Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924007835667 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS (SECOND SERIES) No. 1 JELEBU ITS HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION BY A. CALDECOTT. F.M.S. Civil SeroiL. PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE FOR MALAY STUDIES, FEDERATED MALAY STATES KUALA LUMPUR: PRINTED AT THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES GOVERNMENT PRESS 1912 Price : One Dollar fpapers on /IftalaiP Subjects* [SECOND SERIES.] : (Published by direction of the Committee for Malay Studies, F.M.S.) No. I. JELEBU, ITS HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION. A. CALDECOTT, F.M.S. Civil Service. KUALA LUMPUR: FEINTED BY J. BROWN AT THE T.M.S. GOVEENMENT PEESS. 1912. 600-6-12, PREFACE. The compilation of this pamphlet was suggested by Mr. R. J. Wilkinson while Resident of the Negri Sembilan, who has kindly supei'vised and aided its preparation throughout. It was originally intended that it should form part of his " Notes on the Negri Sembi- lan," and the Chronology, wherever the Christian year is stated, is borrowed from his book. The writer is also indebted to Abdullah, Dato' of Jelebu, for much information and especially for the vise of his " Hikayat Jelebu." Valuable assistance must also be acknowledged from To' Omar Idris, of Ulu Klawang, and To' Dagang Jati, of Jerang. The interesting diary of Mr. Queritz, first British Officer in Jelebu, and Mr. O'Brien's notes in the " Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society," No. 14, p. 337, have been of great use to the writer. A. C. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I.— HISTOEY. Page. Chap. I. — Mythical history. Modern survivals. The Kenaboi hillmen. Introduction of Muhammadanism ... 1 Chap. II. — Moyang Saleh. His pedigree. His Mission to Johor. His Constitution ... ... ... 12 Chap. III. — Tlie Uiidangs of Jelebii. The introduction of a Yamtiian. History of the Tamtuans. Their status. Internal dissensions. British inter- vention. Pinal settlement ... ... ... 19 Chap. IV. — Ulu Klawang. Legendary period. Later history. Relations with Sungei TJjong and Jelebu ... 29 Chap. V. — Kenaboi. The Pahang colony ... ... ... 34 PART II.— THE CONSTITUTION. The Teibes. — Their headmen and families. The political con- stitution. The Malay account. Summary ... 35 APPENDICES. I. — Tables showing succession to the various titles, II.— The Undang's Officers, III. — The Tamtuan's Officers. IV, — Court ceremony attaching to the Undang. V. — Funeral ceremony upon death of an Undang. VI. — Note on the Biduanda aboriginal tribe. VII, — Further notes on Ulu Klawang, VIII. — The taboo of the Biduanda tribe. Paet I. HISTORY. I.— PEIOE TO 1757 A.D, THE folklore of Jelebu abounds in tales of the origin of its present inhabitants. These tales differ con- siderably in detail but possess much in common. It will be necessary here to review only one version in full — namely, that which is accepted as the genealogical tree of the icaris sasilah (silasUah) of Jelebu. The story runs as follows : " From the seventh heaven fell Batin Terjali, Maharaja Alif , and the latter's wife, Puteri Ambong Seri Alam. Maharaja Alif begat Maharaja Bepang who wedded Puteri Lindong Biilan, and the latter bore a son, Eaja di-Raja. Then said Gabriel to Batin Terjali 'Seek out places for your children and people the earth that inmates may be found for heaven and hell.' " So Maharaja Bepang went and ruled over China, and Batin Terjali took the rest of his family to Menangkabau where he made Eaja di-Raja King, under the title of Sultan Muhammad Shah Maliku'l-Alara. . Then he and Maharaja Alif and Puteri Amhong 8eri Alam went to Johor to build a palace for Mahmud Maharaja. How- ever at that time Menangkabau sent a king to rule over Johor and Mahmud Maharaja went to rule over the country called Daik as Sultan Muda. Then they pro- ceeded to Gunong Berapi, where Puteri Ambong Seri Alam was delivered of a son, named by Batin Terjali Kunkanda Raja di-Raja, Batin Tunggal Gagah, and he was deputed by Batin Terjali to go and open up the PAPERS ON MALAY SVBSfBCTS. country of Klang. Then the three proceeded to Bukit Kundek, where in a single day Futeri Ambong conceived and bore a son, Shah Alam Raja Sari, who abode with Lambong Setia Kaja, whose origin is not mentioned till later. On Gunong Berambu she bore another son, K.lana Petra Batin Makbut, who opened up Semujong ; and on Bukit Seriba was born Johan Pahlawan Lela Perkasa Batin Ohalam, who was the founder of Johol. Thence they went to the Mountain of Meeting and called thither their four children, from Klang, from Bukit Kundang Kundek (Kenaboi), from Semujong and Johol. Then Batin Terjali and Maharaja AliE appointed Batin Lambong Setia Raja to be their successor, telling him to descend from the mountain and wheresoever he should find a dish of rice waiting for him, there to open up the land. After this he was to set the limits between earth and sea and between the countries of the four children of Maharaja Alif. Having so spoken, Batin Terjali, Maharaja Alif and Pnteri Ambong S^ri Alam vanished; and Lambong Setia together with Shah Alam went to Bukit Buaya Buaya beneath which he beheld a plate of rice (Kuala Dulang is beneath Bukit Buayan to this day). So he opened up the country round about and then Went to set the boundaries as he had been directed. At this time he changed his name to Batin Maha- galang. The limit betwixt earth and water he placed at Pulau Upeh, the spot whereon Batin Terjali had alighted on his fall from heaven. He went to Kuala Muar where he chiselled the stone called Batu Pahat, and fixed the boundaries as follows: Between Johol and^ Jelebu, Igban besi, batu b^rdinding lantaJc and temiang tumpat; between Jelebu and Semujong, s^mmnbii JELEBU HISTORY. sanimfuri and nibong tengah ayer Bulcit Taugga ; between Semujong and Klang, tunggul si-jaga-jaga and langkap berjuntei; between Klang and Jelebn, lebah bergoyang,^ pulai bersila and Ginting Piras; between Jelebu and Pahang, merebau sa-ratus, meranti sembilan and Bukit Bcitu Bulan. So Batin Mabagalang returned to Jelebu and appointed Jenang Singa Raja Setia to succeed liim. Thus the waris bersilasilah look back to Batin Terjali for their origin, and the waris berundang to Maharaja Alif and Ambong Seri Alain ; for Lambong Setia was the son of Batin Terjali, and Shah Alam Raja Sahari the son of Maharajah Alif ; and Shah Alam Raja Sahari became Manteri to the Mendika Manteri Akhir Zaman Sultan Jelebu. An account given. by a member of the waris Kemin gives the name of the founder of Jelebu as Sri Mani, who was. the son of Petera Indera, who was the son of Adam. Seri Mani was assisted bj To' Lela Setia, who corresponds to Lambong Setia of the other story. The Kemin version is inflated with references to Adam and ' Gabriel and Alexander the Great and is, on the face of it, only a reproduction of the other story with a veneer of purely Malay romance such as might commend it to lovers of the semi-scriptural and heroic. The. worth of these tales is best estimated by a reference to a modern survival of the ancient order of things, and to a few facts of the more recent history. The survival alluded to is the heritage of the country and its chieftainship, for the term waris is applied in Jelebu in two entirely different senses : (a) the inheritors of the penghuluship ; {b) the inheritors of the country. The undang is elected in turn out of three waris': the waris Vlu Jelebu, the ivaris. Sarin and the wans Kemin. These names are those of PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. the localities in which, the members of the ^l)uris reside ; and these localities are all situated near the river Jelebu. The waris negeri include the ivaris Manten and the waH^s Ombi, called after the titles of the two great officers which they respectively supply. These five waris between them include every single member of the Biduanda tribe in the country ; and even immigrant members of the tribe are admitted into the waris Maiit8ri. This comparatively simple state of affairs has, how- ever, become terribly complicated owing to the mistaken idea once prevalent among officers of the British Government in supposing that the terms imris and liduanda were synonymous in meaning "hereditary owners of the country." Until British protection the country was partitioned as follows : the waris Ulu Jelchii owned Langkap and Jenam (both tributaries of the Jelebu) ; the tvaris Sarin owned the rivers Sarin, Pah and Relei (all joining the Triang within three miles downstream of Kuala Jelebu) ; and the ivaris Kemin owned the place of that name (about two miles up the river Klawang from Kuala Jelebu) and also the lands on the Pertang and Bemban rivers which join the Triang within a quarter of a mile of each other near the present kampong of Bemban. In fact the lands of the three tvaris benmdang were merely small definite valleys held by the right of occupation only as tribal demesnes {sawah yang berjinjang lembaga yang punya). In the case of the waris Manteri and Ombi the matter is entirely different. The hereditary lands are not valleys but ranges of hills: to the waris Manten belonged Bukit Kundek, Bukit Buhai, Permatang Gelanga, and the two rivers Lemi and Kenaboi; to the waris Ombi, Bukit Gubang-gubing, Bangkang Gading, Lebah Bergoyang, ^ELEBU HISTORY, Moyang Kaban, Gapau, Mempelas and the rivers Tinggi and Glami. These names are of especial interest as several of them appear in Mr. Skeat's Besisi " Songs of Origin." Bukit Kundek is in the Uki Kenaboi, and Gelanga is probably the same as Galenggeng, the hill on which the Ulu Kongkoi trignometrical station now stands. Bukit Lebah Bergoyang is in tlie Ulu Triang, near Gapau. These hills with their valleys include the whole of Jelebu north of the Triang river. When the country was opened to tin-miners under British protection nearly all the stanniferous deposits were found in this northern territory, with the result that the waris Ombi and waris Manteri should have been the gainers by the collection of hasil tanah. When, however, the hasil tanah was commuted into a fixed allowance in 1891, the Datb' Pengliulu Saiyid Ali took advantage of the ignorance of the British Administration as to the meaning of the term waris, and also of the opportune vacancy of the post of Ombi, to make a jcdmpact with the two older tuarvi whereby the three ivaris berundang were admiitted to a share of the hasil tanah from what was not really their land.. The Collector of Jelebu (as the District Officer was then called) was kept in ignorance of this muafahat, but its existence is an undoubted fact known to all Jelebu Malays. The document is probably still in existence, but for obvious reasons- will not be produced. This, then, is the very recent origin of the present waris system of Jelebu whereby every single member of the Biduanda tribe pai-ticipates in thie monthly allowance into which the hasil tanah has been commuted. The heirlooms of the various waris also serve to throw a light on the early history of the country. The 6 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. pesaica of the waris Manteri is an ebony earstud {subang l-ayii araiig) ; that of the waris TJlu Jelehii an ivory earstud (subang gading), and a blowpipe of hard-wood (silmpitan Myit bSberas) ; that of the waris Kemiii a sword of execution (pedang m^mani^ong), and that of the vrxris Kemin a headcloth with a mourning band (des'tar berhabong), an inlaid dagger (^cSris bertaiah) and a "silver finger-nail" spear head (chaiiggai puter^.). The waris Ombi (as being descended from the Jenang only) have no pesaha. Even if we did not know the compara- tive recency of the origin of the tvaris Sarin and tvaris Kemin from their late appearance on the list of the rulers of Jelebu, we could have deduced it from the fact that their heirlooms consist of Malay as opposed to Sakai articles. It remains how to note that in the list of TJnddng of Jelebu there are mentioned two names before that of Moyang Saleh (who obtained from Abdul Jalil VrTerigku Besar of Johor, somewhere about 1757 a.d., his title of Meridika Manteri Akhir Zaman Sultan Jelebu) — namely,. To' Moyang .Gombak, who is said to have come from Menangkaban, and To' Moyang Mentunggang, both of whom bore the title of Penghulu Jelebu (which, by the way, is the title which has been perpetuated by general usage in preference to the more grandiloquent one con- ferred by Abdul Jalil T"). It is also noticeable that an insignificant little stream in the extreme south of the district should have given its name to the whole oountrjr north of it. This must have puzzled the Malays of thirty years' ago into giving the fanciful explanation that in To' Moyang Saleh's time "the name of Jelebu was unknown ; and it was not until some time later that the country was so called after a man of that name who JELEBU HISTORY. was di'owned in the river Triang" (" Journal, Royal Asia- tic Society," December, 1884, page 337). This forms all the evidence which we have from Malay sources or institutions as to the early history of the country, but it is by itself sufficient to establish one or two facts. The original inhabitants of the country- are now represented by the ivaris Manteri and Ombi, which two titles are probably Malay substitutes for those of Batin and Jenang. These people inhabited the hills running from Ulu Triang to Gunong Hantu, while the Malays came into the country over the two southern passes of Langkap and Bukit Tangga. Those who came by the last-named pass had their own penghulus and associated themselves with Sungei Ujong : they will be treated later and separately. The others settled in the Ulu Jelebu at the bottom of the Langkap Pass and also had penghulus of their own. They then pushed down- stream towards Kemin and Sarin, and came in contact with the Sakai progenitors of the waris Manteri and Ombi. About this time Moyang Saleh arrived with his newly-acquired title and seal ; and whether as a result of war or treaty a muafakat must have been arrived at with the aborigines. Their Batin became Manteri to the new Sultan and the Jenang Ombi ; both offices carrying with them the very real powers which they still possess. The Ombi has the right of directing and superintending the election of a new Dato' Penghulu and the Manteri the right of confirming or quashing that election, he himself being the regent of the country during the interregnum under the quaint title of Raja Sa-hari, the king of a day. These deductions from kampong stories and existing custom have received complete corroboration from a most unexpected quarter — ^namely, the Biduanda or Mantra of PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. Ulu Kenaboi. The Penghulu Dagang of this interesting aboriginal tribe described the history of his people to the writer as follows. Pa Galang was the first Batin, he descended from heaven. His son who succeeded him was also called Galang and his grandson, Chan Galam. The latter went south and settled at Larong and Pianggu (both these places being near Kuala Jelebu)^ Chan Galam's son, Pa Asah, went back to Kenaboi and made his clearings on Bukit Kundek, while his grandson, Tapak, went to Ulu Glimau. Then there appears to have been a general disruption of the tribe. A Batin Dudun opened up the country beyond Meranti Sembilan in Pahang, while a Batin Bulu ruled in the Kenaboi hills so far as Karak and Telemong (in Pahang). Batin Timpo opened up Glami and Batin Ranggong the Ulu Triang, including Lebah Bergoyang and Bangkong Chondong. Langkap was in charge of a certain Batin Pekong, whose peculiarly repulsive name suggests that he may have been the forefather of the present leprous Besisi colony at Sebaring. The Malays first confronted the Biduanda in the time of Batin Galang II. According to the Mantra story there was a meet- ing of the two peoples on Bukit Galenggang. Here there were displayed on one side a buncb of plantains and a sarong, and on the other setawar leaves and the bark of a terap tree (used by the Sakai for cloth). The rising generation of Biduanda were then asked to choose between them. The girls all chose the pisang and sarong and became Malays, but the youths stood by their setawar and ieraj) and returned to their native hills^ Galang's. daughter was betrothed to a Malay prince and an agreement between the two peoples was inscribed on the skin of a jaivah (monitor lizard). Later, however, JELEBU HISTORY. the skin was devoured by a dog while the prince dis- agreed with the Batin's daughter, who ran back to her father and became the ancestress of the present Mantra population. This picturesque story is, probably, of some historical value. The marriage of Malays with the aboriginal womenfolk is, of course, an undoubted fact, but the chrono- logy fits in well with the Malay tales. Chan Galam's settlement at Larong must have formed the first Biduanda community that incoming Malays would have met. The Malay records state that the first Dato' Ombi under Moyang Salleh was a man called Bata of the 'pcrid Larong and of the waris yang berundang. In the writer's opinion the term undang is here applied to the Batin for reasons to be explained later. He might well therefore have been a son of one of Chan Galang's daughter by a Malay husband. It is easy to multiply conclusions of this sort but they do not form history, and the reader may be left to frame them for himself from the data here supplied. The Penghulu Dagang said that his people had once had pesaka which were taken away from them by the Malays. These included an earstud of ebony (subang arang), appropriated by the Malays of Kampong Ara (said to be near Larong), an ivory earstud {suhang gading), once the property of Batin Makbut, of Semujong, a ladle (sendok keluang) taken by the Malays of Durian Daun, a sigar jantan and a blowpipe of hard-wood (sumpitan heheras) which was lost. The sigar jantnn was taken by the Dato' Manteri Tabuan. who was himself of pure Sakai parentage, and whose brother, Baung, was an ancestor of the Penghulu Dagang Gradoh who gave this information. According to Malay records Tabuan XO PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. was the fourth Manteri. Three of these still form phalta of the Malay waris as detailed above; as regards the sendok keluang, the name appears to Be now associated by the loaris Manteri with a miraculous round rock in Triang, while the name sigar jantan, according to the Dato' Penghulu of Jelebu, is given to a keris which is a pesaka of the Ulu Jelebu. But why should a kei-i^ be called sigar jantan? Furthermore, this same keris is associated with a spirit called Biring Berkilang who is supposed to guard over the Penghulus of Jelebu and to have invisibly supplied the plate of rice to Maha-Galang at Kuala Dulang. The truth is that the virtue of these pemka lies in some spiritual force supposed to reside in them ; and while the headmen have been most obliging in producing them for observation, they are, as orthodox Muhammadans, reticent about their properties. What the sigar jantan and the sendok keluang really were, or are, is not as yet clear. In such cases aggressive curiosity is the worst weapon of investigation, though the secret may in time yield to a patient interest. In any case any account of the early history of Jelebu must be extremely tentative until more has been found out with regard to the Biduanda or Mantra of Kenaboi.^ Mention must also be made here of the rectangular pigs of tin which are found from time to time in the bed of the Kenaboi river. They have been brought to the surface by the elevators of the Kenaboi Hydraulic Mine. Mr. Ross, the manager, has also found one of the moulds, though it is of a smaller size than the pigs, and several pieces of tin articles including what appears to be a large circular tin earstud. Some pieces of gold are also suggestive of possible workmanship. The pigs are com- ' See Appendix VI. yELEBU HISTORY. II monly attributed to Siamese miners. Their presence in the river would appear to indicate an intention to hide them and a hurried departure of the miners, who never returned to recover them. Their origin, however, must remain a matter of conjecture. Muhamraadanism is said to have been introduced into Jelebu before the Malay occupation of the country by a certain Raja Khatib. He came from Johor by way of the China sea and the Pahang and Triang rivers. Near what is now Juntei he disembarked from his boatj and standing on a sand spit called to the infidel hillmen to come and hear the faith (this is obviously an attempt to explain the name of the kampong Pasir Panggil which is near Juntei). Such of them as were converted proceeded with him upstream as far as Kuala Jelebu, where they were circumcised on the spot where the Dulang mosque now stands. They did not return to their old ha.unts but went further south and settled in Ulu Klawang. After performing the rite of circumcision Raja Khatib found it convenient to vanish from their midst, and was never again heard of. One wonders if his end was so very miraculous. This story concludes all the data at present available for the early history of the country. 12 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. 11.— MOTANG SALEH : EVENTS OP ABOUT 1757 A.D. As, has been mentioned above the first Malay Pen- ghulu of Jelebu is said to have been To' Gombak " who came from Pagar Ruyong." He was succeeded in his small chieftainship by To' Mentunggang, and he again by To' Moyang Saleh (or, as the name is sometimes written, Munyong Saleh). The following genealogical table, given by the present Dato' Penghulu Abdullah, is interesting as showing the relationship of these early founders of Jelebu : Moyang Angut (f.) Moyang Angsa (m.) To' Gombak I (1) Gen ta (first Manten of Jelebu) Moyang Acheh (m.) Moyang Timali (f.) (2) Ta' Ombi Bata '^°' Mentunggang Moyang Saleh Moyang To' Miang To' Bandar Chihei Bakok Sober Moyang Angut and. Moyang Angsa are commonly represented as bging women of the indigenous Biduanda tribe, though such a statement is repudiated by those who prefer to plant their genealogical tree wholly in the congenial soil of Pagar Ruyong. It is noticeable, however, that this pedigree does not establish any hereditary right in favour of either Gombak or Mentunggang who were merely consorts, but that it does establish the claim of Moyang Saleh to any privilege inherent in the female line. He is in fact exactly on the same plane as Genta. It has been explained in the foregoing section that Batin Shah Alam Raja Sahari is said to have become Manteri to ^ELEBV HiSTORy, 13 Moyang Saleb, and this Batin may be identified with Genta; for Shah Alam Raja Sahari is a Malay title not a name, and is still used by the Manteri in his capacity as interregent between the death of one penghulu and the election of another. It is also clear that the phrase waris berundang applied (in the Dato' Penghulu Abdullah's Hikayat Jelebu) to To' Mantri Genta, To' Ombi Bata, To' Miang Bakok, and Shah-Bandar Sohor, refers to some privilege devolving in the female line from the sisters Angat and Angsa, and not to any heritage on the side of Gombak or Mentunggang. Dato' Moyang Saleh, then, was heir to certain privileges on his mother's side in common with these other cousins ; but he proceeded to ensure his pre-eminence by obtaining from the Tengkvi Besar, Abdul Jalil V of Johor, an unquestionably Malay title supported by a seal of office. His journey to Johor for this object has been made the subject of the favourite Jelebu tale of "How we broke the tie with Johor." The historical value of this tale lies merely in the fact that certain references to contemporaneous events in Rembavi give us a date and render it certain that the Sultan MuadzamShah whose name appears on the Jelebu seal was Abdul Jalil V, Tengku Besar of Johor, As, however, the story is accredited in all its details by popular belief, a brief outline of it may not be out of place here : "The Orang Kaya Kechil of Eembau had a daughter, Seri Banun, who was very fair to see. The fame of her beauty came to the ears of the Sultan of Johor and he was minded to take her to wife. Accordingly he sent four of his captains to llembau to fetch the maiden. The Orang Kaya Kechil, however, was loath to part with her and said in excuse that she was already 14 PAPERS ON MALAY SUByECTS. given in marriage. So the captain's returned without their charge, and the Orang Kaj'a Kechil married his daughter forthwith to a man of the place. But the Sultan of Johor was wroth beyond measure and sent his captains to Summon the Orang Kjiya Kechil to his presence. The latter refused to go and sent his son, Siamat. On being intei-viewed by the Sultan this Siamat was seized with synfiptoms of latah and answered the Sultan in the exact terms of the latter's questions. So when the Sultan asked, ' It is a fact that the Dato' refused to send the girl, Sri Banun, and gave her in marriage afterwards to another man?' he answered in those very words. Then the Sultan order him to be seized and put to death. On receiving news of his execution the Orang Kaya Kechil was very sad and went to seek help from the four Undang,- beginning with the Dato' of Johol. The first three excused themr selves on various grounds, the Dato' of Johol saying that his position was comparatively a small one, the Dato' Engku Klahg that he had embraced the Adat Temenggoug, and the Dato' Klana of Sungei Ujong that he didn't cai'e to make a fuss. The Dato' of Jelebuj To' Moyang Saleh, however, was struck by the reflection that if the Orang Kaya Kechil was treated in this way his own turn might come next. Ac- cordingly he, made up his mind to proceed to Johor and remonstrate with the Sultan. He was accompanied by his four courtiers, To' Beruang Hitam, To' Laut Api, To' Bank, and yELEBU HISTORY. I5 To' Gagali Lela Perkasa. On his arrival the Sultan refused to have anything to do with him. To' Moyang Saleh therefore assumed an attitude of passive obtrusion and encamped on an ant-hill right before the palace gate. The Sultan still affected not to see him ; and To' Moyang Saleh had recourse to the miraculous. For seven days and seven nights it "rained with- out ceasing, and yet the five squatters on the ant-hill did not feel a drop of rain, for Moyang Saleh merely threw his coat into the air, where it automatically spread out so as to form an umbrella of great beauty and ample .propor- tions. The Sultan saw this feat with his own eyes and so far modified his attitude as to allow Moyang Saleh and his courtiers to enter the palace and sit down in the verandah. He pro- ceeded, however, to ignore their presence com- pletely, and thereby provoked further and more aggressive manifestations of a miraculous nature. To' Beruang Hitam began picking pieces off the palace pillars, while To' Laut Api had a violent fit of coughing, in the course of which he belched so much fire and smoke as to make it appear that the palace was on fire. To' Bank added to the performance by shaking the partitions to such an extent that the house felt to be turning topsy turvy, and To' Gagah Lela Perkasa leant against an adjacent coconut tree and waved it to and fro till every fe'ond and nut had fallen, despite the fact that this tree was guarded by the fiercest of the Sultan's oflBcers in a coat of mail. This had. the effect l6 PAPERS ON MALAY SUPyECTS. of at last bringing the Sultan out of his private chamber. He smilingly addressed the Dato', remarking that hitherto no year had favoured him with a visit from the Dato' of Jelebu despite the fact that he daily omitted nothing which might facilitate such an interview. The Dato' replied by apologising for having come without a present but explained this by point- ing out that in Jelebu the days were hot and the drought long, the coconut fronds had fallen from the excessive heat, the betel vines had withered up, and the areca nuts had been devoured by sqiiirrels. ' I accept your excuses,' said the Sultan, ' aiid now you can be getting back to Jelebu.' But Moyang Saleh was not thus light- ly to be dismissed : ' I have no hereditary status nor title,' said he. Then said the Sultan, 'Dato' of Jelebu, thou can'st return to Jelebu, a king unto thyself, and in thyself penghulu, under the title of Dato' Manduleka Manteri Akhirzaman Sultan Jelebu ; henceforth it behoveth thee not to do obeisance, or to acknowledge a suzerain ; thou- can'st enforce thy own orders, and need'st not seek instructions from the Sultan of Johor any more.' Moyang Saleh then craved a meal for his courtiers, which proved an expensive request, for the four of them consumed no less than 50 gantangs of rice and a whole buffalo. He then left for Jelebu, but not till after To' Gagah Lela Perkasa had symbolized the cleav- ing apart of Jelebu and Johor by severing the Sultan's waterpot with his sword." It may be noted that it is quite clear from internal JELEBU HISTORY. J J evidence alone that tte first part of this tale has nothing to do with the second, for Moyang Saleh makes no mention whatever of Siamat or the Orang Kaya Kechil of Rembau to the Sultan of Johor. As regards the details of the story they are obviously unhistorical, and local folklore has it that the four marvellous courtiers were in reality were-tigers, and that on their return to Jelebu they betook themselves to the jungle in feline form. In all probablity we know one of those who did actually accompany Moyang Saleh in his expedition, and that was the Shah Bandar Sohor, his first cousin, who also obtained a seal from the Tengku Besar. The copy of this seal which is now in use is dated 1267, which is obviously a mistake for 1167. The new seal may have been cast after 1267, which would account for the smith's mistake. Of the Dato' Penghulu's seal there are extant three copies, one being kept by each of the three u-aris herundang. That of the waris Sarin is a very modern replica ; and of the other two that of the wm-ii^ Kemin is older than that of the unris Viti Jelebu (to which Moyang Salleh belonged). This proves conclu- sively that the original seal has been lost or discarded. None of these three seals are dated. On his return to Jelebu, To' Moyang Salleh is said to have made the following appointments : Genta of the perut Meribong and of the wc.ris herundang to be Manteri ; Bata of the pend Larong and of the icaris herundang to be Ombi ; To' Mengiang Bakok of the perwi Kampong Bukit and of the waris herundang to represent the Mungkal tribe ; Dato' Ohinchang of the perut Tambun and of PAPERS ON MALAY SUB^fECTS. Menangljabati lineage to represent the Tan ah Datar tribe ; Dato' Senara A'insha of the pemt Triang and of Menangkabau lineage to represent the Batu Blang tribe ; Dato' Eaja Balang Munok to represent the icaris TJlu Jelebu ; Dato'PadukaMundok to represent the ivaris Sarin; Dato' Maharajah Inda Tatang to represent the ivaris Kemin ; Dato' Bandar Sohor to represent the varis Munglcal. It will be noticed that the Mungkal tribe has two representatives, an arrangement existing up to the present time. The half of the tribe which acknowledge the headship of the Bandar had the hereditary right of collecting customs on cargoes brought up the Triang, under the name of ivaris ayer. The relationship of Moyang Saleh, Genta, Bata, Bakok, and Sohor has been already pointed out, as has also the significance of the term waris berundang. To' Moyang Saleh is also credited with having prescribed the peculiar insignia of the various dignitaries (which will be mentioned in their own place later) and of appointing the officers of the penghulu's household. It must be remembered, however, that Moyang Saleh is the Bomulus of Jelebu, and that all local tradition has been focussed upon him as such. Consequently, we are left with a chaos of legend before him and a barren list of names after him, whereas his alleged achievements might more truly be spread over both the anterior and subsequent periods. The true historical significance of Moyang Saleh lies in the fact that he was the first Manduleka Manteri Akhirzaman Sultan Jelebu. yELEBU HISTORY. 19 IIJ.— 1757 A.D. TO 1886 A.D. The Dato' Penghulus of Jelebu liaye continued in unbroken line from the rule of Moyang Salleli to the present day. The law of succession is that the office should rotate among the three loaris berundang in the following order : Ulu Jelebu, Sarin and Kemin. The inclusion of the last two communities must have been the outcome of a pakat, as Ulu Jelebu provided the first four penghulus in succession. The full list of them is as follows : Dato' Moyang Saleli Bukur Bakul Yunus Lob Duraman ... Durongga {alias To' Tua'or Gila) ... Pandak Mahmud (alias Ku- lup Tunggal) ... Haji Ibrahim SaiyidAli... Waris Ulu Jelebu ; Sarin ; Kemin ; •Ulu Jelebu; Sarin ; Kemin ; „ Ulu Jelebu (ac- cepted British protection) ; „ Abdullah „ Sarin (the pre- sent ruler). The representation of the waris Kemin twice in succession (Dato' Mahmud and Dato' Haji Ibrahim) 20 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. is accounted for by the fact that the former was deposed after a brief reign for various irregularities as regarded adat, and more particularly for the heinous offence of importing a Chinese lady-Jove from Rembau. The Yaratuanship of Jelebu is said to have had its origin in the days of Penghulu Bukor. The people of Jelebu sought a scion of the royal line to come and dwell among them, and Raja Melewar who was at that time Yamtuan in Sri Menanti is said to have sent them his younger, brother, Adil, who became domiciled at Pita Serambai in Ulu Klawang. Neither he nor his immediate successors, Raja Singkul and Raja Asil, were ci'owned Yamtuan of Jelebu, though they are said to have sojourned in Pita Serambai. We must remain sceptical, however, as regards the connection of all three persons with Jelebu history. It is certain that Raja Adil was anteiior to Raja Melewar, instead of being his younger brother, while Singkul and Asil are well-known figures in Rembau history and it is improbable that tliey can have spent much time in Jelebu. Moreover, in one local account mention of them is omitted altogether. At all events this one thing is certain, that Singkul's son Ahmad Shah, or Sabun,^ was the first man to be crowned by the penghulu, ivaris, and lemhagas and to be accorded the title of Yamtuan Jelebu, This Sabun was alive in Newbold's time, so that the Yaratuanship is of com- paratively recent date, say about 1820 a.d. Local accounts do not tell us who was the Dato' Penghulu at the time of Sabun's , installation, but by comparing the list of the Yamtuans with that of the penghulus, it is probable that Durongga or " the madman " was ruling at that time. His lunacy m ay have driven the lemhagas ' Or Almarhum Krawat, as he wq,3 known after his death, ^ELEBU HIStORV. 2i and imris " to meet altogether and notify to the penghulu their intention of making Sabun supreme ruler, because his behaviour towards the people was good, and he seemed a man capable of supporting and sustaining the country; and because he was also of considerable- mental ability and his personal character was beyond reproach." ^ It is said also that a certain Eaja Inisan was making a disturbance in Jelebu at this time and that Tengku Sabun,^ who had been brought up in Eembau, was invited to Jelebu to help to get rid of him. This Inisan is said to have been a descendant of Raja Adil by another wife. He was the father of Raja Lahap and grandfather of Raja Jafar who married Yamtuan Abdullah's niece, Sulong (still living). Raja Jafar was executed at Sri Menanti by Yamtuan Antah and from all accounts was a man of dangerous character. Sabun drove Inisan away to Gemencbeh, with which place he and his descendants were thereafter associated. Sabun was succeeded by his son, Jaya, of whom we know that he died while watching a cock-fight in the Dato' Klana's house at Pantai, and that his corpse was brought back by To' Amar Mentek of Ulu Klawang to Pita Serambai and there interred. His son, Tengku Btet, and nephew, Tengku Abdullah, at once pressed rival claims to the throne. Something like a civil war ensued and Abdullah fled to Sungei Ujong and lived at Parui until Etet's decease, while the latter made his head-quarters at Kenaboi where he was supported by the Dato' Manteri. The title of Yamtuan was accorded him but it does not appear that he was ever formally installed. He died at Pita ' Mr. O'Brien's account, J.S.B.R.A.S., No. U, p. 338. * Or Aliuarhum Kraniat, as lio was kuowu after Lis death. PAPERS ON MALAY SUB-JECTS. Serambai, after a sliort reign of tHree or four years, and was at once succeeded by his rival and cousin, AbduUali, who was destined to be the last of the Yamtuans. This prince proceeded to arrogate to himself privileges which contravened the customary law that " the. king is not owner of soil, rieither can he levy taxes: he is only the fountain of justice with a claim upon men for his sustenance." He initiated his policies without reference to the Dato' Penghulu and headmen, and on 26th April, 1877, he executed a treaty on behalf of Jelebu with the Governor of the Straits Settlements. There was nothing much in the treaty; he agreed to live peaceably in his own country and not to molest other people's countries, to grant trading and mining facilities to foreigners, to refer such matters of dispute as he could not settle himself to the Maharajah of Johor. To this treaty he was sole signa- tory on the part of Jelebu, and we can well imagine the indignation of the Dato' and headmen at such arrogation of power, and at the reference to arbitration by Johor. A period of strife ensued, in the course of which the " Fountain of Justice " put to death To' Bilal Ismail, an officer of the Dato' Penghulu's household, without refer- ring the matter for trial by the Dato' and headmen. This happened in 1880, and the Dato' and eight chiefs then met together and unanimously decided to " root him up " and send him to Sri Menanti, as not being wanted in Jelebu. They pointed out that a Yamtuan is appointed on certain conditions, to wit : " If anyone become charged with any capital offence, then, before he be stabbed or beheaded the penghulu tcaris and lembagas must in conclave examine his offence. And if it be m.eet that he should die then shall he be stabbed or beheaded according as -it be done by the penghulu or the ^RLEBU hlStORY. 23 Yamtuan, for the Mns of execution belongs to the penghulu, the Yamtuan wields the sword and the «. lembagas apply the fetters. Moreover, the Yamtuan's allowance shall be given him by the penghulu, and the latter alone shall levy it by taxes and customs ; and whatsoever it shall be, with that must the Yamtuan be content. He must not make a disturbance or fuss, nor wheedle and grab for money, nor play the dandy, nor draw up his own estimates. The penghulu alone shall settle these things. The Yamtuan shall be likened unto a great serpent : what he hath at the hands of the penghulu, that alone shall he receive. Moreover, if the Yamtuan be minded to do anything, he can command nothing without reference to the penghulu and to the penghulu alone. He cannot make private arrangements with the various tribal communities and dependents of lembagas. And at what time the Yamtuan shall repu- diate this understanding he shall be cast out upon a waveless ocean and upon a grassless field, in fact, he shall be expelled the country. And if the undang repudiate this understanding he shall be stricken dead by the sacred majesty of Pagar Ruyong, and if a lembaga shall break the same, he shall be devoured by a sword of miraculous temper, but this underatanding shall not be set at nought nor made light of." That these conditions were ever stipulated between the parties concerned in the above terms (as our author- ity would have us believe) is impossible owing to the composite character of the language employed. The form is, however, interesting as being a fair statement in Malay law of the case for the prosecution. But Abdullah was not so easily "rooted up." He had not a few supporters, among whom may be mentioned To' Raja 24 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. Balang Long, head of tlie loaris Ulu Jelehu, Dato' Manteri A&at, Date' Maharajah Inda Latib, and Dato' Lela Angsa Haji Osman, of whom the last-named enjoyed the privilege of being at the same time Secretary of State for the Yamtuan and lembaga of the Tiga Batu tribe. According to customary constitutional practice no direct communication could take place between the Dato' Penghulu and the Yamtuan. The penghulu would confide his message to the Dato' Manteri, who again must approach the Yamtuan through the Dato' Lela Angsa and vice versa. A period of increased disturbance and bloodshed ensued. The Dato' Penghulu Saiyid Ali dealt with the refractory Raja Balang, Manteri and Maharaja Indah, by inducing the remainder of the eight chiefs to " root them up " ; but as serious arguments arose as to the quorum necessary for this eradication, and the uprooted dignitaries refused to wither in the natural course, it happened that even so late as 1886 there were two or more claimants to each of these offices, a state of things which considerably puzzled the first British Collector, whose diary contains such expressions as the " duplicate Maharaja Indah," etc., and which accounted for the sig- nature of the treaty of 1883 by two Maharaja Indah. Both Ahat and Raja Balang Long initiated intrigues with Pahang; and the latter introduced an envoy from that State, who said that Jelebu had always been a part of Pahang, as anyone might know who observed the work of God, for was not the river Triang tributary to the Pahang P On 24th August, 1883, a further treaty was made with the British Government, as a result of a request made separately by both parties that the Governor would arbitrate and arrange their differences, send a British Resident to Jelebu, and settle the boundary between ^ELEBu uistOry: 25 Jelebu and Pahang. The British Government refused to recognize the deposition of Abdullah ; firstly, because it had not been notified to the British authorities ; and, secondly, because it did not appear that such deposition had ever been completely effectual or valid ; and, thirdly, because the Yamtuan had been recognized by the former treaty. An allowance of $1,200 a year was granted to him by the British Government on condition that he should not interfere with ordinary administration of the country " which shall be left to the penghulu, nor claim dues which have hitherto been divided amongst the Datos." The request -for a British officer and a settle- ^ ment of the Pahang boundary was not as yet met by the British Government. Abdullah would seem to have had difficulty in reconciling himself to his new status of peace with honour, for in January, 1884, he had again to sign a bond undertaking not to interfere in the Government. In the middle of this year, Mr. H. O'Brien made his visit to Jelebu in which he saw the effects of the ceaseless petty disturbances : " The present condition of the country is truly deplorable. It bears marks of having been, at no very distant period, fairly prosperous and sufficiently peopled, but now, speaking generally, the whole land is waste. I passed through mile after mile of deserted kampongs with fine padi land all round in abundance and with fruit trees still in bearing." On 13th December, 1884, Yamtuan Abdullah died. Saiyid Ali then sent for the dead King's son-in-law and nephew, Tengku Idris, who was living at Tampin, to come and succeed him. He was met by Saiyid Ali in Sungei Iljong and received the permission of the Acting British Resident of Sungei Ujong to proceed to Jelebu 26 Papers on malaV suByScts. with twelve police constables and a hundred dollars in money. On arrival in Jelebu he found liinaself confronted by two rival claimants — namely, Abdullah's younger brother (Tengku Muda Chile) and his eldest son (Tengku Nambul), of whom the latter had been sent by the Yamtuan Antah of Sri Menanti with authority to " take over." Saiyid Ali stood by his own man, Tengku Idris, but no settlement Avas arrived at ; and in the meantime the corpse of Abdullah lay unburied. Mr. O'Brien on hearing of the deadlock ordered immediate interment of the body, and intimated that succession would depend upon the orders of the British Govern- ment. On 8th June, 1885, the first British Collector, Mr. E. P. Gueritz, arrived in Jelebu, and the first request made to bim by the Dato' Penghulu was that the Yamtuanship should be entirely abolished. British policy was to give full support to Saiyid Ali, -which, indeed, was the only means of reducing chaos to order. The eight chiefs soon fell into line with the penghulu, when they found that he was backed up by the new Government. In July they left the matter of the Yamtuanship in the hands of the Resident ; and, though in February, 1886, the question was reopened on a petition in favour of a Yamtuan, on the occasion of the Governor's visit in March, they gave their definite opinion that the post should be permanently abolished. The Dato' Lela Angsa was " rooted up " from among the eight Datos, and thus the Tiga Batu tribe, which repre- sented the female side in the royal pedigree, was left without a lembaga. This arrangement was finally ratified by the treaty of September, 1886, in Avhich the per- manent residence of a British officer in Jelebu was assured, and by which in the words of a local narrative ykLEhu hisTokY. 27 " The penglmlu and chiefs crowned the British Grovern- ment and vested in it the safekeeping and administration of the country." Under British protection Sungei Dua was taken as the boundary between Jelebn and Pahang. According to tradition the boundary was fixed at various times in the following places, each change being a concession on the part of Jelebu : (1) Telok Merebau Saratus, (2) Lompatan Bruang, (3) Meranti Sembilan, (4) Pasir Kelambu, (5) Jambu Bertumboh, (0) Kuala Poh (where the clump of Aur Duri planted by To' Kaya Hassan of Temerloh is still visible), (7) Kuala S'meih, (8) Sungei Dua. The original Sakai boundaries of Jelebu have already been mentioned in the first section. Another traditional description of Jelebu is that it includes all the country within the following hills. On the side of Pahang : Melambai, Beraga, Penyabong, Beras Ginting, Terak, Hidong, Hitam, Telemong, Sepam and Hantu. On the side of Selangor: Ginting Piras, Pan tar, Rambun, Nior Rambang, Ginting Impan and Silang. On the side of Semujong: Bukit Tangga, Batu Bo'ok, Salai, Liubok Jin, Busong Lalor, Runtoh and Besar. The following table will show the relationship and pedigree of the Yamtuans of Jelebu. 28 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. I S 11 c3 60 o t3 a o o |3 jg %' . °S JO) EH /-N 53 tH s ^»-^ ^ -g XI h PQ /■^ M tj) _^- EH s o 01 "a en ,JS 1 § 1— 1 W be A ? S •J? ^ M •q i r^ cj cd ti- ll ■1 ■4^ -i-H w § — ? •a -4 ci O ^1 P^ n Cm c3 cS IS -g it! H^ l-q c3 eS eg ca P^ p^ -pi ^ 4 f^ EH rfl ca 1— t ^ rrS ^ .<1 ^ 6D fl 3U EH tn ,=] pi •c S rQ ■« g<1 M r- _p=i a r!iS — tie "Sr^ fl ry CQ ID ri^ tn =s a EH w -M OQ EH 4^ J -M ca M 6D •a -^ -p -£ &0 ^ be ^ 5 — "3 &H 02 02 -i PQ ca ca - cS "ca bD 1 ca -I -4 ca JELEBU HISTORY. IV.— IILU KLAWANG. As has already been said, the Malay population of Ulu Klawang are the descendants of a set of immigrants other than those who came over the Langkap Pass and settled in Ulu Jelebu. They entered the Pahang watershed by way of Bukifc Tangga or Bukit Silang (between Tangga and Bukit Ulu Beranang), have main- tained their own traditions, own as their headman a tiang balai of the Dato' Klana of Sungei Ujong, claim to be a Sungei Ujong waris family, and actually did, up to the time of British protection, assert their independence of Jelebu. This independence was indeed recognized by the Jelebu headmen and accounted for by the story related in Mr. O'Brien's account (page 339) : ^ " Now Klawang is said to belong to Sungei Ujong for the following reasons : Some time ago a son of the Dato' Penghulu of Jelebu, violated a daughter of the Penghulu Klambu and was compelled to marry her. Sufficient money i.o pay the fine was not forthcoming, and so in place of a money payment the Penghulu of Jelebu gave Klawang to Sungei Ujong — ^that is to say, so much of it as is on the right as one goes upstream to Sungei Ujong and downstream so far as Lubok Kerbau Balar. For any measure that the Yamtuan wishes to make in the district so defined, he must first obtain the sanction of tlie Government of Sungei Ujong." -This story is of no historical value, as is proved by the flagrant discrepancies with which it is repeated. In some versions it is a Dato' Penghulu of Jelebu, who > J.S.B.B.A.S., No. 11, p. 339, 3" PAPERS OK MALAY SVByECTS. ravislies To' Dusun (which was the young lady's name); in others a Yamtuan of Jelebu, in others To' Malika, or To' Aclek, or To' Tempnrong of Kemin, and in an Uhi Klawang version it was a Penghuhi of -Klawang, and the land merely a strip of private property from Lubolc Batu to' Rambai Baris on the left of the Klawang going npstreara. To' Dusun is said to have been a sister of Moyang Jerei, a worthy sorcerer who split into two pieces the squealing rock in the river Triang and silenced it forever. He is now a were-tiger, which haunts the kampong of Bemban. Her father, too, is a mythical personage, none other than Mr. Skeat's " Chief Mosquito Curtain." The tale is further embroidered with details as to how the Penghulu of Jelebu sent a slave with a buffalo to the Klaha, and how the Klana killed him on seeing the paltriness of the gift. The unhappy slave's name is given as Tahat or Untong, and in the latt-er version his death inspires the perpetration of a vile pun by the Klana. In any case, allowing for ail element of truth in the tale, there can have been no ceding of territory, but perhaps an abandonment of claims on the part of Jelebu. The following is the tradition handed down by the wark of Ulu Klawang as to their origin : " From Menangkabau came a granddaughter of Merah Patch and a niece of Batin Merah Galang whose name was Dara- Puteri. She sojourned a while in Palembang and then in Lingga, whence she proceeded to Klang and married To' Enggang Sati. She remained there for eight years and eight months and bore To' Sati a daughter, Genta Permai, who went to Bandar Beranang and married To' Nahudum Sati. She bear him two sons, To' Dorgot, who was given the title Batin Puteh Siamang Puteh by JELEBU HISTORY. 31 !l'o' Merah Gralang and who ruled in Bandar Beranang, and Semamak, who went to Pantai with his sister, Demah, and became To' Mentlika Mantcri. The youngest daughter, To' Serai, lived for a while with her brother, Siamang Puteh, at Bandar Beranang, and then crossed to Ulu Klawang by way of Bukit Silang where she met To' Dollah Hakim, who was an elder of her tribe (ibu-bapa). The latter'fe exact origin is not given, neither is that of To' Begul whom Serai proceeded to marry. Her son, Pan-net, and great-grandsons, Lendut and Mentek, became Penghulus of Klawang in turn, and it was Mentek who brought back Yamtuan Jaya's corpse from Pantai to Pita Serambai. At his death two other branches of the family claimed representation and a compromise was made whereby the three fend of Kampong Tanjong Berangan, Kampong Bukit Peraduan and Rambai Baris (the original warii) should hold the penghuluship in succession. The subsequent penghulus were : To' Abu Bakar or Bukit . . . Waris Tanjong Berangan ; To' Badusin or Sabun ... „ KampongBukit Peraduan; To' Dusun ... „ Tanjong Berangan. The last appointment was the cause of great dissension, because a representative of ihe^jmtf Ra,mbai Baris had not been nominated. The matter was referred to Pantai, but To' Klana Usoh was at, that time under detention at Singapore, and the Dato' Penghulu Jelebu, Saiyid Ali, took the opportunity of offering himself as arbiter. His decision was accepted. To' Dusun was turned out and the present Penghulu To' Amar Idris of the waris Rambai Baris appointed. It is necessary here to point out that the title "Penghnlu of TJki Klawang" is of 32 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. Malay origin, and that though it is now a regular'mukim penghuluship it is an hereditary office and confers greater dignity upon the holder than the penghuluship of the other mukims, which owe their inception to British administration. The term penghulu is used by the Jelebu Malays themselves of two persons only — the Dato' Penghulu and the Amar Penghulu — as the head- man of Ulu Klawang is invariably designated. Other penghulus are known merely by their individual names with the term Dato' prefixed. The title Amar belongs to the Penghulu of Ulu Klawang in his capacity as head of a Sungei TJjong waris family, but is still continued under the new status. It needs only a perusal of the British Officer's diary for his first six months of residence in Jelebu to see that Ulu Klawang had maintained a practical independence prior to British protection. This had been possible owing to the natural barrier of moun- tains which divided it from Sungei Ujong and the royal colony of Pita Serambai which lay between it and Jelebu. With tlie Yamtuans of Pita Serambai the penghulus exhibited a close connection, and the Tengkns of the present day preserve certain quaint old sayings as to what could be expected of the Amar Penghulu by way of repairs if the thatch leaked, and so on. Thus it was that when the Resident of Sungei Ujong sent men to survey the river Klawang as a boundary between that State and Jelebu, Yamtuan Abdullah joined hands with liis enemy, the Dato' Penghulu Saiyid Ali, in strenously opposing such an encroachment. For the Yamtuan exejrcised supreme authority "from Bandar Berangan -up to Sungei Melentang— that is to say, to Batu Gorainting — and the boundary between Klawang and Jelebu was at Lubok Batu." The pedigree t)f the yELEBU la&rORY, ^ Rarabai Baris penghnlua is as follows, those who Ijeld the office being printed in capital trpe : To'Se,-iu(f) m. To' I5.-iil I . Eambai (f) m. To' Selat PAN-NET To' Irak (f) m. To' Piiwang Begul LENDUT MENTEK Jodus (f) in. To' Pagoh Geuanti became T • Bengkok Menti Maharajah Enehe' Snat (f) m. To' Jabit Enche' Biah (f) To' Laksamana G«lap Enche' Java (f ) •4th son TDE[S. Between Mentek and Idris came the three representatives of the penit Bandar Berangan atid Kampong Bukit Peraduan as already mentioned. Among the heii'looms of the Rambai Baris family is a piece of paper bearing the seal of Abdul Jalil V of Johor and purporting to be a letter of appointment given by a Yamtnan of Jelebu (unnamed) to To' Dollah Haakim. The latter must have died long before the inception of the Jelebu Yamtuan- ship, and the absurd character and composition of the Icuasa would anyhow suffice to prove it a forgery. By way of summary it may be safely be said that the Ulu Klawang Malays derive their origin, as the headman does his title, from Sungei TJjong, and that until recent times they constituted a practically independent com- munity, though they showed an intermittent allegiance to Sungei TJjong, supported the Yamtuans of Pita Ser?imbai, and occasionally, perhaps, consulted the head- men of .Telelm. 34 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. v.— KENABOI. Kenaboi forms part of the territory over which the loaris Manteri held hereditary rights, but the existing prosperous colony of Malays is of purely Pahang origin. In the days of To' Manteri Tabuan, a Pahang Malay, named To' Penglima Muda, came with a band of followers and obtained the Manteri's leave to settle along the lower reaches of the Kenaboi river. The late Dato' Penghulu Saiyid Ali remembered their arrival in his early boyhood, and so this must have been about the year 1830. They paid hasiltnnah to Tabuan ; but upon the latter's decease, the usual dissensions arose on the subject of the succes- sion, and the Penglima Muda went down to Sungei Ujong and offered allegiance to the Dato' Klana. This ■was accepted, and tribute was paid to Sungei Ujong until a new Klana came into office, when it was transferred to the Dato' Penghulu of Jelebu, by mutual arrangement. The Manteri objected to such a misapplication of his revenues, but without success. Penglima Muda was succeeded by his son-in-law. To' Sutan Garang, who is still alive, but owing to leprosy has delegated his power to his son. To' Muda Derus, who is also the Penghvdu of the raukim. The following pedigree shows the connec- tion between the tua of Kenaboi and the present Penghulu of Jelebu : Penglima Muda By his first wife, a Pahang woman, By his second wife, also named named Biah | ' Biah, of the warU Sarh Siti Ajah (m.) To' Sutan G-arang i ' "i m , ,T ', ■,. Ma' Akit Abdullah To MudaDrus (present Dato' Penghulu) JELEBU HISTORY. 35 Paet IJ. TEIBAIi AND POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF JELEBU. The following tribes are represented in the Jelebn constitution: Biduauda, Bafcu Blang, Tanah Datar, Mungkal and Tiga Batn. The Biduanda are divided iuto five irari>i sect ions, of Avhich the irarU ManUrl and ifari>i OmM were the original v:aris negeri and the wmis TJlu Jelebit,, Sarin and Kemin the vxiris bemndang. As has been explained above in the first section all five have become varis negeri so far as regards participation in the monthly allowance which taken place of the liasil tanah; while the uriri'^ Sarin have split into two parts, of which one cannot furnish candidates for the Undangship. The reason given for their disqualification is that their first head- man, Dato' Raja Teras, killed a man without reference to the Undang. The following table will show the titles, periit, and subordinate officials appertaining to each varis and tribe. 36 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. o "A * >-. ' g ■I fl S 2 ;c flii S be 01 ^'' S M s-S += ■» s 93 ^M fl S;'^ 3 b ■:; =« fen -." a §1 r 60«i ' « =3^ o a g c3 tn :e 3m| ifiiK a'^ ooeooSo •J!j fee ?? vC J ti ^^ if 3'^ c3 5a 02 ca 1-5 <£ § ^ a> IE ■ ce ■ be o o a -^ 6p fce to a o 3 p s 2 tr. S t^ 3 cS 9 JS 1=1 cS 3 Q be d =3 " 3 ' pi CO oSce 4 -*^ 3 .^ '= =3(2 ^ - be -I so s d ■ 02 ^ 3 .1 1' ^ 13 ^ s 4 "o CO i>; CO 00 o Eh r-t i—l Oa A s to E 1 , ca S i i s -^ -.-3 "^c , o p:? cij « "4 rf ; -H i-H 1— 1 rH 7 9. Penglima Perang Waris Sarin (lingfcon- . gan Dato' Paduka) „ a long heris 10. Penglima Dalam Waris Sarin, Prepav^s the Undang's insigpa •JELEBU HISTORY. 49 Appendix III. THE TAMTCJAN'S OFFICERS. '{Vrrnn Mr. O'Brien's Aeeount), 1. Beruang Sati, ohosen by Dato' Senara. 2. Penglima Garang, choseai by Dato' Manteri. 3. Peuglima Mamat, chosen by Dato' Chineliang. 4. Peaglima Prang TSd. 2, chosen by Dato' Mengiang. 50 PAPERS ON MALAY SUB^FXTS. ArPEXDTX IV. COUET CEREMONY ATTACHING TO THE UN DANG. " Now the insignia of the Undang at his installation, and when he Iceeps the hari raya haji, and when he gives a feast is as follows : Three halls of audience must be erected and the name of the first is Balai Mengadap, and of the second Balai MSlintang, and of the third Balai Bong. The Balai Mengadap shall he erected in front of the shelter where sits the Manteri and the lemba,gas, the Balai Melintang at the end of the lawn and here shall be seated the waris yang tiga; the Balai Roug faces the Balai Mengadap and the Ombi shall sit there. Behind the Undang are ranged his ten officers (appendix II) with their appurtenances. " Moreover, the place where the Undang sits in state (semayam) shall be decorated and upholstered as follows: Five great pillows shall be piled one above another (bantal hSsar Mrsusun lima iinglcat), seven banners (jsimpai) shall be hung on the outer side and five on the inner, the pillows ends shall be adorned with a ciiss-cross of ribands (sllang gunting) and wound about with a spiral band {saiva mengampai), and the name of the Undang's seat shall be the " moving mountains" (gunong hSrangkat). The open space {halaman) shall be decorated as follows : On either side, upstream and downstream, two white streamers (^wlar-ular), two black streamers, two yellow standards (tunggul), two black standards, one red and white flag known as "the rising dawn" (pajar mrnyingsing), one black and white flag known as the blotched skin {sopah), and one ensign (hcndera). Moreover, on the upstream side shall be hung a tufted spear (tombak henderang), a sword, a long keris, and a tassclled umbrella (payong iram-iram), and on the downstream side the same. When all the appurtenances are complete, the decorated umbrellas unfolded, the tufted spears shaken loose, and the insignia spread forth, then only shall the salute of eight guns be given. " Now the insignia of the headmen who are below the Undang shall be displayed upon the second hari raya and upon a feast day, as follows : Within the house, a great pillow (hSrsusun sa-tingJeat), with criss-cross ribands ; in the courtyard a tufted spear shall be hung, a sword, and a tassellod umbrella, and these shall be placed on the ^blebu history. ^ t upstream side. They shall have a salute of four guns. The headmen entitled to the above insignia ai'e the Orang Delapan only. " Now if the TJndang attends a feast given by any of the eight head- men, the following procedure shall be observed : The invitation shall be made by the headman in person at the TJndang's Ealai and he shall bring with him a betel box (iepa/c) and a young lad carrying a sling of cloth to hold the box in (pendukong). If the TJndang accepts the invitation the headman must make necessary preparations for his reception, two tufted spears, two swords, two fringed umbrellas, and a salute of eight guns if the TJndang condescends to enter the headman's house: if he remains below, one spear, one sword, one umbrella, and a salute of four guns is sufficient." i'APiiA's ON Mala^ subjects. Appendix V. FUNEKAL CEREMONY UPON DEATH OF AN UNDANG. The hearse (usong) shall have five storeys (tinghat). The corpse is washed by all the mosque officials in the country together with the Hajis. The Uudang's officers (jualc) must hold the insignia round the corpse, which is laid upon such a place as is prepared for the Uudang at a liari raya {i.e., the gunong hcrangkat) and the new Undaug shall U; installed in the same place, which is left after the funeral for that purpose. As the corpse is being shrouded forty Hajis offer up prayer, After prayer, the corpse is set out on the five- stureyed litter and a suitable lad is chosen to mount to the top of the litter and scatter money therefrom as the litter is borne ofE by the head- men's retainers. This boy is choisea by the Mantcri out of the pent t Bakong of his own waris and is given the title of Dato' Perdana. Moreover, eight maidens of the same tvaris also stand on the litter ou either side of the corpse keeping it in position with their extended hands, while a ninth girl bears a young plantain-tree, also on top of the litter. This is said to be a token (tanda) of assured succession (patah funihoh). The Penglima Bebas and Penglima Eaja also stand on top shading the corpse with umbrellas. It may be imagined that the litter is A-ery heavy and in fact it takes about thirty people to cany it. When all is ready it is carried to the tomb {maTeam). The new TJndang should have been already chosen ; and from the grave, men go straightway to see the installation of the new Undang by the Manteri. For three days after the Undang's death no male shall wear the hats called hopiah and songhoh nor shall a Haji wear serban. Only a white " kopiah " can be worn during these three days, and no woman shall wear a veil over her countenance during this period. Such is the burial of au Undang of Jelebu. ySLEBU HISTORY: 53 Appendix VI. A NOTE ON THE MANTRA OR BIDUANDA ABORIGINAL TRIBE IN JELEBU. There are at present time five settlements of this tribe in the Jelebu District: at TJlu Kenaboi, Ulu Jerang, Lakai, Serdai and Putus Eejang. The Ulu Jerang colony is connected with that of Ulu Kenaboi, but the others form separate communities and have no association with each other. The total population of these five colonies is almost exactly 200. Houses. — The tribe have adopted the Malay style of houKe in their more accessible kampongs, but they use four difEerent kind of houses of their own up in the hills: (1) A very small circular hut made out of chuchok fronds bent together so as to form a peak. These huts present the appearance of miniature wigwams. A flooring of sticks and bamboo is laid over the ground, so as to prevent contact with the earth while sleeping. These huts are not intended as permanent dwelling but are used during the felling of a new clearing on which a hpuse of type (2) will be built. The latter is a disreputable shanty, built on a steep slope, so that the floor, is on a level with the ground on the uphill side, where the door is situated, and is supported on props on the other. These houses are fearfully low so that it is impossible to stand up inside them. (3) The third type approximates to the first except in so far that its shape is triangular rather than circular, that it has two entrances instead of one, and that it has a regular sleeping bench raised about a foot off the ground. It is built of ehuchoh fronds. (4) At Serdai, in the eastern position of the district, a Mantra has built a tree house at a height of about 35 feet above the ground approached by a rough ladder, It appears to be the only one of its kind in the district. It is a curious characteristic of the Ulu Kenaboi people that they will not build their houses in propinquity to a stream, but prefer to bring the water to their doors through a bamboo conduit of great length.. This practice is probably due to some superstitious fear. Belief as to a Fi'iiiri' Life- The Kenaboi Mantra have verv definite and peculiar views uu this subjeL-t ; the other Mautra have not as yet been apjjroacheil iu that regard. According to Kenaboi 54 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. belief eveiy man has two souls: his body-soul aud the soul of that in him which speaks and thinks. At death the two souls (still in conjunction) proceed to Bukit Sendong where is a huge cooking pot with fire beneath it, and across its mouth a sharp sword laid edge upwards. Over this sword the combined soul has to walk. If a man's life has been good this is an easy performance, but the bad man totters and falls, and both his souls perish miserably in the boiling pot. Then the child of Beloh throws their scalded carcases for the dogs to devour (the body-soul seems to be as substantial as the body itself). This Anak Beloh who superintends the ordeal was the sou of Father Beloh who fell from heaven on Bukit Kerejan (the mark of his fall was pointed out to the writer). It was his uncle Mertang who cut Gunong Hantu and heaven asunder with one sweep of his mighty sword. His father then went down to the ocean and was transformed into the waringin tree which grows in the midst of the ocean (taselc). Anak Beloh ended his earthly career by eating a bertam fruit, which apparently contained poison. But we must now follow the fortunes of the good man's souls who have passed through the ordeal successfully. The two souls are now disunited. The body-soul goes to Grunong Hantu, still in its earthly form. It is subject to disease, and these body-souls have poyangs (pawangsj of their own and medicines such as are used in the present life. They are, however, certainly immune from decay and probably from death. It is said that birds which die while flying over Gunong Hantu and fall thereon never lose the sparkle of their eyes or suffer decomposition of any kind. Whether the body-soul's existence may end in an eternal lifelessness of this kind is not clear. The inner soul meanwhile has made a longer journey reaching JSngkah Bcnua in the Island of Fruit. This island is variously described as being in the uttermost oceans or as floating in the sky. Here the soul assumes the form of a tiny child, very fair to see, who lives in the blossom of the trees which grow there {Jenghah means a tree in the Mantra dialect, hence perhaps the name " Jengkah Benua," "the land of trees ; " this, however, is only conjecture) . Each little soul has a bud to itself for a house. They are everlastingly happy and immortal, and fi'ee from sickness of every kind. The Kampong Hierarchy. — The three major officials are the Batin, Jenang and Jekra. The following are also met with in Ulu Kenaboi : Pcnyhul'u Dagaiiij, FSnghidu Balai, FSnglima ITitain, Priiglima Puteh, Penglima Besar, and Pvnglima Kechil. At Putus Rejang there is a Manteri and "rang tua Icampong." In conversation the title is invariably JELEBU HISTORY. 55 used and not the name of the person. Where the person addressed has no title he is called by the name of the place where he lives — e.g., Aiyi Hitam, bini Aiyi Hitam, Aiyi Balet, etc. The personal names, which are seldom used, are peculiar in form, such as (for men) Ta'An, Ya'in, Sewan, Saghit, Belengkeng, and (for women) Yan, Kadoit and Pagin. Language. — The tribe speak Malay interlarded with a few words of another language in respect of animal names, family relations, some simple actions, and a few common objects. This perhaps accounts for the story advanced by some Malays that they are descendants of Malay men who a very long while ago ran away to the hills and joined a jungle tribe. Sickness. — Sickness of any kind is attributed to demons, but elephantiasis and dropsy are ascribed to two demons in particular. It is said that a certain Batia Run, a grandson of Chan Galam, was passing wicked, and that in order to oppress his people and acquire unlimited power he went to the land of the Batak, and brought back with him two demons, Jemoi and Busong. The former enters the body through the legs and eats its way upward to the heart. There is a marsh within two miles of Tohor which is called " Paya Jemoi." When the writer walked through this swamp with Batin Saleh, the latter slashed frantically with his parang at every shrub or rush that might touch his legs. The Malays have borrowed this superstition, saying that dropsy and elephantiasis are caused by walking bare- footed over a Sakai grave. History. — Most of the Mantra history has already been mentioned. It should be added, however, that the whole locality of Ulu Kenaboi is associated with fights with the orang Batalc. Who were these Batak ? The old Kenaboi miners, or some other aboriginal tribe ? It is impossible to tell in the absence of any hint as to the chronology of these battles. We can only hope that light may be thrown on the matter by further investigation. 5fi PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. ArPRxoTX VTI. FURTHER NOTES ON ULU KLAWANG. There are certain tribal institutions still extant in Ulu Klawanpf vliieli have not received the recognition of the Undang Jelebu nor of the British Administration. They are, however, of considerable antiquity, and are said to date from the days of Yamtuan Sabun (p. 20), when the Amar Penghvilu supported the newly-arrived princely house with the main object of obtaining for himself indepen- dence of the Klana and a miniature court of his own. The result was a promiscuous conferring of titles by Sabun, while the law of exogamy required a sub-division of the Biduanda tribe in order to admit of inter-marriage in the little Valley. The sub-division was effected by Sabun and, strangely enough, one of the new divisions changed its tribal name and became anak Seri Melenggang. This forms an exact counterpart to the Mungkal tribe in Jelebu (p. 46), the origin of which was undoubtedly Biduanda (p. 12) ; the change of tribe in each case being dictated by the exigencies of exogamy. The Lembaga of the Seri Melenggang division was entitled Date' Raj^ Mahakota, and beneath him was an ibu bapak, To' Java Pahlawan. The To' Raja Mahakota retains the Biduanda privilege of acting as Pangku between the death of one Amar Penghulu and the election of another. Holders of the title have been : Lihat ; Buntal ; Lineheh ; Jatin ; Ma' Ali; Jadin. Other sub-divisions of the Biduanda tribe are : (1) The ivaris Silasilah, Ulu Klawang, whose ancestral lands are at Renal. Their headman bore the title of Si Amar Manteri. Holders of the title have been : To' Kopek Sesak ; Ladini ; Salim ; Rahim. ^EL/mU HISTORY, 157 (2) The waris Kepong, ■who are said to have come from Perjani Gribok; their headman is styled To' Senara Muda. Holders of the title hare been : To' Dudok ; Kahar ; DoUah ; Silang ; Nalil ; Ja'amat. None of these sub-divisions can furnish candidates for the Amar Penghuluship. The Tiga Batu tribe are the Ayer Kaki in Ulu Klawang — that is to say, women of this tribe alone can become consorts of the princes of Pita Serambai, though the privilege can be extended to immigrants of the Batu Hampar tribe who are the Ayer Kaki in Sri Menanti. In addition to their lembaga To' Lela Angsa (now no longer, vide p. 26), the Ayer Kaki supplied three Jirak to the Amar Penghulu — ■ namely, Panglima Jaya, Panglima Tera, and Panglima Grarang. The obsolescence of these petty dignitaries is a matter for congratulation as regards administration, for when it is remembered that TJlu. Klawang is a narrow valley of about three miles, it becomes a clear case of " Whei-e everybody's somebody there's no room for anybody." 58 PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. Appendix VIII. A NOTE ON THE TABOO OP THE BIDUANDA TEIBE. The following articles of food are taboo : Pisang udang, padi jelai, and Jcerbau balar. It is also forbidden to live in a house with tiang heralag. The following story is told in explanation : " Many ages ago a Biduanda boy wished to gather pisang udang which hung over the house. He climbed up the tiang heralae, which gave way, and he fell into a large bin of padi jelai, which being smooth and slippery, swallowed him up and asphyxiated him. The parents missed the child, but could not find him till they noticed a pink buffalo licking up something {damir) under the padi bin. From that day to this these four things have been taboo." i It is noticeable that the Mungkal tribe in Jelebu, whose Bidniinda origin was noticed in appendix VII, liave 1he same iaboo! The other tribes in Jelebu do not appear to have any, (/, Skoilt, " Jl.-,l;iy M:>'/.(;- p. !!)(», PAPERS ON MALAY SUBJECTS. [FIRST SERIES.] [Published by direction of the Government of the Federated Malay States.] R. J. Wilkinson, P.M.S. Civil Service, General Editor. ^ LAW. I. Introductory Sketch ... II. The Ninety-nine Laws of Perak by R. J. Wilkinson ,, J. Rigby HISTORY. III. Peeak Council Minutes, 1877-1879 IV. Perak Council Minutes, 1880-1882* ., V. Notes on the Negri Sembilan by C. W. Harrison ,, R. J. Wilkinson ,, R. J. Wilkinson LIFE AND CUSTOMS. I. Incidents of Malay Life by R. J. Wilkinson II. Circumstances of Malay Life III. Malay Amusements ,, R. 0. Winstedt ,, R. J. Wilkinson INDUSTRIES. I. Arts and Ck-^fts IT. Fishing, Hunting and Trapping III. Rice Planting by R. 0. Winstedt ,, R. 0. Winstedt ,, G. E. Shaw SUPPLEMENTARY. The Aboriginal Tribes by R. J. Wilkinsons' * No further Minutes of the State Council are to be printed. __ Cornell University Library DS 598.J4C14 Jelebu, its history and constitution, 3 1924 007 835 667