Hang Tuah's birthplace is said to be at Bakong (Singkep) and Si Badang's grave is located on Buru (fieldnotes Dec. 83–Jan. 84).
39 A further small, but not insignificant contrast, is the behaviour of the Bugis who were called to aid the Malays, compared with the Tempassuk pirates. The latter came to help the Malay sultan because in those days kings helped each other and, unlike the Bugis, did not have to be rewarded with titles and permanent positions, but received from the sultan his thanks and some “hadiah”.
40 As described in Matheson, V., “The Tuhfat al-Nafis: Structure and Sources”, BKI (1971): 381, 391 (under Karangan Engku Busu)Google Scholar.
41 See Cod. Or. 1724 (2), p. 99.
42 For a fuller description of inheritance through fathers rather than mothers, see Vivienne Wee, “Melayu: Hierarchies of Being in Riau”, forthcoming.
43 Matheson, V. and Andaya, B. (eds.), Tuhfat al-Nafis, p. 118Google Scholar.
44 Ibid., p. 119.
45 Ibid., pp. 33, 376, 399.
46 However, the campaign is described in Netscher, E., “De Nederlanders in Djohor en Siak 1602 tot 1865”, VBG 35 (1870): 309–328Google Scholar.
47 That is, “Sila-sila raja-raja Inderagiri dan hubungannya dengan sila-sila raja-raja kerajaan Melaka raya”.
48 Rakit Kulim, p.5.
49 I am indebted to ProfWolters, O. W.' paper “Possibilities for a reading of the 1293–1357 period in the Vietnamese Annals” presented to the Symposium on Southeast Asia in 9th–14th Centuries,A.N.U.,May 1984Google Scholar, for his excellent example of how to “read” a text. This paper prompted me to attempt a similar analysis of KSM.
50 Dr Dianne Lewis has pointed out to me that according to genealogies cited by Wilkinson, R. J., A History of the Peninsular Malays with Chapters on Perak and Selangor (Singapore, 1923), pp. 53–54Google Scholar, the Melakan line in fact ended a century earlier, in the 1590s when the title of sultan “passed to a prince who was connected with Johor only by marriage and with Pahang only on the distaff side”.
51 KSM, pp. 8, 9, 10, 15.
52 Ibid., pp. 28, 35.
53 Ibid., pp. 14, 15, 16, 20.
54 Ibid., pp. 26, 27.
55 See O. W. Wolters, “Possibilities for a reading” (1984).
56 As in Horsfield, T., “Report on the island of Bangka”, Journal of the Indian Archipelago (JIA) 2, 6 (1848): 299–336Google Scholar and Piracy and the Slave Trade, JIA 3 (1849, 1850): 45–52Google Scholar; 146–62, 400–410, 581–88, 629–36, 617–28. Netscher, “Beschrijving van een gedeelte…” p. 128 notes that “the rajat” do not live in kampongs but are itinerant around the coasts.
57 A survey of occurrences of the term “rakyat” in KSM indicates a very close connection with the ruler. For example when the Dutchman van Braam arrives at Riau after Sultan Mahmud has moved to Lingga he sees “Sultan Mahmud pun tidak ada lagi, segala rakyat tak ada yang kelihatan” (KSM, p. 29). KSM distinguishes between rakyat, anak negeri, orang, and orang Melayu, with no occurrences of orang laut.
58 Wolters, O. W., The Fall of Srivijaya in Malay History (Kuala Lumpur, 1970)Google Scholar.
59 L.Y. Andaya, “Historical links between the aquatic populations and the coastal peoples of the Malay world and Celebes” (1980).
60 Ibrahim, Haji, Tjakap 2 Rampai 2 Bahasa Malajoe Djohor, 2 vols. (Batavia, 1868–1872), vol. 1, pp. 215ffGoogle Scholar.
61 Ibid., vol. 1, pp. 253–55.
62 Bugis informants told us that only suku Bintan could play the nobat drums of the royal Malay orchestra, other people would be affected if they touched them. Some items of the royal orchestra are preserved in the Museum Kandil Riau, at Tanjung Pinang.
63 See Tobias, J. H., “Verslag can eenen togt naar Lingga, Reteh en Manda”, TBG 10 (1861): 81–103Google Scholar.
64 Ibid., pp. 92–93.
65 “Piracy and the Slave Trade” (1850): 408.
66 Netscher, “Beschrijving van een gedeelte”, p. 129. These were probably the successors to the ronggeng dancers whom the Dutchman von Angelbeek saw on an earlier visit, see von Angelbeek, C., “Korte schets van het eiland Lingga en deszelfs bewoners”, VBG XI (1826): 1–62Google Scholar.
67 von Angelbeek, “Korte Schets”, pp. 30, 34–38.
68 Matheson, V. and Andaya, B., Tuhfat al-Nafis, p. 283Google Scholar.
69 See Netscher, E., “Togtjes in het gebied van Riouw en Onderhoorigheden”, TBG XII (1862): 233–54 and 357–70Google Scholar.
70 Ibid., p. 243.
71 Details of the construction of this mosque are given in Ahmad, Tengku's work Sekelumit Kesan Peninggalan Sejarah Riau, typescript (1972), pp. 18ffGoogle Scholar.
72 Further information about the bangsawan is given by Effendi, M. A., Selayang Pandang Peri Hidup Rakyat di Kepulauan Riau (Pekanbaru, 1973), pp. 81–84Google Scholar. The plays, he says, are based on “cerita raja zaman dahulu kala”, and the actors are young people of noble descent. Historically based plays commonly performed are, “Cerita Ali Baba”, “Cerita Hang Jebat” and “Cerita Hang Tuah”.
73 The full title of KSM may be translated as “A Short Malay History with Genealogical Tables” (Kering-kasan Sejarah Melayu dan Jadual Salasilahnya).
74 We obtained our copy of this genealogy from Tengku Ismail Mohd of Dabo-Singkep. We were also given a version of this genealogy by Tengku Jamil of Singapore who is Tengku Ismail's much older half-brother. Tengku Jamil's genealogy is dated 1975 (or 1978, the last figure is unclear), and is extended to include Tengku Jamil. Tengku Jamil also owns a copy of KSM (see note 20 above).
75 Note the discussion earlier in the paper which suggested that the sequence “setelah melihat keadaan… maka…”, which also appears here in the genealogy note, is used to announce a pause, and then a discontinuity, or a change in the direction of events.
76 T. Mohd Saleh was familiar with at least one version of Sejarah Melayu. Tengku Ismail Mohd (see note 73 above) gave me a copy of a text which he says T. Mohd Saleh copied out in Jawi by hand, but which he did not compose. That text seems to be an abbreviated version of the Shellabear text, but without the chapter on Haru (Shellabear Chapter 24). The text is untitled and there is no clue as to its origin. In his article “Beknopte Geshiedenis van het Vorstenhuis en de rijksintellingen van Lingga en Riau”, Tijdschrift voor het Binnenlandsch Bestuur 6 (1819): 298Google Scholar, A. F. von de Wall refers to “an abbreviated Sejarah Melayu text which existed at Lingga”. It is tempting to speculate that the text T. Ismail gave me is a copy of it. The KSMT. Mohd Saleh's own creation, does not follow the Sejarah Melayu, but borrows from its material and presents yet another Sejarah Melayu-type text.
77 Quoted in Roolvink, R., “The Variant Versions of the Malay Annals”, in Brown, C. C. (ed.), Sejarah Melayu (Kuala Lumpur, 1976), p. xvi, fn. 22Google Scholar.
78 See Netscher, “Beschrijving van een gedeelte…”, p. 144.
79 Ibid., p. xxv, fn. 22.
80 See Matheson, V., “Concepts of Malay Ethos in Indigenous Malay Writings”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies X, 2 (1979): 357Google Scholar.
81 Wolters, O. W., History, Culture and Region, p. 72Google Scholar.
