Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c13.s2.t2.49

v2.c13.s2.t2.49

Now if Rahma denotes Pegu, we have evidently to look for Djāwaga in Malay Peninsula, and to an Arab writer, perhaps ignorant of Borneo, and regarding China, Combodia, and Malaya Peninsula as a series running from north to south, the expression 'there is no country behind (i.e. to the east of) Djāwaga' is not very far from the truth. Of course we must not forget that the name Djāwaga is also used by almost all the Arab writers in the extended sense of Malayasia, and the statements of Ibn al-Fakih may easily be explained on this supposition. Some other statements may also be similarly explained. Thus Ibn al-Fakih refers to the volcano in the *neighbourhood* of Zābag³, and also describes Fancūr as a province or country included in Zābag⁴. As Sumatra, or at least a part of it, was undoubtedly included in the wider designation of Zābag, his statements are not difficult to understand, and do not appear to be inconsistent with the view that Zābag proper denotes Malay Peninsula. As against Fancūr, we may note, for instance, that Ka-Kula which Kia-tan places to the west of Kalah, and which has thus to be located in Malay Peninsula⁵, is referred to as a country of Djāwaga⁶.