Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c14.t2: 2. Rise of Islam
Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v2.c14.t2
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2. Rise of Islam
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The downfall of the Śailendras led to many other important consequences besides the rise of Malayu as a great power. Sumatra was now divided into a number of petty states which paid a nominal allegiance, some time to Java and some time to China, as suited their convenience, but all the while indulged in internecine wars and jealousies. This paved the way for the gradual establishment of Islam as a political power which was destined in the long run to overwhelm nearly the whole of Malayasia.
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The first definite information of this changed political condition is obtained from the account of Marco Polo¹. Marco Polo calls the island "Java the less", and says that it had eight kingdoms and eight kings. Of these he gives detailed account of six kingdoms "that lie at this side of the land" and were visited by him. These kingdoms were Ferlec, Basma, Samara, Dagroian, Lambri and Fansur. Marco Polo says nothing of the two other kingdoms "at the other side of the island" as he never visited them.
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¹ "The Book of Ser Marco Polo",—Translated by Yule, Vol. II, pp. 284. ff.
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Of the six kingdoms, Ferlec is undoubtedly Perlak on the north-east, and Lambri the same as Lamuri or Great Atjeh (Acheh), on the north-west. The three kingdoms named between these two were apparently situated in the intervening region. Thus Basma may be identified with Pase, and Samara with Samudra. Dagroian cannot be identified with certainty. Fansur, the sixth kingdom, is undoubtedly Barus. Most of the details given by Marco Polo are concerned with peculiar manners and customs of the people, but he throws valuable hints on the political and religious condition of the kingdoms he describes.
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The kingdoms had their own kings, but all, except Ferlec, called themselves subjects of the Great Khan *i.e.* the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan. The subjection, however, was more nominal than real, as would appear from the following statement of Marco Polo: "They call themselves subjects of the Great Khan but they pay him no tribute; indeed they are so far away that his men could not go thither. Still all these islanders declare themselves to be his subjects and sometimes they send curiosities as presents." Marco Polo’s statement is corroborated by the facts that an envoy of the kingdom of Samudra visited China in 1286 A. D.² and that embassies were sent by the generals of Kublai Khan, after reaching Java, to some of the Sumatran states including Lambri and Sumatra, *i.e.* Lamuri and Samudra,¹ in 1292 A.D.
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² Rockhill, T'oung Pao Ser. II, Vol. 15 (1914), pp. 440-1.
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¹ Groeneveldt—Notes, p. 30. Rockhill, op. cit., p. 442. Pelliot, B.E.F.E.O., Vol. IV (327). Pelliot amends Ki-mo-la-mao, name of one of these states, into Malayu.
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The people of all the kingdoms except Ferlec were idolators, and evidently belonged to a very primitive state of civilisation. Many of them were cannibals and great believers in sorcery and magic.
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About Ferlec Marco Polo observes as follows: "This kingdom is so much frequented by the Saracen merchants that they have converted the natives to the Law of Mahomet—I mean the townspeople only, for the hill-people live for all the world like beasts, and eat human flesh, as well as all other kinds of flesh, clean or unclean. And they worship this, that and the other thing, for in fact the first thing that they see on rising in the morning, that they do worship for the rest of the day".
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This picture of the primitive people of Sumatra shows us what they were when they came into contact with the Hindu civilisation, which evidently had not made its influence felt in the northern parts of the country, even so late as the 13th century A.D. Evidently Islam was slowly spread among these people by the Muhammadan merchants, before any Muhammadan kingdom was established.
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Thus Perlak was the only Muhammadan state in Sumatra in 1292 A.D. when Marco Polo visited the island. Tradition places its foundation at an earlier date than that of the Muhammadan state of Samudra. Now Sultan Malik al-Saleh, who founded this state, died in 1297 A.D. The foundation of the Muhammadan kingdom of Samudra must thus be placed between 1292 and 1297 A.D.²
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² The date of the Sultan's death is known from his tomb-stone inscription. For this, as well as the tradition concerning Perlak, cf. Moquette in Rapp. Oudh. Dienst., 1913, pp. 1-12.
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Sumudra, Lamuri, Perlak and some other less known kingdoms are also referred to by Rasid-ad-Din (1310 A.D.), but he does not give any detailed account beyond stating that Lamuri was a large state under an independent king.¹ Other Arab writers also refer to some towns or states, in Sumatra, but do not in any way indicate that they possessed either political or commercial importance.
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¹ Ferrand—Textes, Vol. II, p. 361.
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About 1345-6 A. D. Ibn Baṭuṭa² visited the kingdom of Samudra, which he calls Sumutra, in the island of Jāva, which here undoubtedly means Sumatra. He was welcomed by the Muhammadan ruler of the place, Sultan Malik az-Zāhir³. Ibn Baṭuṭa describes him as one of the most illustrious and generous kings, but says nothing definite about the extent of his kingdom. But that there were Hindu kingdoms on all sides is quite clear from his statement that the Sultan frequently fought with and defeated the infidels who lived in the neighbourhood, and they paid him tribute for living in peace.
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² For Ibn Baṭuṭa's account, cf. Ferrand—Textes, Vol. II, pp. 438 ff. Ferrand is inclined to reject the whole account of Ibn Baṭuṭa as pure fabrication on the ground that his itinerary is an impossible one.
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³ Malik az-Zāhir was a title borne by nearly all the Sultans of Samudra. Sultan Muhammad Malik az-Zāhir died in 1326. He was followed by Ahmad and Zain-al-Abidin, both of whom carried the same title. Ibn Baṭuṭa must have met one of these, probably the former.
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One of these Hindu kingdoms called ‘Mūl Jāva’ was visited by Ibn Baṭuṭa. After leaving Samudra, he sailed along the coast for 21 days, and reached the capital of this kingdom. Ibu Baṭuṭa here relates a story which throws some interesting light on the political condition of Sumatra. It runs as follows :
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‘The Sultan of Samudra had a nephew (brother’s son) who married his daughter and was appointed governor of a province. This nephew was desirous of marrying the daughter of an Amir, but the Sultan chose the girl for himself. The disappointed lover waited for his opportunity. Once the Sultan had gone to fight the infidels, who lived at a distance of about a month’s journey. The nephew entered the city of Samudra, which had no walls, declared himself the Sultan, and was accepted as such by one section of the people. As soon as the Sultan heard of this revolt he marched towards the capital. His nephew, however, took as much money and other valuables as he could lay hands on, and the girl of his choice, and then took shelter with the infidel king of Mūl Jāva. The Sultan now built walls round the capital city to guard against future revolts of this kind.’
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The location of Mūl Jāva has not been determined with certainty. Ibn Baṭuṭa says that its length was two months’ journey, and it produced excellent perfumes, named after Kākūla and Kamāra, two of its districts. Van der Lith identified Kākūla with Angkola¹, but Ferrand rejects it on philological grounds². Pelliot identifies the same place with Ko-ku-lo, which is mentioned by the Chinese traveller Kiantan (c. 800 A. D.), and is to be located to the west of Kedah³. Rouffaer places it in Sumatra itself, in Menangkabau⁴. In view of these wide differences of opinion it is difficult to suggest any identification, but the fact that the rebels from Samudra took shelter in it seems to refer to some place in Sumatra itself. Malayu-Jambi would perhaps not be an unacceptable theory, in view of the great power and prestige of that Hindu kingdom. If it were to be located outside Sumatra I would suggest Java itself. Mūl Jāva would mean, in Sanskrit, the original Java, as distinguished from Java, the less, named after it⁵. Wassāf-i-Hadrat, writing towards the close of the 13th century A.D.⁶, refers to Mul Śāva (=Mul Jāva) as one of the islands conquered by Kublai Khan in 1292 A.D. He also refers to aloe and Girofle as products of the locality, as does Ibn Baṭuṭa in respect of Mūla-Jāva. Now Java was conquered by Kublai Khan in the year 1292-1293 A.D., and so this would be a point in support of the proposed identification. But the details in respect of the conquest of Mul-Śāva as given by Wassāf do not agree with those given in official Chinese history as recorded above.
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¹ Merveilles (1883-86), p. 240.
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² Textes, p. 431.
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³ T'oung Pao, Ser. II. Vol. 13 (1912), p. 455. Ferrand opposes this view in J.A., Vol. 11-XX (1922), p. 24.
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⁴ B.K.I., Vol. 77 (1921), p. 78. note.
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⁵ Schlegel, though interpreting it in the same way, identifies it with Sumatra (=Prathama Yavabhu) T'oung Pao, Ser. I. Vol. IX., p. 368.
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⁶ Ferrand—Textes, p. 359.
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On the whole, Ibn Baṭuṭa's account shows the gradual spread of Islam as a political factor in northern Sumatra. There is no doubt that India, and not Arabia, served as the base from which the stream of colonisation carried the influence of Islam towards the Far East¹. An examination of the tombstones of the Sultans of Samudra-Pase reveals a close resemblance to those found in Gujarat, and there is hardly any doubt that they were imported from the latter place². We may thus presume a brisk trade activity between Gujarat and Sumatra, and this indirectly led to the furtherance of Islam in the Far East.
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¹ Snouck Hurgronje—'Arabië en oost Indië' (pp. 15-17).
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² Moquette in T.B.G., Vol. 54 (1912), pp. 536. ff. The Sejarah Malayu (chap. VII) furnishes confirmatory evidence of the custom of bringing tomb-stones from India to Malayan countries (J. Str. Br. R.A.S., No. 77, p. 171).
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The Chinese book Tao-i-che-lio, written by Wang Ta-yuen in 1349 A.D., refers to some of the states in northern Sumatra such as Pañcur, Tamiang, Batakland, Lambri, and Samudra, but says nothing of the political condition or of the spread of Islam. It also refers to San-fo-tsi and Kieu-kiang (Palembang) as two separate states under two kings³.
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³ Rockhill—T'oung Pao, Ser. II, Vol. XVI (1915), pp. 134-35.
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But the Nāgara-Kṛtāgama, composed in A.D. 1365, gives us a very comprehensive list of the petty states in Sumatra which all acknowledged the supremacy of Java. As we have seen above (see p. 330) the list includes Samudra, Lambri, and Perlak, *i.e.* the northernmost states, referred to above. The statement of Nāgara-Kṛtāgama may be true, and perhaps all these states now recognised the king of Java as their suzerain in more or less the same way that they acknowledged Kublai Khan in 1292 A.D. as noticed by Marco Polo.
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But with the decline of the Majapahit empire in the beginning of the fifteenth century A.D. the states of Northern Sumatra again returned to their allegiance to China, and at the same time a further progress of Islam is noticeable in this region. We get a fair idea of both these changes from the Chinese annals, specially the History of the Ming Dynasty and the writings of Ma Huan (1425-1432)¹.
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¹ For the Chinese account that follows, cf. Groeneveldt—Notes, pp. 85-92. Rockhill, op. cit., pp. 146 ff. Schlegel—T'oung Pao, Ser. II, Vol. II. pp. 329 ff.
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According to Ma Huan the state of Sumatra, or Samudra, was the most powerful in northern Sumatra. It was bounded by the sea on the north and the mountains on the south. To the east was a small state Aru, and towards the north, two other smaller states, Na-ku-erh and Li-tai. According to Schlegel the name of this great state is preserved in that of a miserable village of the present day, called Samudra.²
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² T'oung Pao, Ser. II, Vol. II, p. 338.
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According to the History of the Ming Dynasty³ the Chinese emperor sent envoys to this country in 1403 and 1404. The latter also sent tributes to China before a third imperial envoy, Cheng Ho, came in 1405. About this time the neighbouring king of Na-ku-erh defeated and killed the king of Sumutra. The widowed queen, having no grown-up son to avenge the foul crime, offered to marry any one who could do so. Thus an old fisherman who defeated and killed the king of Na-ku-erh became king of Sumutra. The emperor issued an edict appointing this fisherman, named Tsai-nu-li-a-pi-ting-ki¹ king of Sumutra, and gave him a seal, a commission, and a court-dress of coloured silk. In 1409 this fisherman king came and offered tribute at the imperial court. But before 1412 he was murdered by the son of the late king, and his son Su-kan-la (Sekander) fled into the mountains. But the Chinese supported the cause of the old king's son and defeated Su-kan-la. According to Hsing Cha Sheng Lan, Su-kan-la usurped the throne in 1413, but was defeated by the Chinese troops. The new king of Sumutra was grateful for the imperial favour and came to the imperial court in 1415 to offer tribute. He regularly sent tributes to China till 1434, when he sent a younger brother to the court.² The brother represented that the king was already old and could not manage the affairs any more, and now asked permission to cede the throne to his son, called A-pu-sai,³ who was accordingly appointed king of the country. From this time the envoys from Samudra became gradually more rare. The last embassy was sent in 1486. The Chinese accounts seem to show that Samudra had become the most important centre of trade and it was also politically the most important. Ma Huan says that the neighbouring state of Li-tai was a dependency of Sumutra. Schlegel identifies Li-tai with the state named Lide by Barros and situated between Pedir and Pirada, which lay west of Pacem.⁴
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³ For the account that follows, cf. Groeneveldt—Notes, pp. 85-93. For various corrections and suggestions, cf. Pelliot, T'oung Pao, 1933 (pp. 275, fn. 2, 290-294 ). The discovery of a new Chinese source makes the whole story of the fisherman extremely doubtful (T'oung Pao, 1934, p. 313).
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¹ Pelliot points out that the name is really 'Tsai-nu-li-a-pi-ting' which corresponds to Zaynu-l-Abidin,' well-known in the history of Acheh (T'oung Pao, 1933, pp. 275-6, fn. 1).
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² According to the History of the Ming dynasty this brother died in China, and some time later the king of Sumutra sent another younger brother. As Pelliot suggests, perhaps the reference to two brothers is due to some confusion (T'oung Pao, 1934, p. 294, fn. 1)
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³ Pelliot reads the name as A-pu-sai-yi-ti and restores it as Abu Said. (Ibid).
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⁴ T'oung Pao, Ser II, Vol. II, p. 347.
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Another important state, Lambri, had in 1412 sent envoys, with those of Samudra, to China to carry tribute. The envoys were presented with court dresses and the king got a seal, a commission, and silks. It sent tribute every year till 1424. Ma Huan writing in 1416 A.D. notes that the king of the country and its people are all Muhammadans.¹ The king who sent tribute in 1412 is called Maharasa.²
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¹ Groeneveldt—Notes, pp. 98-100.
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² Schlegel reads it as Mahama Shah (T'oung Pao Ser. II, Vol. II, p. 357). Pelliot restores it as Muhammad Shah; T'oung Pao, 1933, p. 296.
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To the east of Samudra was another kingdom, Aru, which similarly sent envoys to China in 1411, 1419, 1421 and 1423. Here also the king and the people were all Muhammadans by 1416 A.D.³ The memory of this state is preserved in the name of the Aru Islands.
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³ Groeneveldt—Notes, pp. 94-6.
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Another kingdom, Nakur, situated to the west of Samudra, consisted of only one mountain village and about a thousand families. The people tattooed their faces with three pointed green figures, and for this reason the king was called the king of tattooed faces. Their language, manners, and customs were like those of Sumutra.⁴
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⁴ Ibid, p. 96.
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Thus by the beginning of the fifteenth century A.D. the northern states of Sumatra passed from the sphere of influence of Java to that of China, and gradually adopted the Islamic religion. The importance of Sumatra as a centre of Islam was no doubt due to the fact that Pasai (Sumatra) had succeeded Kedah as the chief centre of trade. In the fifteenth century Malacca succeeded Pasai and played the rôle of the leading Muslim state, as we shall see in the next chapter. After the fall of Malacca at the beginning of the sixteenth century, Acheen in northern Sumatra became the chief centre of trade and of Islam. "From Acheen Islamic faith spread to Ulakan, from Ulakan into Menangkabau. In the seventeenth century the people along the coast of the Lampong district began to be converted, and in the eighteenth Islam spread to the up-country. In the middle of the sixteenth century a missionary went from Palembang to Borneo and made converts at Sukadana and Madan. In 1606 A.D. a Menangkabau trader converted the Raja of Pallo in Celebes.”¹
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¹ J. St. Br. R.A.S., No 77, pp. 171 ff. to which the reader may refer for a detailed account of the introduction of Muhammadan faith in Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago. Cf. also ‘Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch Indie’ *s.v.* Mohammedanisme; and B.J.O. Schrieke—‘Het Boek van Bonang.’
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END OF HINDU RULE IN MALAY PENINSULA