Mid Term Break: Sightseeing in Acheen and Armenian Streets

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Colonial style houses at the row of Yap Temple

Thursday, 14 Zulhijjah 1432 H (10 Nov 2011) 10:00 am

We came to some heritage trail because Georgetown of Penang Island is recognized as a heritage site by UNESCO and this institution I am studying in is in Penang Island, hehehe. I went back to Bukit Gambir but I didn't return to my hostel. I just wait for the bus to Georgetown. Feel bored and empty but I bring some books with me so I read them while waiting for bus. I went off from the bus at Little India. I had visited the area and I feel not interested to be there anymore. I just walked my way to the side of Yap Temple which is a Chinese clan temple.   

Yap Temple

Yap Temple 

 Another angle of Yap Temple

I walked into the temple... The environment around is heavy with jossticks smokes and they had arranged some offerings for ancestors with fruits and some candles in the shape of lotus. I didn't take pictures to respect the temple because it seems that they are having an occasion though they didn't prevent me from snapping pictures as long as it is not in flash mode. Few Chinese nationals or perhaps Taiwanese are also looking around the temple. Penang Chinese community is still maintaining pre-Cultural Revolution cultural traits of Chinese community because they were not involved in Cultural Revolution event in China. To describe the internal part of the temple, it's just an ancestral temple with ancestral name plaques and some idols of god at the altar. They also provide jossticks and offering stuffs like papers to be burn with some charge or donation. Just walking around in the temple for about 10 minutes because nothing much to see except in the other building at the side they sell porcelains and pictures.

Islamic Museum

Penang Islamic Museum 

Penang Islamic Museum was actually the residence of Syed Ahmad al-Attas. He is an Arab merchant from Acheh of Indonesia today. He became a leader for the community in Acheen street mosque during the Penang Riot of 1867. I read the Chinese character at the street sign, it is written as 打石街 Tashi Jie. It was restored around 1993-1994 in a pilot restoration spearheaded by state government through municipal council implementation. Federal government also helped with technical assistance by French government.

 90 years old handwritten Quran

Naqshabandi credential letter to Sheikh Omar Basheer the mufti of Pulau Pinang by Arabian government before the order was banned by Pulau Pinang government

Hajji Fatheel Basheer collection of artifacts, he's a "Malay" figure who had been given the task to develop Malay village in Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang since 1931. These artifacts was exhibited in Penang State Museum in 1964. The long one is walking stick of 1922 belongs to Zechariah Basheer, Palestine Spoon a Saucer brought home from Palestine by Sheikh Omar Basheer in 1310 H, and incense container of 1908.

Sheikh Omar Basheer diary written in Arabic which is a surviving document about Penang Riot of 1867
 

Traditional circumcision set. Muslim boys are usually circumcized when they reach 13 years old which is the tradition of patriarchs Abraham and Ishmael a.s

Wooden boxes with Quranic verses carved on them and wooden door

 

Terengganu inscription replica in Malay written with Arabic script about the introduction of Islam in the state

Stuffs involved in traditional medication production used by Syed Ahmad al-Attas family such as pots, grinders and trays

Ceramics where some of them were produced in Iran around the late of 17th C

Crafts made from leaves and metal

Incense pots which is apart of Arabian culture and the lowest part of the rack is betel leaves' set which represents Malay culture

The above part of the rack are Jambiah which is Arabian tribal weapon and it is a kind of knife. Lowest part are Malay daggers or keris and parangs for self defence

Wood carvings with Quranic verses usually being decorations in masjids and holy places

 Musical instruments like arbab, gambus, and flute. Arbab is also used as Thai and Lao musical instruments while gambus is Arabian style musical instrument. The flute is used in Northern Malaysian Peninsula as well. This is some differences between Northern and Southern Malaysian states in term of cultural traits.

Penang Prominent Peranakan Arab Figures

From this museum walk, I get to know few prominent figures of Arab descent. Not all of them are with the title syed (lord) but some are with the title sheikh or have no title at all.

Sheikh Omar Basheer

This guy is a Muslim scholar with his clan name Basheer. An Arab descent, I guess his mother or grandmother is a native. He is from Khalidy Naqshabandi order and this order is classified as illegal by religious authority. I am not really sure about the reasons because sometimes religious authority could also be influenced by politics. There are politics in every place. Khalid was a teacher of the Naqshabandi tariqa in Mecca. Sheikh Omar Basheer had propagate the tariqa and suluk form of retreat in Penang. This order is also popular in Indonesia, Johore, and Kedah. This figure had issued a legal ruling to stop Muslims from joining secret societies in Penang. British administration also referred to him in matters of Islam and Malays affair. He was an imam in Acheen street masjid and a teacher in Ayer Itam masjid. Before that he was a Qadhi (Jurist) in Demak, Java Island and he returned to Penang because of his wife and two children death. He passed away in 1881 and was buried in Ayer Itam, Penang.  

Syed Ahmad al-Attas

The mansion which is now the museum is his residence. He was an Arab spice trader from Acheh and Acheh is an Indonesian province in Sumatera Island. The mansion was build around 1860s. Mr. al-Attas has two wives. His first wife is a Malay noble woman of royal court. His second wife is a Chinese woman, the daughter of a Strait Chinese black pepper merchant whose name is Khoo Teang Poh (Qiu Tianpao). So, some Arab descents had also been classified as Chinese or associated with Chinese face, lol. I don't know what happened to this guy's children but I know many prominent leaders with this clan name such as the founding member of Malaysian People's Movement party (GERAKAN), Mr. Syed Hussein al-Attas. He formed the party around 1968 as an offshoot of Labor party and nowadays the party is the party with majority Chinese members working with the National Front parties while the founder of this party is a Hadrami Arab.

In 1870s, this Syed Ahmad guy became a staunch supporter of Achehnese movements to expel Dutch imperial power from Northern Sumatera. He sponsored weapons and guns to those people, perhaps his mother is Achehnese so those people are technically his maternal brothers. The residence was not only a mansion but also a place of secret meeting among Achehnese leaders.

In 1930s until 1960s, the mansion had became a place of recycle by Chettiars (Indian). In 1995, the mansion became a place to enhance the love toward art and history through its architecture. It was used as a heritage center. Now, this guy's house became Islamic museum and I walked inside the house.

Place Name: Muzium Islam Pulau Pinang

Address: No. 128 Lebuh Armenian 10200, Penang

Contact: (phone) 604-2620172/2503021 (fax) 604-2644692

Web: www.penangislamicmuseum.net

Visiting Hours: Everyday 9:00-17:30

Closed: Tuesdays

Ticket: Adult, RM3, Kids, RM1, the uncle gave me discount as I am a student, RM2 yaye! 

Closing The Post

Finished the visit... The upper part of this museum is still in renovation so I have no chance to visit it. Anyone having some free time come to visit this museum and show us what's new up there, haha

Through His will I wish to have some trips to Alor Setar to get some more information. After I've finished this degree I would also like to plan a travel to Gujarat in India as well as Yemen. For now, I have no political and economic interests like others because I live like other non-Bumis. So, I don't care about Malay rights or identification in my documents because I didn't get any benefit from that. I have to work hard to survive like others and only believe the God as my Protector and Friend.

My experience, when I was in Sekolah Agama Rakyat (State Religious School) after mum brought me home from Perlis (I had already been tied with Buddhist sacred thread but I didn't consider the proclamation of refuge to Buddhism teachings yet until I reached 15 years old), those Selangor Javanese officers in religious department also had treated us like foreigners. It was because we are not natives in Selangor state although if we checked back the Javanese officers background, perhaps they're also of immigrants from Indonesia of 1970s. We didn't get textbooks assistance too and we have to buy everything. We weren't rich people with many siblings but nobody believes us or perhaps playing do not understand. Nowadays, we don't believe any free thing. We have to pay and work for everything and thank You dear the God because You made me return to our path because it is not the fault of the path but fault of human-being with negative thoughts : )

Last time I didn't even put "Malay" in my documents though my late grandpa had registered my dad as a "Malay." If he is still alive today perhaps I would ask him why we have to be registered with our mothers identity like Jews? We are not Jews and I don't want to be one because we indeed are not Jews though some of them in the East are our cousins. I just ticked "others" and I hate the question for racial background in documents and forms. I don't know what is the benefit of checking people's racial background when we are the citizen of the same country???! Those of non-Malay background could not get any help or assistance? Any difference in treatments?

There are many kind of non-Malay natives who had been here since few hundred of years before independence like the Siamese, the half native Portuguese speaking Luso Christians of Malacca whom are Catholics, the Baba and Nyonya of Chinese descent, the Ibanese, the Dusun-Kadazan of Borneo, Orang Asli Semenanjung and many others. They were all recognized according to their ethnicity but Peranakan Arab were not recognized while being forced to have hidden identity (including lying on their obvious background to get business tender). 

I had also snapped some pictures of Acheen Street Masjid but I don't know what's wrong with the system. It doesn't want to accept the picture. I had long tried to access the masjid and recording it into documents. It is known as Malay Masjid but the founder of the masjid is Mr. al-Attas. Never mind, nations are all brothers and sisters. But we should not lie to others. That's what I am trying to say. Just tell the truth, it is difficult but at least it makes us feel better.

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!

Brief Introduction: Peranakan Arab Kedah

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!!!

 From Jerai Peak View

Many people are familiar with the Chittis, the Nasranis and Portuguese, the Baba and Nyonyas in Malacca but not many of us are aware of Peranakan Arab community in Malaysia. Because most of us had already immersed ourselves into Malay mainstream society. Some of us actually are the result of inter-marriages of the Yemeni Arabs and the Gujarati Indians thus being classified by Northern Malays especially in Alor Setar as Jawi Pekan. 

I disagree that Jawi Pekan only refers to Peranakan India or Muslim Tamilians who speak Malay with Tamil accent like in Penang Island. Jawi Peranakan exists in Kedah Sultanate provinces including Perlis, Southern Thailand, and Lower Myanmar but most of the fathers for this community were Southern Arab descents of Syeds (Hussein) or Syarif (Hassan) lineage. Different from Penang where they are more to Indian. This term was hijacked to include Muslim Indian. So, I would rather use Peranakan Arab to describe myself.

Our community in Kedah were actually multilingual community. Some of us could speak in Thai or Burmese and some could speak in Classical Jawi Malay or Urdu according to their fluency or whether their mothers are from India (it includes Pakistan because there was no Pakistan back then in 17th C) or local noble women and geography. The basic language for the community especially elders was actually Classical Arabic because it is the language of unification among the Middle Easterners and Muslims. Nowadays many of us the younger generation speak either in Malay according to local standard dialect, kampung or hulu Malay dialect, or English wherever it is suitable and according to education level. Compared to 'normal Malays,' we are more open to foreign atmosphere but elders were actually very stringent with religious education of their children. My parents family was a bit chaotic because of environment around, nomadic lifestyle and the death of paternal grandparents had made us as today.

There are many seminars regarding this in Kedah state, such as Seminar Keturunan Syed held in Wisma Darulaman in Alor Setar at the 5th of March 2011 inaugurated by Kedah Chief Minister, YAB Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak. In education field, there is a madrasah established by Peranakan Arab community around 1936 known as al-Ma'ahad Mahmud under the patronage of the Sultan of Kedah for religious propagation. It is located in Alor Setar. The religious studies syllabus of the madrasah is according to the al-Azhar syllabus. 

In Perlis, there is a madrasah too which was the madrasah where I was once schooled for i'dadi level (form one). It is located in Arau just in opposite to Istana Arau known as al-Madrasah al-'Alawiyyah ad-Diniyyah. It was established around 1930's with the zakat fund of Perlis state and donation around. The madrasah was inaugurated by al-Marhum Raja Syed Alwi in 1937. The madrasah is also dedicated for local and people as far as from southern part of Malaya came to study there too. When I travel passing the school, I could now see female students. When I was there around 1998, the school has only male students. There is also another school near the madrasah with the same name under national education department supervision. The school was called by our school as Alawiyah Luar. While the Alawiyah for us was known as Alawiyah Dalam. I'm not sure what are the differences, but who cares, lol. Others, there is Madrasah al-Mashahoor in Penang Island and I am sure everyone knows it because one of the headmaster there was a man of letter. 

In literature and men of letters around 19th C, we have Syed Syekh al-Hadi who founded al-Imam (1906) and al-Ikhwan (1926). He also wrote a novel which talks about women emancipation known as Hikayat Faridah Hanum (1926). Most of the 19th C literature by Peranakan Arab came from Singapore, Penang and Johore. Those in Southern Thailand and northern states even until now are involved in religious kitab printing and publication because I had noticed a company in Patani is owned by a Peranakan Arab. 

Few Hadrami clans in northern Malaysia that I had ever heard, the prominent ones are the Jamalullail who hailed from Perak in 15th C, the Shihabuddin, the al-Mahdalis who comes from India, Sumatera and Yemen itself, the al-Aydrusi who are also prominent in the neighboring Patani and Eastern Coast, and the al-Yahya where you can see an actress who acts in Awan Dania by Astro is paternally from this clan. One of cousin brothers that I still can recognize married to the female of the al-Yahya and she is an auntie of the actress. One of my ex-classmate in my current course is also from the al-Yahya clan but her mum is a Chinese and she is the sister of the actress. How small is this world, hahaha.     

In term of food and cuisine? We just have cuisines the same like Malays or Thais such as laksa, asam pedas, various kind of vermicelli and noodles, grilled meats, sambal belachan or nam phrik kahpi (shrimp paste sauce), ayer asam (tamarind juice sauce), ulam-ulam (fresh salad), nasik ulam (salad rice), kueh karas (Acheh), kueh kapit (Chinese), gulai (curry) and others. Nowadays, Tom Yum is quite popular too. I have to avoid all of these cuisines if they contain seafood especially when I am in ablution since my school of jurisprudence has changed about 6 years ago but most of my family members still enjoy seafood since they refuse to change the madzhab. Although we are Muslims, we also have to masuk Melayu and there is no camel here, hahaha. 

There are few researches by scholars about this community in northern Malayan peninsula states such as by 'Abdur Razzaq Lubis in "Traders, Teachers, Pressmen, and Pilgrim Brokers: Penang Arabs in the Regional Network." We are not even close to mamak nasik kandaq, but maybe closer to Benggali jual karpet or manik koran since my paternal grandpa mother line is the same with them. I am not a fan of mamak food too. However, dad is a fan of mamak restaurant, kari kapla ikan (fish-head curry), kas kas (papaver somniferum), and 24/7 teh tarik. And the result, he is now affected by stroke, heart disease, or hypertension... modern lifestyle may sometimes affect health. He keeps going to the mamak's even now tak serik-serik admitted into the hospital and ordering teh tarik, how stubborn he is!

Other books for reference are like "The Hadrami Diaspora in South East Asia" by Ahmed Ibrahim Abu Shouk and Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim. Also in "Hadrami Traders, Scholars, and Statesmen in Indian Ocean, 1750s - 1960s" by Ulrike Freitag and W. G. Clarence Smith and in "Hadrami Arabs in Present-Day Indonesia: An Indonesia Oriented Group with Arab Signature," page 21 written by Frode Fadnes Jacobsen do mentions about Arabs diaspora and muwallad (peranakan) in Kedah.

We speak pure Kedahan dialect, to the extend that we can speak in Kedah Hulu dialect which sounds more to Patanese Malay dialect and not the northern Malay dialect spoken by Penangites. I had once being mistaken by a Kelantanese as one of their own when I shift to Kedah Hulu dialect talking with them. 

Those who acted in Anak Mami movies are from Kedah and some are from other states. I think Mr. Razak Mohaideen should properly teach or asking his actors to do deep researches about Penangites Malay and its Muslim Indian peranakan communities before making the movie. I just can't stand when Northerners and Northern Peranakan communities being assumed as the same people. We are more polite compared to Penangites and we respect people regardless their status or racial background. I had experienced different things when dealing with Indian Muslims or Tamil speaking Muslims in Penang. The tele-movie that I think showing about 98% real Penangites' Muslim Peranakan cultural traits is Anak Mamak Menantu Mami starred by Wan Raja (Saiful Redzuan Abu Bakar), Azad Jazmin, and Faezah Elai and directed by Zulkifli Salleh Ghani. This tele-movie had also inspired me to travel around Georgetown when I am bored, hehehe. 

My dad is a staunch supporter of bahasa Melayu and persuratan Melayu while our elders opposed the shift of Malay script from Jawi to Roman script during the time of Mr. Khir Johari. There is a mention in a small kitab which acts as a leaflet written in Classical Jawi Malay that we personally keep in our closet, saying that "we would rather die than losing our identity."

I had contacted the people in my grandfather first village. They had also advised me to contact Gujarat and Kerala province museums in India because those people had came to the village to inspect and collecting data at the 300 years old cemetery in the village in Ramadan about two or three years ago. 

I thought that last time, I wanted to follow Tablighi fellow students to India due to that I actually wanted to track down the foot steps of ancestors in India where they were once based in there before coming to the sultanate of Kedah in 17th C and their spread around in Sumatera Island in Indonesia today. 

I hope it is useful for beloved brothers and sisters especially who are also related to the Hadramis and the Arab muwallad (peranakan).  

Sealed with prayers for peace, mercy, and love for brothers and sisters, amin!